Both dorsal and ventral attention network nodes are implicated in exogenously driven visuospatial anticipation

Abstract

Neuroimaging and transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) studies have implicated a dorsal fronto-parietal network in endogenous attention control and a more ventral set of areas in exogenous attention shifts. However, the extent and circumstances under which these cortical networks overlap and/or interact remain unclear. Crucially, whereas previous studies employed experimental designs that tend to confound exogenous with endogenous attentional engagement, we used a cued target discrimination paradigm that behaviourally dissociates exogenous from endogenous attention processes. Participants engaged with endogenous attention cues, while simultaneous apparent motion cues were driving exogenous attention along the motion path towards or away from the target position. To interfere with dorsal or ventral attention networks, we delivered neuronavigated double-pulse TMS over either right intraparietal sulcus (rIPS) or right temporo-parietal junction (rTPJ) towards the end of the cue target interval, and compared the effects to a sham-TMS condition. For sham-TMS, endogenous and exogenous cueing both benefitted discrimination accuracy. Target discrimination was enhanced at validly versus invalidly cued locations (endogenous cueing benefit) as well as when targets appeared in versus out of the motion path (exogenous cueing benefit), despite motion being uninformative and task-irrelevant, replicating previous findings. Interestingly, both rIPS-and rTPJ-TMS abolished attention benefits from exogenous cueing, while endogenous cueing benefits were unaffected. Our findings provide evidence against independent involvement of the dorsal and ventral attention network nodes in exogenous attention processes.

Paying attention to attention in depression

“…Many attempts have been made to distinguish these subnetworks based on independent sub-functions of attention, such as a “dorsal attention network” involved in top–down allocation and a “ventral attention network” involved in bottom-up re-orienting, or a “central executive network” involved in goal-oriented attention and a “cingulo-opercular network” involved in salience-driven attention. These distinctions, however, remain unclear and inconsistent, with more recent studies providing counter-evidence to this dogma of distinct attention networks for bottom-up and top–down processing 85 . Even with the increasing number of studies using data-driven approaches to disentangle attention-related subnetworks, most of these approaches assume network independence and orthogonality rather than addressing the potential for spatial overlap in network architecture.…”

Spatiospectral brain networks reflective of improvisational experience

“…The dorsal attention network has been found to be activated during voluntary attention shifts during search for salient visual stimuli (Shulman et al, 2003) and more recent findings indicate that the dorsal attention network may also play a role in external attention, either independently or in task-dependent interaction with the ventral attention network (Ahrens et al, 2019). The ventral attention network has been associated with (exogenous) re-orienting towards task-relevant events that appear at unexpected locations (Ahrens et al, 2019;Corbetta & Shulman, 2002). In experimental design, predictive (symbolic) cues are usually used to engage endogenous attention, as opposed to transient/nonpredictive events to test exogenous attention (Ahrens et al, 2019).…”

“…The function of the dorsal attention network has been described as mediating top-down guided voluntary allocation of (primarily visual) attention to locations or features (Vossel et al, 2014) or the endogenous deployment of attention (Corbetta & Shulman, 2002), while Marek & Dosenbach (2018) suggest it may play a more general role in adaptive task control. The dorsal attention network has been found to be activated during voluntary attention shifts during search for salient visual stimuli (Shulman et al, 2003) and more recent findings indicate that the dorsal attention network may also play a role in external attention, either independently or in task-dependent interaction with the ventral attention network (Ahrens et al, 2019). The ventral attention network has been associated with (exogenous) re-orienting towards task-relevant events that appear at unexpected locations (Ahrens et al, 2019;Corbetta & Shulman, 2002).…”

“…The ventral attention network has been associated with (exogenous) re-orienting towards task-relevant events that appear at unexpected locations (Ahrens et al, 2019;Corbetta & Shulman, 2002). In experimental design, predictive (symbolic) cues are usually used to engage endogenous attention, as opposed to transient/nonpredictive events to test exogenous attention (Ahrens et al, 2019).…”

Degree centrality of key brain regions of attention networks in children with primary nocturnal enuresis: A resting‐state functional magnetic resonance imaging study

“…In normal task experiments with external stimuli, DMN is in the deactivation state (inhibition state). There is no doubt that ventral attention network (VAN) and DAN is synergistic, which is equivalent to the alerter of DAN (Ahrens et al, 2019). VAN is responsible for non‐spatial attention and provides bottom‐up attention orientation, including awareness of significant events, attention reorientation and alert state.…”