Differential Contributions of the Intraparietal Sulcus and the Inferior Parietal Lobe to Attentional Blink: Evidence from Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation

Abstract

When two targets (T1 and T2) are to be identified in rapid serial visual presentation, the response to T1 induces impairment of T2 report if T2 appears within 500 msec after T1 (attentional blink: AB). AB is thought to reflect temporal limitations of attention which affect target perception. Recent research suggests that the intraparietal sulcus (IPS) contributes to an attentional set associated with task goals, whereas the inferior parietal lobe (IPL) is associated with the disengagement and reorienting of attention to a relevant stimulus presented outside the current focus of attention. We investigated respective involvement of the IPS and the IPL in AB using transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS). The results of Experiment 1 showed that the magnitude of AB deficit decreased TMS disrupted activity of the IPS after T1 onset. In addition, an increased AB deficit occurred when TMS was delivered over the IPS or IPL after T2 onset. In Experiment 2, where participants were instructed to ignore T1, they showed an AB-like T2 deficit only when TMS was delivered to the IPS after a T2 onset. Findings are discussed in terms of hypotheses about the respective roles of the IPS, in realizing an attentional set, and the IPL, in contributing to a disengagement of attention (from T1 to T2) during an AB period.

Experimental and Theoretical Approaches to Conscious Processing

“…However, recent evidence actually supports the GNW account. In normal subjects, transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) over either parietal or prefrontal cortex can prevent conscious perception and even trigger a sudden subjective disappearance of visual stimulis during prolonged fixation (Kanai et al, 2008), change blindness (Beck et al, 2006), binocularly rivalry (Carmel et al, 2010), inattentional blindness (Babiloni et al, 2007), and attentional blink paradigms (Kihara et al, 2010). Over prefrontal cortex, bilateral theta-burst TMS leads to a reduction of subjective visibility with preserved objective sensori-motor performance (Rounis et al, 2010).…”

Synchronization of fronto-parietal beta and theta networks as a signature of visual awareness in neglect

“…Dehaene and Changeux, 2011;Driver and Vuilleumier, 2001;Rees, 2013). Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) inducing transient dysfunction in parietal or prefrontal areas can prevent conscious perception and even trigger sudden subjective disappearance of visual stimuli (Kanai et al, 2008;Beck et al, 2006;Carmel et al, 2010;Babiloni et al, 2007;Kihara et al, 2011), a reduction of subjective visibility (Rounis et al, 2010), or a hemineglect-like profile (Sack, 2010). Fronto-parietal networks have also been demonstrated to subserve executive control and working memory (Egner et al, 2008;Bressler and Menon, 2010;Menon, 2013;Rottschy et al, 2012Rottschy et al, , 2013, with prominent activations found in the right hemisphere (Hardwick et al, 2013).…”

Attentional disengagement in adults with Williams syndrome

“…The AB relies on a highly distributed parietofrontal network (Kranczioch et al, 2005; Marois et al, 2000). The intraparietal lobe (IPL) is hypothesized to send a signal to the intraparietal sulcus (IPS) telling it to disengage from its current attentional set (Corbetta et al, 2008; Kihara et al, 2011). Structural and functional abnormalities of the IPS in WS, including reduced sulcal depth, reduced gray matter, and reduced connectivity between the IPS and other processing regions (Meyer-Lindenberg et al, 2004; Sarpal et al, 2008), may disrupt this coordination between the IPS and IPL, leading to the prolonged AB in WS.…”