Visual event-related potentials index focused attention within bilateral stimulus arrays. I. Evidence for early selection

doi:10.1016/0013-4694(90)90138-A

Electroencephalography and Clinical Neurophysiology

Volume 75, Issue 6, June 1990, Pages 511-527

https://doi.org/10.1016/0013-4694(90)90138-A Get rights and content

Abstract

Event-related potentials (ERPs) were recorded from the scalp while subjects attended to sequences of bilaterally symmetrical arrays of 4 letters (2 in each visual half-field) that were flashed briefly at intervals of 280–520 msec. These sequences also included randomized presentations of unilateral ‘probe’ stimuli consisting of irrelevant bars (experiment 1) or potentially relevant letter pairs (experiment 2). The task was to pay attention to the letter pairs in either the left or the right half-field on a given run and to press a button when the two letters matched one another (targets). The ERPs to the bilateral arrays included an early positive wave (P1, peaking at 135 msec) that was enhanced over posterior scalp sites contralateral to the attended visual field. Both types of probe stimulus also elicited a larger early positivity in the P1 latency range (100–200 msec) when delivered to the attended half-field, followed in some cases by a more prolonged positive deflection. Notable for its absence was any sign of an enlarged posterior N1 component (160–200 msec), which was prominent in the ERP to attended-field stimuli in previous studies using randomized sequences of unilateral stimuli. Attended-field targets elicited large N2 and P3 (P300) components, which were greatly reduced or absent when targets occurred in the unattended field. The observed ERP effects were interpreted in terms of early sensory selection during visual spatial attention.

References (40)

R. Eason et al.
Effects of attention and arousal on visually evoked cortical potentials and reaction time in man
Physiol. Behav.
(1969)
J.C. Hansen et al.
Endogenous brain potentials associated with selective auditory attention
Electroenceph. clin. Neurophysiol.
(1980)
M.R. Harter et al.
Hemispheric differences in the neural processing of stimulus location and type: effects of selective attention on visual evoked potentials
Neuropsychologia
(1982)
S.J. Luck et al.
Visual event-related potentials index focused attention within bilateral stimulus arrays. II. Functional dissociation of P1 and N1 components
Electroenceph. clin. Neurophysiol.
(1990)
G.R. Mangun et al.
Spatial gradients of visual attention: behavioral and electrophysiological evidence
Electroenceph. clin. Neurophysiol.
(1988)
H.J. Neville et al.
Attention to central and peripheral visual space in a movement detection task. I. Normal hearing adults
Brain Res.
(1987)
M.D. Rugg et al.
Modulation of visual event-related potentials by spatial and non-spatial visual selective attention
Neuropsychologia
(1987)
D.M. Snodderly et al.
Eye position during fixation tasks: comparison of macaque and human
Vision Res.
(1985)
A.A. Wijers et al.
Visual search and spatial attention: ERPs in focussed and divided attention conditions
Biol. Psychol.
(1987)
J. Beck et al.
The effects of concentrated and distributed attention on peripheral acuity
Percept. Psychophys.
(1973)

K.A. Briand et al.

Is Posner's ‘beam’ the same as Treisman's ‘glue’?: on the relation between visual orienting and feature integration theory

J. Exp. Psychol.: Hum. Percept. Perform.

(1987)

M.W. Donald et al.

The analysis of stimulus probability inside and outside the focus of attention, as reflected by the auditory N1 and P3 components

Can. J. Psychol.

(1981)

C.J. Downing

Expectancy and visual-spatial attention: effects on perceptual quality

J. Exp. Psychol. Hum. Percept. Perform.

(1988)

R.G. Eason

Visual evoked potential correlates of early neural filtering during selective attention

Bull. Psychon. Soc.

(1981)

C.W. Eriksen et al.

Allocation of attention in the visual field

J. Exp. Psychol.: Hum. Percept. Perform.

(1985)

J.C. Hansen et al.

Effects of stimulation rate and attribute cueing on event-related potentials during selective auditory attention

Psychophysiology

(1984)

M.R. Harter et al.

Brain mechanisms of visual selective attention

H.L. Hawkins et al.

Effects of target luminance and cue validity on the latency of visual detection

Percept. Psychophys.

(1988)

S.A. Hillyard et al.

Attention: electrophysiological approaches

S.A. Hillyard et al.

