每周论坛之十四（总第229期）：莫测（法国国家科学研究中心），2019年12月9日下午

每周论坛之十四  （总第229期）

报告人：莫测 博士

报告人单位：法国国家科学研究中心

题目：Spatial and Temporal Dimensions of Attentional Selection Mechanisms

时间：2019年12月 9 日 （周一，14:20-15:40）

地点：中山大学东校园心理学系（南学院楼C座）305

报告简介：

    Classical cognitive theories of attention cast attentional selection as one or more moving spotlights in visual space, which are nonetheless challenged by more recent theories and experimental findings in both the spatial and temporal dimensions. Spatially, attention priority map theory posits that attentional selection is implemented via a series of continuous topographic representations of visual space known as attention priority maps at multiple levels of the visual hierarchy, rather than via attention spotlights that binarize the spatial distribution of attention resources. Temporally, rhythmic sampling theories of attention posit that the enhancement of the target information representation is a temporally rhythmic rather than a sustained time-invariant process.

    In this talk, I will present our recent findings of attentional selection mechanisms in both the spatial and the temporal dimension. In the first study, we investigated the neural correlate of attention priority map of complex natural stimuli, namely faces. We reconstructed the attention-dependent topographic representation of faces in V1 and V2/3, by projecting the attention-related neural activity patterns onto the visual space via fMRI-based population receptive field mapping. We found that attention priority maps of complex natural stimuli could be found even in the early visual cortex, which are modulated by image configuration in visual areas beyond V1. In the second study, we investigated the neural mechanism underlying concurrent feature-based attention. We tracked the fine temporal dynamics of the attended orientation representations by applying inverted encoding model (IEM) on the human MEG data. We found that the two orientation representations alternate with each other and undergo a theta-band rhythmic fluctuation over time. These findings filled the critical gaps in the current theories of attention in both dimensions, and made headways towards unraveling the cognitive and neural mechanisms of attentional selection

报告人简介：

    莫测博士毕业于北京大学生命科学联合中心，获整合生命科学（心理学）博士学位，现为法国国家科学研究中心博士后，研究兴趣为视知觉与注意的认知神经机制。莫测博士在校期间曾获国家奖学金、北京大学校长奖学金、北京大学三好学生、石青云院士基金奖、Cognitive Neuroscience Society年会Graduate Student’s Award等多项荣誉，于Nature Communications, Journal of Neuroscience等高水平学术期刊发表文章多篇。