Using multi-voxel pattern analysis to decode the targets of auditory selective attention and imagery

Abstract

Event Abstract Back to Event Using multi-voxel pattern analysis to decode the targets of auditory selective attention and imagery Lorina Naci1*, Annika Linke1, Alejandro Vicente Grabovetsky1, Etienne Gaudrain1, Martin M. Monti2, Adrian M. Owen3 and Rhodri Cusack1 1 MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, United Kingdom 2 Department of Psychology, University of California Los Angeles, United States 3 Centre for Brain and Mind, Department of Psychology, The University of Western Ontario, Canada Auditory attention helps us select from the cacophony arriving at the ears but it is unclear how it affects the neural coding of sounds. Does it strengthen representations in auditory cortices or does more wide-spread activity distinguish attended from unattended sounds? We investigated how listening, selective attention and imagery were reflected in activity patterns of auditory cortex and the Multiple Demands (MD) fronto-parietal network (Duncan & Owen 2000) implicated in many processes demanding selective attention. Sounds were presented for 8s, alternating with 8s of silence. In the listen condition sounds were presented monaurally, with a single repeating word in one ear. In the attend condition both words were played simultaneously and participants (n = 17) were instructed to attend to one. In the imagery condition no sounds were presented, instead participants imagined one of the words. Analysis showed a lateralized effect of listening, with enhanced BOLD signal in the hemisphere ipsilateral to sound presentation. There was no effect of attention at the whole brain level or in an auditory cortex ROI. However, Multi-Voxel Pattern Analysis showed that activity patterns in the MD network significantly (p < .05) revealed the target of attention and could classify sounds with 70% accuracy. Similar results were obtained during imagery. The results suggest that auditory selective attention is supported by a different mechanism from that representing isolated sounds. Unlike in vision, the effect of attention in audition has no impact on sensory representations, but is represented on a more abstract level in the MD network. This shows for the first time that the MD network can code for the identity of attended or imagined sounds. Funding: This work was funded by the DECODER Project, funded by the European Commission in the 7th Framework Programme (2007-2013). Keywords: BOLD, Brain Signals Conference: XI International Conference on Cognitive Neuroscience (ICON XI), Palma, Mallorca, Spain, 25 Sep - 29 Sep, 2011. Presentation Type: Poster Presentation Topic: Poster Sessions: Modeling and Analysis of Brain Signals Citation: Naci L, Linke A, Grabovetsky A, Gaudrain E, Monti MM, Owen AM and Cusack R (2011). Using multi-voxel pattern analysis to decode the targets of auditory selective attention and imagery. Conference Abstract: XI International Conference on Cognitive Neuroscience (ICON XI). doi: 10.3389/conf.fnhum.2011.207.00170 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: 18 Nov 2011; Published Online: 28 Nov 2011. * Correspondence: Dr. Lorina Naci, MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, Cambridge, United Kingdom, lorina.naci@mrc-cbu.cam.ac.uk 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 Lorina Naci Annika Linke Alejandro Vicente Grabovetsky Etienne Gaudrain Martin M Monti Adrian M Owen Rhodri Cusack Google Lorina Naci Annika Linke Alejandro Vicente Grabovetsky Etienne Gaudrain Martin M Monti Adrian M Owen Rhodri Cusack Google Scholar Lorina Naci Annika Linke Alejandro Vicente Grabovetsky Etienne Gaudrain Martin M Monti Adrian M Owen Rhodri Cusack PubMed Lorina Naci Annika Linke Alejandro Vicente Grabovetsky Etienne Gaudrain Martin M Monti Adrian M Owen Rhodri Cusack 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.