Interactions Between Attentional Networks and Their Influence on Perception: a Project in Healthy Subjects and Hemispatial Neglect Patients

Detailed Summary

Attention can be defined as the preparedness to rapidly and accurately respond to stimuli coming from the investigators environment and to effectively select between relevant and irrelevant information. According to a current model, visual attentional control is based on two separate groups of brain regions, so called brain networks. These networks control different attentional aspects (e.g., spatial/non-spatial attention) and they interact with each other. A disruption of these interactions can lead to attentional disorders such as hemispatial neglect. Patients with hemispatial neglect have difficulties directing their attention to the left visual field and they act as though the latter does not exist. To date, the interactions between the two attentional networks are poorly understood. The aim of this study consists in further clarifying different aspects of these interactions and their influence on visual perception in healthy participants and in patients with hemispatial neglect. Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) will be the principal method applied in this study. TMS is a painless and non-invasive method, with which the activity of brain areas can be influenced temporarily. This allows us to draw conclusions regarding the functions and interactions of these brain areas. This study is designed to have a significant impact on the basic understanding of attentional control in the human brain and it can benefit the comprehension and treatment of attentional disorders, such as hemispatial neglect.

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