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. 2008 Dec 17;28(51):13786-92.
doi: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.1026-08.2008.

Attention enhances the neural processing of relevant features and suppresses the processing of irrelevant features in humans: a functional magnetic resonance imaging study of the Stroop task

Thad A Polk  1 , Robert M Drake, John J Jonides, Mason R Smith, Edward E Smith
Affiliations

Attention enhances the neural processing of relevant features and suppresses the processing of irrelevant features in humans: a functional magnetic resonance imaging study of the Stroop task

Thad A Polk et al. J Neurosci. .

Abstract

We present a functional MRI experiment investigating the neural basis of feature-based attention in humans using the Stroop task. Cortical areas specifically involved in color processing and word reading were first identified in individual participants using independent tests. These areas were then probed during the Stroop task (in which participants must selectively attend to the font color of a word while ignoring the word itself). We found that activation in functionally defined color areas increased during the task relative to a neutral color-naming task while activation in functionally defined word areas decreased. These results are consistent with a biased competition model of feature-based attention in which the processing of attended features is enhanced and the processing of ignored features is suppressed.

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Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Stimuli used in the area identification runs. A, Stimuli used to identify color areas: color patterns (top), gray patterns (bottom), and fixation. B, Stimuli used to identify word areas: words (top), consonant strings (bottom), and fixation.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Stimuli for color naming in the Stroop (top row) and neutral (bottom row) conditions.
Figure 3.
Figure 3.
Behavioral Stroop effect in individual participants. The black bars correspond to the RT in the neutral condition for each individual participant. The white part of each bar represents the difference in RT between the Stroop and neutral conditions (the Stroop effect). The group averages are presented on the right of the figure.
Figure 4.
Figure 4.
Whole-brain group analysis of activation in the Stroop versus neutral contrast. Colors indicate activations that passed an uncorrected threshold of p < 0.001. The left hemisphere is on the left.
Figure 5.
Figure 5.
Average t value for the Stroop versus neutral contrast in the color (black bars) and word areas (white bars) of individual participants. Activity in the color area tended to be enhanced while activity in the word area tended to be suppressed. The group averages are presented on the right of the figure.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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