Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Panagiotis Sapountzis, Sofia Paneri, Sotirios Papadopoulos, Georgia G. Gregoriou
Summary: Recent work has shown that neural representations in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) are changing to adapt to task demands, but it is still unclear how this dynamic coding depends on the encoded variable and anatomical constraints. In this study, using a cued attention task and multivariate classification methods, the researchers found that neuronal ensembles in the PFC encode and retain spatial and color attentional instructions in a specific manner. Spatial instructions were decoded from both the frontal eye field (FEF) and the ventrolateral PFC (vlPFC) populations, while color instructions were decoded more robustly from vlPFC. The results suggest that dynamic population coding of attentional instructions in the PFC is influenced by anatomical constraints and can coexist with stable subspace coding.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2022)
Article
Neurosciences
Qiong Zhang, Weifeng Sun, Kailing Huang, Li Qin, Shirui Wen, Xiaoyan Long, Quan Wang, Li Feng
Summary: This study explored the characteristics and mechanisms of working memory impairment in patients with frontal lobe epilepsy (FLE) using a memory game paradigm and eye tracking technology. The results showed that FLE patients had lower memory scores and took longer to complete the memory game compared to healthy controls. Eye tracking data also revealed deficits in attentional maintenance among FLE patients. These findings contribute to understanding the underlying mechanisms of memory impairment in FLE.
FRONTIERS IN NEUROSCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Psychology, Experimental
Jongmin Lee, Koeun Jung, Suk Won Han
Summary: Researchers debate whether people find a target among multiple stimuli through serial or parallel processing. Recent theories suggest that visual search tasks involve both serial and parallel processes. Through experimentation, specific behavioral patterns associated with serial and self-terminating search were identified, shedding light on the conditions under which search becomes more serial or parallel. Multiple recent models of visual search are discussed to accommodate these findings and reconcile the existing controversy.
Article
Psychology, Biological
Michael T. Miuccio, Gregory J. Zelinsky, Joseph Schmidt
Summary: This study investigates the load imposed by individual real-world objects held in visual working memory (VWM) and finds that targets with more proto-objects result in a higher VWM load and reduced search performance.
Article
Clinical Neurology
Valentina Barone, Maria Carla Piastra, Johannes P. van Dijk, Gerhard H. Visser, Mariette H. J. A. Debeij-van Hall, Michel J. A. M. van Putten
Summary: This study investigates the differences in cognitive and eye movement processes during seizures in pediatric patients with absences. It reveals that the involvement of the right frontal eye field is higher in patients with impaired eye movements compared to those with preserved eye movements during seizures. This finding has clinical significance for assessing visual attention in epilepsy patients and providing personalized advice.
CLINICAL NEUROPHYSIOLOGY
(2023)
Review
Neurosciences
L. T. Hunt, N. D. Daw, P. Kaanders, M. A. MacIver, U. Mugan, E. Procyk, A. D. Redish, E. Russo, J. Scholl, K. Stachenfeld, C. R. E. Wilson, N. Kolling
Summary: This review discusses recent theoretical frameworks that have been used to study such naturalistic decision-making and its neural basis.
NATURE NEUROSCIENCE
(2021)
Article
Psychology, Developmental
Charlotte Viktorsson, Sven Bolte, Terje Falck-Ytter
Summary: This study investigated the looking behavior of typically developing toddlers and toddlers later diagnosed with autism when observing other children interact. The findings showed that toddlers with later autism had shorter gaze duration on the girl's face during the interaction, suggesting differences in social gaze in children with autism and the importance of studying gaze dynamics on short time scales.
JOURNAL OF AUTISM AND DEVELOPMENTAL DISORDERS
(2023)
Article
Psychology, Multidisciplinary
Leah R. Enders, Robert J. Smith, Stephen M. Gordon, Anthony J. Ries, Jonathan Touryan
Summary: Researchers utilized eye tracking technology in a virtual environment to study visual search behavior, finding a significant relationship between gaze behavior and target objects. Additionally, they observed that with increased cognitive load, participants slowed down, focused less on objects, and scanned more objects in the environment. The study demonstrates the usefulness of complex virtual environments in active visual search experimentation and provides insight into individual behaviors during un-timed visual search tasks.
FRONTIERS IN PSYCHOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Domenica Veniero, Joachim Gross, Stephanie Morand, Felix Duecker, Alexander T. Sack, Gregor Thut
Summary: The activation of the Frontal Eye Fields can shape visual cortex activity and perception through mechanisms of oscillatory realignment at the beta frequency.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2021)
Article
Neurosciences
Koorosh Mirpour, James W. Bisley
Summary: The lateral intraparietal area (LIP) provides a stable map integrating task rules and stimulus identity, while the frontal eye field (FEF) is consistently modulated by more complex information but integrates all information just before the saccade to make the final decision on where to move the eye.
JOURNAL OF NEUROPHYSIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Neurosciences
Chia-Chien Wu, Jeremy M. Wolfe
Summary: Observers do not fixate every location during visual search, instead processing occurs within a Functional Visual Field surrounding each fixation. Each fixation poses three questions, implying different senses of the FVF.
Article
Psychology, Developmental
Michaela C. DeBolt, Samantha G. Mitsven, Katherine Pomaranski, Lisa M. Cantrell, Steven J. Luck, Lisa M. Oakes
Summary: This study explores how infants focus their attention and finds that it is influenced by factors such as age and image characteristics. The attention of infants is more attracted to unique elements, but the effect of physical salience on attention varies in a graded manner. The uniqueness of an item does not directly influence attention. The results suggest that attention in infancy is influenced by quantitative variations in physical salience.
DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Neurosciences
Alexia Bourgeois, Virginie Sterpenich, Giannina Rita Iannotti, Patrik Vuilleumier
Summary: The study found that reward cues can selectively modulate the Frontal Eye Field (FEF) during attentional shifts, especially after high-predictive cueing to invalid locations. Reward information also modulated FEF connectivity to superior colliculus, striatum, and visual cortex.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Alexandro D. Ramirez, Emre R. F. Aksay
Summary: The study reveals that ramp-to-threshold firing dynamics are critical for the initiation of self-generated eye movements, and the prediction of upcoming saccades is possible through the analysis of pre-saccadic activity.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2021)
Article
Biochemical Research Methods
Nicolas Roth, Martin Rolfs, Olaf Hellwich, Klaus Obermayer
Summary: This study presents a new computational framework for simulating eye movements in dynamic real-world scenes. By optimizing the model parameters, the study demonstrates that including object-based attention improves the resemblance between the simulated eye movements and human gaze behavior. This highlights the important role of object-level attention in guiding attentional processing.
PLOS COMPUTATIONAL BIOLOGY
(2023)