TY - JOUR
T1 - Selective Attention and Multisensory Integration: Multiple Phases of Effects on the Evoked Brain Activity
AU - Talsma, D.
AU - Woldorff, Marty G.
PY - 2005
Y1 - 2005
N2 - We used event-related potentials (ERPs) to evaluate the
role of attention in the integration of visual and auditory
features of multisensory objects. This was done by contrasting
the ERPs to multisensory stimuli (AV) to the sum of the
ERPs to the corresponding auditory-only (A) and visual-only
(V) stimuli [i.e., AV vs. (A + V)]. V, A, and VA stimuli were
presented in random order to the left and right hemispaces.
Subjects attended to a designated side to detect infrequent
target stimuli in either modality there. The focus of this
report is on the ERPs to the standard (i.e., nontarget)
stimuli. We used rapid variable stimulus onset asynchronies
(350–650 msec) to mitigate anticipatory activity and included
‘‘no-stim’’ trials to estimate and remove ERP overlap from
residual anticipatory processes and from adjacent stimuli in
the sequence. Spatial attention effects on the processing of
the unisensory stimuli consisted of a modulation of visual
P1 and N1 components (at 90–130 msec and 160–200 msec,
respectively) and of the auditory N1 and processing
negativity (100–200 msec). Attended versus unattended
multisensory ERPs elicited a combination of these effects.
Multisensory integration effects consisted of an initial frontal
positivity around 100 msec that was larger for attended
stimuli. This was followed by three phases of centro-medially
distributed effects of integration and/or attention beginning
at around 160 msec, and peaking at 190 (scalp positivity),
250 (negativity), and 300–500 msec (positivity) after stimulus
onset. These integration effects were larger in amplitude for
attended than for unattended stimuli, providing neural evidence
that attention can modulate multisensory-integration
processes at multiple stages
AB - We used event-related potentials (ERPs) to evaluate the
role of attention in the integration of visual and auditory
features of multisensory objects. This was done by contrasting
the ERPs to multisensory stimuli (AV) to the sum of the
ERPs to the corresponding auditory-only (A) and visual-only
(V) stimuli [i.e., AV vs. (A + V)]. V, A, and VA stimuli were
presented in random order to the left and right hemispaces.
Subjects attended to a designated side to detect infrequent
target stimuli in either modality there. The focus of this
report is on the ERPs to the standard (i.e., nontarget)
stimuli. We used rapid variable stimulus onset asynchronies
(350–650 msec) to mitigate anticipatory activity and included
‘‘no-stim’’ trials to estimate and remove ERP overlap from
residual anticipatory processes and from adjacent stimuli in
the sequence. Spatial attention effects on the processing of
the unisensory stimuli consisted of a modulation of visual
P1 and N1 components (at 90–130 msec and 160–200 msec,
respectively) and of the auditory N1 and processing
negativity (100–200 msec). Attended versus unattended
multisensory ERPs elicited a combination of these effects.
Multisensory integration effects consisted of an initial frontal
positivity around 100 msec that was larger for attended
stimuli. This was followed by three phases of centro-medially
distributed effects of integration and/or attention beginning
at around 160 msec, and peaking at 190 (scalp positivity),
250 (negativity), and 300–500 msec (positivity) after stimulus
onset. These integration effects were larger in amplitude for
attended than for unattended stimuli, providing neural evidence
that attention can modulate multisensory-integration
processes at multiple stages
KW - IR-73398
U2 - 10.1162/0898929054475172
DO - 10.1162/0898929054475172
M3 - Article
VL - 17
SP - 1098
EP - 1114
JO - Journal of cognitive neuroscience
JF - Journal of cognitive neuroscience
SN - 0898-929X
IS - 7
ER -