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Global effects of feature-based attention in human visual cortex

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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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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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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nn876

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