QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

HOME  |   SEARCH  |   ARCHIVE  |   SUBSCRIBE  |   CONTACT  |   HELP

The Journal of Neuroscience, October 17, 2007, 27(42):11271-11278; doi:10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0599-07.2007

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Supplemental Data Submit an eLetter Alert me when this article is cited Alert me when eLetters are posted Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in Web of Science Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Web of Science (6) Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Siman-Tov, T. Articles by Hendler, T. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Siman-Tov, T. Articles by Hendler, T.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

Behavioral/Systems/Cognitive
Bihemispheric Leftward Bias in a Visuospatial Attention-Related Network

Tali Siman-Tov,¹ Avi Mendelsohn,¹ Tom Schonberg,¹ Galia Avidan,^1,2 Ilana Podlipsky,¹ Luiz Pessoa,^3,4 Natan Gadoth,^5,6 Leslie G. Ungerleider,³ and Talma Hendler^1,5

¹Functional Brain Imaging Unit, Wohl Institute for Advanced Imaging, Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center, Tel Aviv 64239, Israel, ²Department of Behavioral Sciences, Ben Gurion University of the Negev, Be'er Sheva 84105, Israel, ³Laboratory of Brain and Cognition, National Institute of Mental Health, Bethesda, Maryland 20892, ⁴Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of Indiana, Bloomington, Indiana 47405, ⁵Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 69978, Israel, and ⁶Department of Neurology, Ma'ayanei HaYeshua Medical Center, Bnei Brak 51544, Israel

Correspondence should be addressed to Dr. Talma Hendler, Functional Brain Imaging Unit, Wohl Institute for Advanced Imaging, Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center, 6 Weizmann Street, Tel Aviv 64239, Israel. Email: talma{at}tasmc.health.gov.il

Asymmetry of spatial attention has long been described in both disease (hemispatial neglect) and healthy (pseudoneglect) states. Although right-hemisphere specialization for spatial attention has been suggested, the exact neural mechanisms of asymmetry have not been deciphered yet. A recent functional magnetic resonance imaging study from our laboratory serendipitously revealed bihemispheric left-hemifield superiority in activation of a visuospatial attention-related network. Nineteen right-handed healthy adult females participated in two experiments of visual half-field presentation. Either facial expressions (experiment 1) or house images (experiment 2) were presented unilaterally and parafoveally for 150 ms while subjects were engaging a central fixation task. Brain regions previously associated with a visuospatial attention network, in both hemispheres, were found to be more robustly activated by left visual field stimuli. The consistency of this finding with manifestations of attention lateralization is discussed, and a revised model based on neural connectivity asymmetry is proposed. Support for the revised model is given by a dynamic causal modeling analysis. Unraveling the basis for attention asymmetry may lead to better understanding of the pathogenesis of attention disorders, followed by improved diagnosis and treatment. Additionally, the proposed model for asymmetry of visuospatial attention might provide important insights into the mechanisms underlying functional brain lateralization in general.

Key words: attention; DCM; fMRI; intraparietal sulcus; lateralization; neglect

---

Received Feb. 11, 2007; revised June 11, 2007; accepted June 18, 2007.

Correspondence should be addressed to Dr. Talma Hendler, Functional Brain Imaging Unit, Wohl Institute for Advanced Imaging, Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center, 6 Weizmann Street, Tel Aviv 64239, Israel. Email: talma{at}tasmc.health.gov.il

This article has been cited by other articles:

				C. A. Dickinson and H. Intraub Spatial asymmetries in viewing and remembering scenes: Consequences of an attentional bias? Atten Percept Psychophys, August 1, 2009; 71(6): 1251 - 1262. [Abstract] [PDF]

				S. L. Bressler, W. Tang, C. M. Sylvester, G. L. Shulman, and M. Corbetta Top-Down Control of Human Visual Cortex by Frontal and Parietal Cortex in Anticipatory Visual Spatial Attention J. Neurosci., October 1, 2008; 28(40): 10056 - 10061. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home  |   Search  |   Archive  |   Subscribe  |   Contact  |   Help