NYU psychology researchers show how attention enhances visual ...( arget appeared at the cued location tha...),Health

The researchers used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to measure brain activity while observers performed this task inside the MR scanner housed at the NYU Center for Brain Imaging. This technology allows scientists to map activity in the visual cortex [see diagram of brain]. This experiment revealed that when a cue preceded the target, the target evoked a larger brain response than when the cue appeared in the other location. It also showed the magnitude of the cueing effect increased from the earliest to later areas of visual processing [see graph].

Liu, who earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Science and Technology of China, received his Ph.D. from Columbia University and currently is a postdoctoral researcher at NYU. Pestilli obtained his licentiate from the University of Rome and is an NYU doctoral student. Carrasco received her licentiate in psychology from the National University of Mexico before going on to receive her M.A. and Ph.D. in psychology from Princeton University. She is a professor of psychology and neural science and chair of NYU's Psychology Department.

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Contact: James Devitt
james.devitt@nyu.edu
212-998-6808
New York University
9-Feb-2005