Attention enhances the neural processing of relevant features and suppresses the processing of irrelevant features in humans: a functional magnetic resonance imaging study of the Stroop task.

We present a functional MRI experiment investigating the neural basis of feature-based attention in humans using the Stroop task. Cortical areas specifically involved in color processing and word reading were first identified in individual participants using independent tests. These areas were then probed during the Stroop task (in which participants must selectively attend to the font color of a word while ignoring the word itself).