Control of goal-directed and stimulus-driven attention

Corbetta, M. & Shulam, G.L. (March 2002). Control of goal-directed and stimulus-driven attention in the brain. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, Volume 3, 201 - 215.

This paper proposes that visual attention (orienting) is controlled by two interacting networks. One system which is centered on the dorsal posterior parietal and frontal cortex, is involved in the cognitive, top-down, goal-directed selection of sensory information and responses. The second system, largely lateralized to the right hemisphere, is centered on the temporoparietal and ventral frontal cortex and is specialized for the detection of behaviorally-relevant stimuli, particularly when they are salient or unexpected. The second network reflects stimulus-driven, bottom-up control of attention, and can be seen as a 'circuit-breaker' of the first network, interrupting ongoing cognitive activity and directing attention to stimuli outside the focus of current processing when necessary.