Commentary: sensory gating as a physiological mechanism for visual selective attention

Cited by (300)

Event-related potential correlates of implicit processing of own- and other-race faces in children
2024, Journal of Experimental Child Psychology
Human adults typically experience difficulties in recognizing and discriminating individual faces belonging to racial groups other than their own. The origin of this “other-race” effect is set in infancy, but the understanding of its developmental course is fragmented. We aimed to access the mechanisms of the other-race effect in childhood by unraveling the neural time course of own- and other-race face processing during a masked priming paradigm. White 6- and 7-year-old children (N = 19) categorized fully visible Asian (other-race) or White (own-race) target faces according to gender. Target faces were preceded by masked same-identity or different-identity prime faces, matching the target for race and gender. We showed an early priming effect on the N100 component, with larger amplitude to different-face pairs than to same-face pairs, and a later race effect on the N200 component, with larger amplitude to own-race face pairs than to other-race face pairs. Critically, race did not interact with priming at any processing stage (P100, N100, P200, N200, or P300). Our results suggest that race could have a temporally limited impact on face processing and that the implicit and unconscious identity processing of own- and other-race faces could be similar in 6- and 7-year-olds, depicting an immature other-race effect during childhood.
Modality predictability modulation confirms the sensorial readiness function of the pre-stimulus activity in sensory brain areas
2023, Cortex
The auditory Positivity (aP) and the visual Negativity (vN) are recently discovered modality-specific event-related potential (ERP) components associated with sensory readiness, which seems promising to study anticipatory perception and attention. However, a crucial aspect of these waves remains to be determined since it is still unclear if these components are indeed related to sensory readiness or represent the result of stimulus predictably. Indeed, earlier studies found these components in tasks where stimuli were repeatedly presented uniquely in the same sensory modality. To disentangle this issue, we used an experimental design consisting of three passive tasks: a unimodal auditory condition, a unimodal visual condition, and an intermodal condition in which the visual and auditory stimuli were unpredictably alternated. Then, we compared the amplitudes of the aP and vN in the three conditions and performed correlation analyses between pre-stimulus and post-stimulus components. Crucially, results showed that in the intermodal condition the components still occur, but their amplitudes are decreased compared to unimodal condition, providing evidence that they are only partially dependent on the task and that expectancy might modulate them. This result is in line with the “modality-shift effect” costs phenomenon which can occur also for passive tasks even before stimulus presentation. In addition, the amplitude of the post-stimulus components correlated with pre-stimulus ERP. Collectively, the present study confirms that the aP and the vN reflect sensory readiness processes that “boost” post-stimulus auditory N1 and visual P1 components.
Event-related potential correlates of visuo-tactile motion processing in congenitally deaf humans
2022, Neuropsychologia
The impact of congenital deafness on the development of vision has been investigated to a considerable degree. However, whether multisensory processing is affected by auditory deprivation has often remained largely overlooked. To fill this gap, we investigated the consequences of a profound auditory deprivation from birth on visuo-tactile processing. While the electroencephalogram (EEG) was recorded, dynamic visuo-tactile stimuli with a congruent or an incongruent motion direction were presented to a group of congenitally deaf native signers (N = 21) and matched hearing controls (N = 21). Standard stimuli were moving continuously for 200 ms either upwards or downwards, whereas the motion of deviant stimuli was interrupted in one of the two modalities. Participants were asked to detect deviant stimuli, moving in a predefined direction while ignoring deviants moving in the non-target direction. Behaviorally, deaf individuals committed more false alarms than hearing controls in the incongruent condition, that is, they responded more often when deviants moved in the non-target motion direction. ERPs (140–164 ms) of the deaf group were more anteriorly distributed for the visuo-tactile stimulation in comparison to hearing controls. Moreover, visuo-tactile motion congruency effects emerged with a later latency in the deaf group (350–450 ms) than in the hearing control group (200–280 ms). These findings suggest altered selection strategies and neural correlates for visuo-tactile motion processing as a result of congenital deafness.
Differential effects of walking across visual cortical processing stages
2022, Cortex
Perceptual processes are almost exclusively investigated and understood under marked movement restriction, while natural behaviour includes pronounced movements. Recent human studies have indicated a profound influence of body movement on early visual responses (e.g., evoked components around 100 msec in EEG, electroencephalogram). However, very little is known about the influence of free walking on later visual responses (e.g., responses related to visual selective attention in a later time window than the stimulus evoked N1 component). In the current study, we measured neural signals (EEG) and behavioural performance in a visual selective attention task while participants were standing or freely walking. The results showed that walking was associated with an amplification of early sensory-evoked potential as indicated by the N1 component. Interestingly, neural indexes of the succeeding processing stages of stimulus discrimination and identification, namely the N2pc component and alpha oscillations, and the eventual behavioural measures were comparable between standing and walking. Additionally, in both standing and walking conditions, an overall advantage in target processing for the right visual field was observed. Our work provides evidence that the early sensory processing is enhanced during locomotion while the succeeding processing steps in a later time window are not modulated by locomotion. We conclude that walking has differential effects across visual cortical processing stages.
Race and early face-sensitive event-related potentials in children and adults
2022, Journal of Experimental Child Psychology
Citation Excerpt :
We also examined whether children’s and adults’ ERPs to own- and other-race faces were associated with individual differences in face recognition ability and implicit racial bias. The P100 is a positive-going deflection recorded over posterior sites approximately 100 ms following stimulus presentation and is sensitive to low-level visual characteristics and attentional modulation (Heinze, Luck, Mangun, & Hillyard, 1990; Johannes, Münte, Heinze, & Mangun, 1995). The P100 tends to be larger in amplitude and shorter in latency for faces than for non-face stimuli in adults and children as young as 4 years (Kuefner et al., 2010; Taylor, Edmonds, McCarthy, & Allison, 2001).
Studies examining children’s face perception have revealed developmental changes in early and face-sensitive event-related potential (ERP) components. Children also tend to show racial biases in their face perception and evaluation of others. The current study examined how early face-sensitive ERPs are influenced by face race in children and adults. A second objective examined face recognition proficiency and implicit racial bias in relation to ERP responses to own- and other-race faces. Electroencephalographic responses were recorded while Caucasian children and adults viewed Caucasian and East Asian faces. Participants also completed recognition tasks and an IAT with Caucasian and East Asian faces. Other-race faces elicited larger P100 amplitudes than own-race faces. Furthermore, adults with better other-race recognition proficiency showed larger P100 amplitude responses to other-race faces compared with adults with worse other-race recognition proficiency. In addition, larger implicit biases favoring own-race individuals were associated with larger P100 to N170 peak-to-peak amplitudes for other-race faces in adults. In contrast, larger implicit biases favoring own-race individuals were associated with smaller P100 to N170 peak-to-peak amplitudes for both own- and other-race faces in 8- to 10-year-olds. There was also an age-related decrease in P100 to N170 peak-to-peak amplitudes for own-race faces among 5- to 10-year-olds with better own-race recognition proficiency. The age-related decrease in N170 latency for other-race faces was also more pronounced in 5- to 10-year-olds with better other-race recognition proficiency. Thus, recognition proficiency and implicit racial bias are associated with early ERP responses in adults and children, but in different ways.
Pathways of perceptual primacy: ERP evidence for relationships between autism traits and enhanced perceptual functioning
2021, Neuropsychologia
Autistic individuals show enhanced perceptual functioning on many behavioral tasks. Neurophysiological evidence also supports the conclusion that autistic individuals utilize perceptual processes to a greater extent than neurotypical comparisons to support problem solving and reasoning; however, how atypicalities in early perceptual processing influence subsequent cognitive processes remains to be elucidated. The goals of the present study were to test the relationship between early perceptual and subsequent cognitive event related potentials (ERPs) and their relationship to levels of autism traits. 62 neurotypical adults completed the Autism Spectrum Quotient (AQ) and participated in an ERP task. Path models were compared to test predictive relationships among an early perceptual ERP (the P1 component), a subsequent cognitive ERP (the N400 effect), and the Attention to Detail subscale of the AQ. The size of participants' P1 components was positively correlated with the size of their N400 effect and their Attention to Detail score. Model comparisons supported the model specifying that variation in Attention to Detail scores predicted meaningful differences in participants’ ERP waveforms. The relationship between Attention to Detail scores and the size of the N400 effect was significantly mediated by the size of the P1 effect. This study revealed that neurotypical adults with higher levels of Attention to Detail show larger P1 differences, which, in turn, correspond to larger N400 effects. Findings support the Enhanced Perceptual Functioning model of autism, suggesting that early perceptual processing differences may cascade forward and result in modifications to later cognitive mechanisms.

