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Fast and slow parietal pathways mediate spatial attention.

Abstract

Mechanisms of selective attention are vital for guiding human behavior. The parietal cortex has long been recognized as a neural substrate of spatial attention, but the unique role of distinct parietal subregions has remained unclear. Using single-pulse transcranial magnetic stimulation, we found that the angular gyrus of the right parietal cortex mediates spatial orienting during two distinct time periods after the onset of a behaviorally relevant event. The biphasic involvement of the angular gyrus suggests that both fast and slow visual pathways are necessary for orienting spatial attention.

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Christopher D Chambers, Jonathan M Payne, Mark G Stokes, Jason B Mattingley. 2004-02-22. Fast and slow parietal pathways mediate spatial attention.. https://doi.org/10.1038/nn1203

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