Portas C M, Rees G, Howseman A M, Josephs O, Turner R, Frith C D
Wellcome Department of Cognitive Neurology, Institute of Neurology, WC1N 3BG, London, United Kingdom.
J Neurosci. 1998 Nov 1;18(21):8979-89. doi: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.18-21-08979.1998.
The physiological basis for the interaction of selective attention and arousal is not clearly understood. Here we present evidence in humans that specifically implicates the thalamus in this interaction. We used functional magnetic resonance imaging to measure brain activity during the performance of an attentional task under different levels of arousal. Activity evoked in the ventrolateral thalamus by the attentional task changed as a function of arousal. The highest level of attention-related thalamic activity is seen under conditions of low arousal (secondary to sleep deprivation) compared with high arousal (secondary to caffeine administration). Other brain regions were also active during the attentional task, but these areas did not change their activity as a function of arousal. Control experiments establish that this pattern of changes in thalamic activity cannot be accounted for by nonspecific effects of arousal on cerebral hemodynamics. We conclude that the thalamus is involved in mediating the interaction of attention and arousal in humans.
选择性注意与唤醒相互作用的生理基础尚未完全明确。在此，我们提供了人类的相关证据，明确表明丘脑参与了这种相互作用。我们运用功能磁共振成像技术，来测量在不同唤醒水平下执行注意力任务时的大脑活动。注意力任务诱发的丘脑腹外侧活动随唤醒水平而变化。与高唤醒状态（继发于咖啡因摄入）相比，在低唤醒状态（继发于睡眠剥夺）下，与注意力相关的丘脑活动水平最高。在注意力任务期间，其他脑区也有活动，但这些区域的活动并未随唤醒水平而改变。对照实验表明，丘脑活动的这种变化模式不能用唤醒对脑血流动力学的非特异性影响来解释。我们得出结论，丘脑参与介导人类注意力与唤醒的相互作用。
