Early reduction of sensory processing within the visual cortex when switching from internal to external attention

Sam Verschooren; Sebastian Schindler; Rudi De Raedt; Gilles Pourtois

doi:10.1016/j.biopsycho.2021.108119

Early reduction of sensory processing within the visual cortex when switching from internal to external attention

Biol Psychol. 2021 Jul:163:108119. doi: 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2021.108119. Epub 2021 May 18.

Authors

Sam Verschooren¹, Sebastian Schindler², Rudi De Raedt³, Gilles Pourtois⁴

Affiliations

¹ Cognitive & Affective Psychophysiology Laboratory, Department of Experimental Clinical and Health Psychology, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium. Electronic address: sam.verschooren@ugent.be.
² Cognitive & Affective Psychophysiology Laboratory, Department of Experimental Clinical and Health Psychology, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium; Institute of Medical Psychology and Systems Neuroscience, University of Muenster, Germany.
³ Psychopathology & Affective Neuroscience Laboratory, Department of Experimental Clinical and Health Psychology, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.
⁴ Cognitive & Affective Psychophysiology Laboratory, Department of Experimental Clinical and Health Psychology, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.

PMID: 34019967
DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2021.108119

Abstract

The neurocognitive process underlying attention switches between external (perception-based) and internal (memory-based) attention is poorly characterized. Previous research has found that when participants switch attention either between two perception-based tasks (within-domain switches) or between a memory- and a perception-based task (between-domain switches), a substantial and similar processing cost was observed compared to the repetition of the same task (Verschooren, Schindler, De Raedt, & Pourtois, 2019). Here, we recorded 64-channel EEG while participants carried out within- versus between-domain switches of attention. ERP results showed that during early sensory processing, a marked P1 attenuation was associated with both switch types, suggesting that switching was associated with an early bottleneck during information processing. This early gating effect was stronger when switching from an internal to an external task, compared to switching between external tasks, suggesting different top-down requirements for them. These findings are in line with earlier proposals in the literature.

Keywords: Attention; Cognitive control; ERP; Flexibility; P1; Working memory.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Attention
Cognition
Humans
Perception
Reaction Time
Sensation
Visual Cortex*