Department of Psychology, Vanderbilt Vision Research Center, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, USA.
Nat Neurosci. 2010 Apr;13(4):507-12. doi: 10.1038/nn.2509. Epub 2010 Mar 7.
Attention is the process that selects which sensory information is preferentially processed and ultimately reaches our awareness. Attention, however, is not a unitary process; it can be captured by unexpected or salient events (stimulus driven) or it can be deployed under voluntary control (goal directed), and these two forms of attention are implemented by largely distinct ventral and dorsal parieto-frontal networks. For coherent behavior and awareness to emerge, stimulus-driven and goal-directed behavior must ultimately interact. We found that the ventral, but not dorsal, network can account for stimulus-driven attentional limits to conscious perception, and that stimulus-driven and goal-directed attention converge in the lateral prefrontal component of that network. Although these results do not rule out dorsal network involvement in awareness when goal-directed task demands are present, they point to a general role for the lateral prefrontal cortex in the control of attention and awareness.
注意力是一种选择性加工感官信息的过程，最终使这些信息进入我们的意识。然而，注意力不是一个单一的过程；它可以被意外或突出的事件（刺激驱动）所捕获，也可以在自愿控制（目标导向）下被调动，这两种形式的注意力主要由不同的腹侧和背侧顶叶-额叶网络来实现。为了使行为和意识连贯，刺激驱动和目标导向的行为最终必须相互作用。我们发现，腹侧网络而非背侧网络可以解释刺激驱动的注意力对意识知觉的限制，并且刺激驱动和目标导向的注意力在该网络的外侧前额叶成分中汇聚。尽管这些结果并不排除在存在目标导向任务要求时背侧网络参与意识的可能性，但它们指出外侧前额叶皮层在注意力和意识控制中的一般作用。
