Abstract
Visual selection is determined in part by the saliency of stimuli. We assessed the brain mechanisms determining attentional responses to saliency. Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) was applied to the left and right posterior parietal cortices (PPC) immediately before participants were asked to identify a compound letter. rTMS to the right PPC disrupted the guidance of attention toward salient stimuli, whereas rTMS to the left PPC affected the ability to bias selection away from salient stimuli. We conclude that right and left PPC have opposite roles in biasing selection to and from salient stimuli in the environment.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 740-742 |
Number of pages | 3 |
Journal | Nature Neuroscience |
Volume | 9 |
Issue number | 6 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - 16 Jun 2006 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:We would like to thank A. Bagshaw and H. Allen for conducting the scanner sessions. This work was supported by grants from the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council and the Medical Research Council (UK).