Presentation Details
| Investigating Attention-Gated Rule Representations using an Olfactory Selective Attention Task Liam P McMahon, Jared Newell, Xiaolin Qiao, James D Howard. Brandeis University, Waltham, MA, USA |
Abstract
To make adaptive decisions in complex, multisensory environments,the brain must form and maintain task representations that are specific to selectively attended sensory cues. Animal research has demonstrated that multivariate task rule representations in prefrontal cortex (PFC) are linked to sensory cues via attention-gated input from the thalamus. However, the relationship between the rule representations in PFC and attention-modulated thalamic connectivity in humans is not well described. Here we investigate this question using a bimodal two-alternative forced choice task and ultra-high field fMRI in humans. On each trial of this task, participants are cued to attend to either olfactory or auditory stimuli, before simultaneous delivery of one of two distinct odors and one of two distinct tones. The identity of the attended stimulus determines the unique response rule involving two correct and two incorrect choice options. Behavioral results revealed significantly worse performance on olfactory attention trials and above-chance performance across conditions. We predict that connectivity between the thalamus, primary olfactory cortex, and primary auditory cortex will be promoted or suppressed based on selective attention to salient stimuli from the corresponding sensory modality. We further hypothesize that attention-modulated connectivity states will precede the emergence of rule-specific patterns of PFC activity. This would provide evidence that the thalamus initiates an attention-gated cascade of neural activity to promote rule representation in downstream prefrontal cortices, and thus shed light on how the neural representation of behavioral rules is linked to external stimuli via selective attention.
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No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the author.
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