Stimulus-driven reorienting in the ventral frontoparietal attention network: the role of emotional content

David W Frank,Dean Sabatinelli

doi:10.3389/fnhum.2012.00116

Abstract

Activity in the human temporoparietal junction (TPJ) and inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) is hypothesized to underlie stimulus-driven, or “bottom-up” attention reorienting. Demanding tasks require focused attention, and as task difficulty increases, activity suppression in the ventral network correlates positively with task performance, an effect thought to reflect the gating of irrelevant cues. However, activation in these structures is elicited by a range of stimulus features and task demands that vary across multiple characteristics, complicating the interpretation of the functional role of this pathway. Consideration of several current studies suggests that, in addition to task difficulty, the motivational relevance or emotional intensity of distractor stimuli may supersede ongoing task priority, and evoke ventral network activation. Support for this possibility is offered from a review of recent reports, and the import of this perspective for models of attention reorienting is discussed.

Highlights

The dorsal and ventral subdivisions of a frontoparietal network are persistently involved in a process of categorizing stimuli, determining the locus of attention, and disengaging and reorienting attention as necessary (Corbetta and Shulman, 2002)
The ventral branch includes the temporoparietal junction (TPJ), inferior frontal gyrus (IFG), and anterior insula, and is associated with redirecting attention toward stimuli that are relevant to the immediate goal, regardless of low-level perceptually salient features such as color or contrast (Corbetta et al, 2008)
While the ventral reorienting network is implicated in responding to stimuli that are important to the task at hand, the range of stimulus characteristics capable of eliciting ventral network activation is loosely defined, and the operational definitions of relevance and salience differ widely across studies

Summary

Introduction

The dorsal and ventral subdivisions of a frontoparietal network are persistently involved in a process of categorizing stimuli, determining the locus of attention, and disengaging and reorienting attention as necessary (Corbetta and Shulman, 2002). Our goal is to clarify the specific conditions in which the ventral attention network is recruited, and to highlight the potential role for emotion in our understanding of the reorienting process by reviewing recent imaging studies that we believe are relevant.

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Conclusion