Global effects of feature-based attention in human visual cortex

Melissa Saenz, Giedrius T Buracas, Geoffrey M Boynton

Abstract: The content of visual experience depends on how selective attention is distributed in the visual field. We used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) in humans to test whether feature-based attention can globally influence visual cortical responses to stimuli outside the attended location. Attention to a stimulus feature (color or direction of motion) increased the response of cortical visual areas to a spatially distant, ignored stimulus that shared the same feature.