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    The N2cc component as an electrophysiological marker of space-based and feature-based attentional target selection processes in touch

    Katus, Tobias and Eimer, Martin (2019) The N2cc component as an electrophysiological marker of space-based and feature-based attentional target selection processes in touch. Psychophysiology 56 (9), e13391. ISSN 0048-5772.

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    Abstract

    An electrophysiological correlate of attentional target selection processes in touch (N2cc component) has recently been discovered in lateralized tactile working memory experiments. This tactile N2cc emerges at the same time as the visual N2pc component, but has a different modality-specific topography over central somatosensory areas. Here, we investigated links between N2cc components and the space-based versus feature-based attentional selection of task-relevant tactile stimuli. On each trial, a pair of tactile items was presented simultaneously to one finger on the left and right hand. Target stimuli were defined by their location (e.g., left index finger; Spatial Attention Task), by a non-spatial feature (continuous versus pulsed; Feature-based Attention Task), or by a combination of spatial and non-spatial features (Conjunction Task). Reliable N2cc components were observed in all three tasks. They emerged considerably earlier in the Spatial Attention Task than in the Feature-based Attention Task, suggesting that space-based selection mechanisms in touch operate faster than feature-guided mechanisms. The temporal pattern of N2cc components observed in the Conjunction Task revealed that space-based and feature-based attention both contributed to target selection, which was initially driven primarily by spatial location. Overall, these findings establish the N2cc component as a new electrophysiological marker of the selective attentional processing of task-relevant stimuli in touch.

    Metadata

    Item Type: Article
    Additional Information: This is the peer reviewed version of the article, which has been published in final form at the link above. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Self-Archiving.
    Keyword(s) / Subject(s): electroencephalography (EEG), event‐related potentials (ERPs), feature‐based attention, somatosensory processing, spatial attention
    School: Birkbeck Faculties and Schools > Faculty of Science > School of Psychological Sciences
    Depositing User: Martin Eimer
    Date Deposited: 30 Apr 2019 15:20
    Last Modified: 02 Aug 2023 17:51
    URI: https://eprints.bbk.ac.uk/id/eprint/27332

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