Rudolf-Virchow-Zentrum, Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft-Forschungszentrum für Experimentelle Biomedizin, Universität Würzburg, 97080 Würzburg, Germany.
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2011 Apr 26;108(17):7230-5. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1102522108. Epub 2011 Apr 11.
Organisms with complex visual systems rarely respond to just the sum of all visual stimuli impinging on their eyes. Often, they restrict their responses to stimuli in a temporarily selected region of the visual field (selective visual attention). Here, we investigate visual attention in the fly Drosophila during tethered flight at a torque meter. Flies can actively shift their attention; however, their attention can be guided to a certain location by external cues. Using visual cues, we can direct the attention of the fly to one or the other of the two visual half-fields. The cue can precede the test stimulus by several seconds and may also be spatially separated from the test by at least 20° and yet attract attention. This kind of external guidance of attention is found only in the lower visual field.
具有复杂视觉系统的生物很少对作用于其眼睛的所有视觉刺激的总和做出反应。通常，它们将反应限制在视野中临时选择的区域（选择性视觉注意）。在这里，我们在扭矩计上的系留飞行中研究果蝇的视觉注意。苍蝇可以主动转移注意力；然而，外部线索可以将它们的注意力引导到某个特定的位置。使用视觉线索，我们可以将苍蝇的注意力引导到两个半视野中的一个或另一个。提示可以在测试刺激之前提前几秒钟出现，并且与测试刺激至少相隔 20°，但仍能吸引注意力。这种外部注意力引导只在较低的视野中发现。
