Divided Attention Revisited: Selection Based on Location or Pitch.

Abstract

The affect of attention on the level of cortical activity in human subjects was investigated by use of a novel paradigm involving the rapid and simultaneous presentation of two sequences of tones having different sets of frequencies. Measurements of the magnetic field of both the N100 and P200 components originating in auditory cortex showed enhancement for the attended sequence in comparison with the ignored sequence. This was observed whether the sequences were presented to different ears or the same ear. Thus pitch alone is a sufficient clue for attention. These results are also in general agreement with filter theories that postulate the attention of ignored stimuli prior to conscious perception.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Feb 28, 1988
Accession Number
ADA193814

Entities

People

  • Lloyd Kaufman
  • S. Curtis
  • Samuel J. Williamson

Organizations

  • New York University

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Sensors

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Air Force
  • Amplitude
  • Analysis Of Variance
  • Availability
  • Classification
  • Ear
  • Electrophysiological Phenomena
  • Frequency
  • Harmonics
  • Magnetic Fields
  • Measurement
  • New York
  • Psychology
  • Repetition Rate
  • Scientific Research
  • Security
  • Universities

Fields of Study

  • Biology
  • Psychology

Readers

  • Brain and Cognitive Science; Experimental Psychology; Cognitive Neuroscience
  • Computational Modeling and Simulation