Automatic detection of violations of statistical regularities in the periphery is affected by the focus of spatial attention: A visual mismatch negativity study. (6th January 2019)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: File, Domonkos; Czigler, István
• Is Part Of: European journal of neuroscience. Volume 49:Number 10(2019)
• Page Start: 1348
• Page End: 1356
• Publication Date: 2019-01-06
• Subjects: change detection -- visual attention -- visual evoked potentials; Nervous system -- Periodicals; 612.8
• DOI: 10.1111/ejn.14306
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0953-816X

Abstract

Abstract: We investigated the effect of spatial attention on an event‐related potential signature of automatic detection of violations of statistical regularities, namely, the visual mismatch negativity (vMMN). To vary the task‐field and the location of vMMN‐related stimulation, in the attentional field the stimuli of a tracking task with a steady and a moving (target) bar were presented. The target stimuli of the task appeared either relatively close or far from a passive (task‐irrelevant) oddball or equiprobable sequence at the lower part of the screen. Stimuli of the oddball sequence were shapes tilted either 45° (standard, p = 0.8) or 135° (deviant, p = 0.2), while the equiprobable sequence consisted of additional three shapes with identical number of lines to the oddball stimuli. Deviant stimuli in close proximity to a continuously attended field elicited larger vMMN than similar stimuli farther away from the stimulus field. In the condition with a smaller distance between the field of the tracking task and the vMMN‐related field, the deviant stimuli and the vMMN was followed by a posterior positivity. According to these results, spatial attention modulates vMMN and is capable of initiating further processing of the deviant stimuli. Abstract : Visual stimuli in close proximity to a continuously attended field elicited larger visual mismatch negativity (vMMN) than similar stimuli farther away from the stimulus field. Also, in case of close proximity, vMMN was followed by a posterior positivity. According to these results, spatial attention modulates vMMN and is capable of initiating further deviant processing.