Multi-target attention and visual short-term memory capacity are closely linked in the intraparietal sulcus|神经科学数据集|多目标注意力数据集

The existing literature suggests a critical role for both the right intraparietal sulcus (IPS) and the right temporo-parietal junction (TPJ) in our ability to attend to multiple simultaneously-presented lateralised targets (multi-target attention), and the failure of this ability in extinction patients. Currently, however, the precise role of each of these areas in multi-target attention is unclear. In this study, we combined the theory of visual attention (TVA) with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) guided continuous theta burst stimulation (cTBS) in neurologically healthy subjects to directly investigate the role of the right IPS and TPJ in multi-target attention. Our results show that cTBS at an area of the right IPS associated with multi-target attention elicits a reduction of visual short-term memory capacity. This suggests that the right IPS is associated with a general capacity-limited encoding mechanism that is engaged regardless of whether targets have to be attended or remembered. Curiously, however, cTBS to the right IPS failed to elicit extinction-like behaviour in our study, supporting previous suggestions that different areas of the right IPS may provide different contributions to multi-target attention. CTBS to the right TPJ failed to induce a change in either TVA parameters or extinction-like behaviour.

现有文献指出，右脑顶内沟（IPS）和右脑颞顶交界（TPJ）在人类对同时呈现的多个定位目标进行注意（多目标注意）的能力中扮演着至关重要的角色，而这一能力的缺失在灭绝患者中尤为明显。然而，目前这些区域在多目标注意中的确切作用尚不明确。在本研究中，我们将视觉注意理论（TVA）与功能性磁共振成像（fMRI）引导的持续θ波爆发刺激（cTBS）相结合，对神经功能正常的受试者进行直接研究，以探究右脑IPS和TPJ在多目标注意中的作用。我们的研究结果表明，针对与多目标注意相关的右脑IPS区域的cTBS可以引发视觉短期记忆容量的降低。这表明右脑IPS与一种一般性的、能力受限的编码机制相关联，该机制在目标需要被注意或记忆的情况下均会被激活。然而，令人好奇的是，本研究中针对右脑IPS的cTBS未能引发灭绝样行为，这与之前关于不同区域的右脑IPS可能对多目标注意提供不同贡献的推测相吻合。对右脑TPJ的cTBS未能引起TVA参数或灭绝样行为的改变。