Feature-based attention in human visual cortex: simulation of fMRI data.

Abstract

We use a computational neuroscience approach to study the role of feature-based attention in visual perception. This model is used to numerically simulate a visual attention experiment. The neurodynamical system consists of many interconnected modules that can be related to the dorsal and ventral paths of the visual cortex. The biased competition hypothesis is taken into account within the model. From the experimental point of view, measurements exist, which confirm that feature-based attention influences visual cortical responses to stimuli outside the attended location. These measurements show that attention to a given stimulus attribute (in this case "color red") increases the response of cortical visual areas to a spatially distant, ignored stimulus that shares the same attribute. Our neurodynamical model is used to numerically compute the neural activity of area V4 corresponding to such ignored stimulus, giving a good description of the experimental data.