The neuropharmacology of attentional modulation in primate visual cortex

by Vera Katharina Veith
Doctoral thesis
Date of Examination:2016-03-04
Date of issue:2016-09-30
Advisor:Prof. Dr. Stefan Treue
Referee:Prof. Dr. Hansjörg Scherberger
Referee:Prof. Dr. Melanie Wilke
Referee:Prof. Dr. Tobias Moser
Referee:PD Dr. Peter Dechent
Referee:Prof. Dr. Siegrid Loewel
Persistent Address: http://dx.doi.org/10.53846/goediss-5875

 

 

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Abstract

English

This thesis aims to shed light on the mechanisms of spatial attention, a selective process allowing prioritizing spatial locations in the visual field, on a psychophysical as well as on a perceptual level. The first and the second manuscript address the psychophysical aspects of spatial attention. Here, I investigated the influence of varying magnitudes of spatial attention on human subjects’ performance in discriminating visual motion directions. With the chosen stimuli I aim to target area MT, an area in the extrastriate cortex thought to underlie the perception of linear motion. As area MT is involved in early stages of cortical processing, I was targeting bilateral vs. unilateral visual field differences in the first manuscript. In the second manuscript I was interested to equate the effects of attention with the effects of signal strength and to measure their individual as well as their interactive influence on perceptual performance. The third and the fourth manuscript address physiological aspects, in particular the neuropharmacology of spatial attention. The focus of the third manuscript lies on the methodological approach of pressure injection. This method allows a reversible pharmacological manipulation of the direct vicinity of the recording electrode and therefore exerts temporary influence on the local neurotransmitter network. Using this method, I investigated the cholinergic contribution to spatial attention modulation in the macaque monkey medial temporal area MT. 
Keywords: Attention; Acetylcholine; Neuropharmacology; Macaque monkey
 
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