View all citing articles on Scopus

View full text

Visual event-related potentials index focused attention within bilateral stimulus arrays. I. Evidence for early selection

Abstract

Physiol. Behav.

Electroenceph. clin. Neurophysiol.

Neuropsychologia

Electroenceph. clin. Neurophysiol.

Electroenceph. clin. Neurophysiol.

Brain Res.

Neuropsychologia

Vision Res.

Biol. Psychol.

The effects of concentrated and distributed attention on peripheral acuity

Percept. Psychophys.

Is Posner's ‘beam’ the same as Treisman's ‘glue’?: on the relation between visual orienting and feature integration theory

J. Exp. Psychol.: Hum. Percept. Perform.

The analysis of stimulus probability inside and outside the focus of attention, as reflected by the auditory N1 and P3 components

Can. J. Psychol.

Expectancy and visual-spatial attention: effects on perceptual quality

J. Exp. Psychol. Hum. Percept. Perform.

Visual evoked potential correlates of early neural filtering during selective attention

Bull. Psychon. Soc.

Allocation of attention in the visual field

J. Exp. Psychol.: Hum. Percept. Perform.

Effects of stimulation rate and attribute cueing on event-related potentials during selective auditory attention

Psychophysiology

Brain mechanisms of visual selective attention

Effects of target luminance and cue validity on the latency of visual detection

Percept. Psychophys.

Attention: electrophysiological approaches

Commentary: sensory gating as a physiological mechanism for visual selective attention