Attentional Modulation of the BOLD Signals in Macaque Monkeys performing an Object Working Memory Task W Zinke1, U Schüffelgen2, I Grothe3, A K Kreiter2 |
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1Department of Experimental Psychology, Otto-von-Guericke-Universität Magdeburg, Germany |
| Although working memory (WM) and attention are often studied as separate cognitive systems, a clear distinction of them is difficult because they functionally overlap. We tested the effect of spatial attention on responses of brain regions recruited by a visual object WM task. Monkeys were trained on two variants of a shape tracking task; one in which a single shape stream was presented either in the lower left or right hemifield, and a second in which two streams were presented simultaneously at both locations. The second task variant required monitoring of the cued stream while ignoring the uncued stream. Functional whole brain MRI data were acquired with a 3T Siemens Allegra scanner. Statistical maps identified a network of brain regions involved in the WM task that was comparable for both paradigms. An analysis of trial-averaged BOLD signals revealed stronger responses for visual areas contra-lateral to the attended shape. Attentional modulation increased for down-stream visual areas and was strongest in TEO. Ventral lPFC showed response increases in the second paradigm irrespective of attended location, suggesting that this area is more involved in orienting attention rather than in WM. The data confirms a general spatial and functional overlap of WM and attention. |
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