Abstract
The present study investigated the neural basis of attention in the somato-sensory
system. Subjects directed their attention towards their left or right hand while functional
MRI data was collected during tactile stimulation of the fingers. Activations evoked
by tactile stimuli when a stimulated hand was attended vs. unattended were contrasted.
The tactile stimuli elicited hemodynamic responses in the contralateral primary and
secondary somatosensory cortex. No attentional modulations of the BOLD-response could
be observed in these regions. However, attention-related modulations were observed
at more anterior locations in the ipsi- and contralateral primary motor cortex and
in the supplementary motor area. This pattern of results suggests, that attention
to somato-sensory events is directly linked to the motor system and the preparation
for action. This mechanism appears to be in stark contrast to visual or auditory attention,
which primarily serve to separate relevant from irrelevant information.
Keywords
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: January 27, 2009
Accepted:
December 3,
2008
Received in revised form:
December 1,
2008
Received:
April 29,
2008
Identification
Copyright
© 2008 Elsevier B.V. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
