PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Michael Jigo
AU  - Mengyuan Gong
AU  - Taosheng Liu
TI  - Neural Determinants of Task Performance during Feature-Based Attention in Human Cortex
AID  - 10.1523/ENEURO.0375-17.2018
DP  - 2018 Jan 01
TA  - eneuro
PG  - ENEURO.0375-17.2018
VI  - 5
IP  - 1
4099  - http://www.eneuro.org/content/5/1/ENEURO.0375-17.2018.short
4100  - http://www.eneuro.org/content/5/1/ENEURO.0375-17.2018.full
SO  - eNeuro2018 Jan 01; 5
AB  - Studies of feature-based attention have associated activity in a dorsal frontoparietal network with putative attentional priority signals. Yet, how this neural activity mediates attentional selection and whether it guides behavior are fundamental questions that require investigation. We reasoned that endogenous fluctuations in the quality of attentional priority should influence task performance. Human subjects detected a speed increment while viewing clockwise (CW) or counterclockwise (CCW) motion (baseline task) or while attending to either direction amid distracters (attention task). In an fMRI experiment, direction-specific neural pattern similarity between the baseline task and the attention task revealed a higher level of similarity for correct than incorrect trials in frontoparietal regions. Using transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), we disrupted posterior parietal cortex (PPC) and found a selective deficit in the attention task, but not in the baseline task, demonstrating the necessity of this cortical area during feature-based attention. These results reveal that frontoparietal areas maintain attentional priority that facilitates successful behavioral selection.