Modulation of preparatory attention & target discrimination by long-term memory

Abstract

Event Abstract Back to Event Modulation of preparatory attention & target discrimination by long-term memory Eva Zita Patai1*, Sonia Doallo2, Mark Stokes1 and Anna C. Nobre1 1 University of Oxford, United Kingdom 2 University of Santiago de Compostela, Spain We show that attentional orienting,which optimizes performance by deploying resources selectively towards relevant events, is influenced by long-term memories(LTM). Participants were trained on 192 natural scenes, of which half contained a target. After 2 days of training, participants completed a cued perceptual discrimination task, while EEG was recorded.The same scenes that were studied were presented as cues, followed by the scene again with or without the target.Participants discriminated covertly whether the target was present or absent.For the cue period we were interested whether memories could modulate the deployment of attention towards upcoming target locations. For the target period, there were two conditions of interest: memory/target-present (target location learned during training phase, target present in same location during perceptual task), no-memory/target-present (no target location associated with scene, but target present during perceptual task). Behavioural results indicated that LTM-guided attention improved the sensitivity (d’) and speed of target identification. During the cue period, there was a significant desynchronization in the alpha band,contralateral to the side that contained the target during the training.During the target period, there was a significant difference in an electrophysiological marker associated with target selection during visual search, the N2pc, between the two conditions. The N2pc was significantly attenuated by the memory of the target location,which may indicate increased target-related processing when target locations are not cued by LTM. We conclude that LTMs can optimize perception in complex natural scenes by modulating preparatory attention similarly to perceptual attentional cues, as well as target processing. Funding: Supported by the Wellcome Trust. Keywords: EEG, Memory Conference: XI International Conference on Cognitive Neuroscience (ICON XI), Palma, Mallorca, Spain, 25 Sep - 29 Sep, 2011. Presentation Type: Keynote Lecture Topic: Poster Sessions: Neural Bases of Memory and Learning Citation: Zita Patai E, Doallo S, Stokes M and Nobre AC (2011). Modulation of preparatory attention & target discrimination by long-term memory. Conference Abstract: XI International Conference on Cognitive Neuroscience (ICON XI). doi: 10.3389/conf.fnhum.2011.207.00409 Copyright: The abstracts in this collection have not been subject to any Frontiers peer review or checks, and are not endorsed by Frontiers. They are made available through the Frontiers publishing platform as a service to conference organizers and presenters. The copyright in the individual abstracts is owned by the author of each abstract or his/her employer unless otherwise stated. Each abstract, as well as the collection of abstracts, are published under a Creative Commons CC-BY 4.0 (attribution) licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) and may thus be reproduced, translated, adapted and be the subject of derivative works provided the authors and Frontiers are attributed. For Frontiers’ terms and conditions please see https://www.frontiersin.org/legal/terms-and-conditions. Received: 24 Nov 2011; Published Online: 28 Nov 2011. * Correspondence: Dr. Eva Zita Patai, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom, zits@gwmail.gwu.edu Login Required This action requires you to be registered with Frontiers and logged in. To register or login click here. Abstract Info Abstract The Authors in Frontiers Eva Zita Patai Sonia Doallo Mark Stokes Anna C Nobre Google Eva Zita Patai Sonia Doallo Mark Stokes Anna C Nobre Google Scholar Eva Zita Patai Sonia Doallo Mark Stokes Anna C Nobre PubMed Eva Zita Patai Sonia Doallo Mark Stokes Anna C Nobre Related Article in Frontiers Google Scholar PubMed Abstract Close Back to top Javascript is disabled. Please enable Javascript in your browser settings in order to see all the content on this page.