Role of attention and reward in selective perception

Salk Institute For Biological Studies, La Jolla CA

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Abstract

[unreadable] DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): We do not possess enough neural machinery to simultaneously process all incoming visual information; when multiple stimuli are present in the scene, they compete for cortical representation and limited access to memory and awareness. Selective attention serves to bias this competition in favor of the attended stimulus so that behaviorally relevant aspects of the environment dominate our perceptual experience. For instance, high attentional priority is assigned to regions of space known to contain relevant information, and stimuli presented in the attended location are processed preferentially over other nonattended stimuli. While such instances of voluntary attentional control may infuence the locus of attention, recent work also suggests that the reward history of a stimulus can influence its cortical representation. The goal of the present proposal is to examine the neural mechanisms in visual and parietal cortex that resolve competition between multiple stimuli by modulating attentional processes. Furthermore, the proposed experiments will directly explore the relationship between attention and reward, and the potentially separable effects that these two factors may play in biasing the cortical representation of stimuli in the environment. [unreadable] [unreadable]