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Global effects of feature-based attention in human visual cortex

Abstract

The content of visual experience depends on how selective attention is distributed in the visual field. We used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) in humans to test whether feature-based attention can globally influence visual cortical responses to stimuli outside the attended location. Attention to a stimulus feature (color or direction of motion) increased the response of cortical visual areas to a spatially distant, ignored stimulus that shared the same feature.

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Figure 1: Feature-based attention to motion.
Figure 2: Feature-based attention to color.

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Acknowledgements

Supported by the National Institutes of Health (EY12925) and the National Science Foundation. We thank R.O. Duncan, G. Stoner, J. Reynolds and I. Fine for comments on the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Geoffrey M. Boynton.

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The authors declare no competing financial interests.

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Saenz, M., Buracas, G. & Boynton, G. Global effects of feature-based attention in human visual cortex. Nat Neurosci 5, 631–632 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1038/nn876

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