Laboratory for Social and Neural Systems Research (SNS Lab), Department of Economics, University of Zurich, Switzerland.
Ann N Y Acad Sci. 2013 Aug;1296:88-107. doi: 10.1111/nyas.12204. Epub 2013 Aug 2.
A major aim of Jon Driver's research was to identify principles by which the brain selects behaviorally relevant stimuli or thoughts for in-depth processing. His insights have shaped neurobiological models of selective attention that highlight top-down modulations of sensory cortex as a neural substrate of adaptive behavioral control. In this paper, I review research on the characteristics and neural origins of such top-down modulations. The studies reviewed show that neural processing in sensory cortical areas can be biased toward behaviorally relevant stimuli and thoughts by feedback projections from frontal and parietal brain areas. Such modulatory influences are similarly present for judgments about external sensory information (during attention) or internal representations (during imagery and short-term memory), potentially reflecting common neural mechanisms that enhance sensory processing of relevant neural signals. How such top-down control processes may ultimately be guided by motivational brain systems is a topic of current debate, for which Jon Driver's work will continue to provide important inspiration.
乔恩·德赖弗（Jon Driver）的研究主要目的是确定大脑选择行为相关刺激或想法进行深入处理的原则。他的研究成果为选择性注意的神经生物学模型提供了启示，强调了感觉皮层的自上而下的调制是适应性行为控制的神经基础。在本文中，我回顾了有关这种自上而下的调制的特征和神经起源的研究。综述的研究表明，来自额叶和顶叶脑区的反馈投射可以使感觉皮层区域的神经加工偏向于行为相关的刺激和想法。这种调制影响同样存在于对外界感觉信息（在注意期间）或内部表示（在想象和短期记忆期间）的判断中，可能反映了增强相关神经信号的感觉处理的共同神经机制。这种自上而下的控制过程最终如何可能受到动机脑系统的指导，这是当前争论的一个话题，乔恩·德赖弗的工作将继续为这一话题提供重要的启示。
