Conscious perception depends not only on sensory input, but also on attention [1, 2]. Recent studies in monkeys [3-6] and humans [7-12] suggest that influences of spatial attention on visual awareness may reflect top-down influences on excitability of visual cortex. Here we tested this specifically, by providing direct input into human visual cortex via cortical transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) to produce illusory visual percepts, called phosphenes. We found that a lower TMS intensity was needed to elicit a conscious phosphene when its apparent spatial location was attended, rather than unattended. Our results indicate that spatial attention can enhance visual-cortex excitability, and visual awareness, even when sensory signals from the eye via the thalamic pathway are bypassed.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2006.11.063 | DOI Listing |
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Department of Integrative Biology, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK, 74078, USA.
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View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Hazard Mater
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School of Chemistry and Environment, Guangdong Provincial Observation and Research Station for Tropical Ocean Environment in Western Coastal Water, Guangdong Ocean University, Zhanjiang 524088, China.
Microplastic pollution, a major global environmental issue, is gaining heightened attention worldwide. Marginal seas are particularly susceptible to microplastic contamination, yet data on microplastics in marine sediments remain scarce, especially in the Beibu Gulf. This study presents a large-scale investigation of microplastics in the surface sediments of the Beibu Gulf to deciphering their distribution, sources and risk to marginal seas ecosystems.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBrain Lang
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Key Laboratory of Brain Functional Genomics (MOE & STCSM), Affiliated Mental Health Center (ECNU), Institute of Brain and Education Innovation, School of Psychology and Cognitive Science, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200062, China; Shanghai Changning Mental Health Center, Shanghai 200335, China; Shanghai Center for Brain Science and Brain-Inspired Technology, East China Normal University, China; NYU-ECNU Institute of Brain and Cognitive Science, New York University, Shanghai, China. Electronic address:
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View Article and Find Full Text PDFMar Pollut Bull
January 2025
JK Laxmipat University, Jaipur, Rajasthan, India.
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View Article and Find Full Text PDFNeural Netw
January 2025
School of Computer Science and Technology, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430070, Hubei, China.
In the Imbalanced Multivariate Time Series Classification (ImMTSC) task, minority-class instances typically correspond to critical events, such as system faults in power grids or abnormal health occurrences in medical monitoring. Despite being rare and random, these events are highly significant. The dynamic spatial-temporal relationships between minority-class instances and other instances make them more prone to interference from neighboring instances during classification.
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