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Electroretinograms Reveal No Evidence for Centrifugal Modulation of Retinal Inputs During Selective Attention in Man
Author(s) -
Mangun G.R.,
Hansen J.C.,
Hillyard S.A.
Publication year - 1986
Publication title -
psychophysiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.661
H-Index - 156
eISSN - 1469-8986
pISSN - 0048-5772
DOI - 10.1111/j.1469-8986.1986.tb00610.x
Subject(s) - psychology , erg , scalp , electrophysiology , retinal , visual field , electroretinography , neuroscience , audiology , retina , ophthalmology , anatomy , medicine
Eason, Oakley, and Flowers (1983, Physiological Psychology, 11 , 18–28) have recently described changes in the B‐wave and after‐potential of the human electroretinogram (ERG) during spatial selective attention. These results suggested that centrifugal modulation of retinal input may play a role in visual attention. We investigated this effect in two experiments in which subjects attended to sequences of flashes in one visual half‐field while ignoring similar flashes in the opposite half‐field. Visual event‐related potentials (ERPs) were recorded from electrodes placed at periorbital and scalp sites, while the ERG was simultaneously recorded using a gold‐foil electrode contacting the cornealscleral surface of the right eye. Selective visual attention was evident in an enhancement of the scalp‐recorded N150 component of the visual ERP to flashes in the attended half‐field. However, no effect of attention was observed on the B‐wave or after‐potential of the ERG. Long‐latency positive shifts related to attention were demonstrated in the corneal‐scleral recording and are discussed with respect to volume‐conducted brain activity.