W3480Y WEEK 4: LOCATING AND ATTENDING TO OBJECTS IN SPACE

REQUIRED READING

1. McCloskey, M. (2001). Spatial representation in mind and brain. In In B. Rapp (Ed.), The Handbook of Cognitive Neuropsychology: What Deficits Reveal About the Human Mind, Philadelphia: Psychology Press. (PAGES: 101-107, 117-131.)

2. Hillis, A. E., Rapp, B., Benzing, L., & Caramazza, A. (1998). Dissociable coordinate frames of unilateral spatial neglect: "Viewer-Centered" neglect. Brain and Cognition, 37, 491-526.

3. McCloskey, M., & Rapp, B. (2000). Attention-referenced visual representations: evidence from impaired visual localization. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 26(3), 917-33.

4. Phan, M. L., Schendel, K.L., Recanzone, G.H., Robertson, L.C. (2000). Auditory and visual spatial localization deficits following bilateral parietal lobe lesions in a patient with Balint's syndrome. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 12(4), 583-600.

QUESTIONS FOR CRITICAL THINKING:

1.  These papers describe multiple "frames-of-reference" in which attention may operate. First, carefully describe each of these frames and provide evidence regarding which appear to exist independently of each other (and perhaps which do not). Then, consider whether (in normal cognition) some or all of these frames are "constructed" in serial (i.e., sequentially, in a particular order) or in parallel (i.e., roughly all at the same time). If you argue that they are constructed sequentially, describe what the order might be, based on the evidence from your readings. How might attention operate in these reference frames? Is it actively involved in constructing one (or more) of these reference frames (if so, which)? Or does it have a more passive role - where attention is directed to the frame once it has already been constructed?

2.  Describe the techniques Robertson has used to reduce hemi-spatial neglect in patients with parietal lobe damage and how they might be applied to the neglect patients described in the paper by Hillis et al. (1998). Could any of these techniques be beneficial in ameliorating the visuo-spatial problems of patient AH? If not, do you have any suggestions for strategies that might help AH avoid making any spatial errors (remember that her error rate is about 9-30%, not 100%).

ADDITIONAL READINGS IF YOU WANT TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THE TOPIC:

Rafal, R. (1994). Neglect. Current Opinion in Neurobiology, 4(2), 231-236.

THE classic reference for "Posner's cueing paradigm"

Posner, M. I., Walker, J. A., Friedrich, F. J. & Rafal, R. D. (1984). Effects of parietal injury on covert orienting of attention. Journal of Neuroscience, 4(7), 1863-1874.

More evidence for neglect with other domains/modalities/ types of stimuli:

Behrmann, M., & Moscovitch, M. (1994). Object-centered neglect in patients with unilateral neglect: Effects of left-right coordinates of objects. Journal of Cognitive Neurosci, 6(1), 1-16.

NOTE: I found an error in the figures of the Behrmann & Moscovitch paper. Figures 7 & 8 are switched. When they refer to Figure 7 in the text (e.g., "viewer-environmental coordinates"), they actually are referring to the data that is shown in Figure 8 (and vice-versa). Go by what the axes of the figures show, not by the captions for the figures. Caramazza, A., & Hillis, A. E. (1990). Spatial representation of words in the brain implied by studies of a unilateral neglect patient. Nature, 346, 267-269.

Moscovitch, M., & Behrmann, M. (1994). Coding of spatial information in the somatosensory system: Evidence from patients with neglect following parietal lobe damage. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 6(2), 151-155.

Shillcock, R. C., Kelly, M. L., & Monaghan, P. (1998). Processing of palindromes in neglect dyslexia. NeuroReport, 9(13), 3081-3083.

Vuilleumier, P. & Landis, T. (1998). Illusory contours and spatial neglect. NeuroReport, 9, 2481-2484.

Covert (unconscious) perceptual processing in neglect

Marshall, J. C., & Halligan, P. W. (1988). Blindsight and insight in visuo-spatial neglect. Nature, 336(6201), 766-767.

"Rehabilitation" of neglect

Robertson, I. H. (1999). Cognitive rehabilitation: attention and neglect. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 3(10), 385-393.

Robertson, I. H., Mattingley, J. B., Rorden, C., & Driver, J. (1998). Phasic altering of neglect patients overcomes their spaital deficit in visual awareness. Nature, 395, 169-172.

Cappa, S., Sterzi, R., Vallar, G., & Bisiach, E. (1987). Remission of hemineglect and anosognosia during vetsibular stimulation. Neuropsychologia, 25(5), 775-782.

Neglect in Artists/Representational neglect

Cantagallo, A., & Della Salla, S. (1998). Preserved insight in an artist with extrapersonal spatial neglect. Cortex, 34(2), 163-189.

Guarigila, C., Padovani, A., Pantano, P. & Pizzamiglio, L. (1993). Unilateral neglect restricted to visual imagery. Nature, 364, 235-237.

Balint's syndrome and the interaction of dorsal and ventral pathways

Friedman-Hill, S. R., Robertson, L. C., & Treisman, A. (1995). Parietal contributions to visual feature binding: Evidence from a patient with bilateral lesions. Science, 269, 853-855.

Robertson, L., Treisman, A., Friedman-Hill, S., & Grabowecky, M. (1997). The interaction of spatial and object pathways: evidence from Balint's syndrome. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 9(3), 295-317.

Milner, A. D., & Goodale, M. A. (1995). "Attention, consciousness and the coordination of behavior." In The Visual Brain in Action (pp. 67-86). Oxford University Press: Oxford.