Neural mechanisms of spatial attention in the cat

Spatial attention is an important biological tool that helps animals to orient in their environment as well as to detect food and predators. We have investigated the neural basis of attentional mechanisms with a combined approach of behavioral testing, ‘virtual lesion’ techniques and computational modeling.

Cats with unilateral deactivations of either posterior parietal cortex or the superior colliculus exhibited a robust hemineglect for all novel visual stimuli presented in the contralateral space. Bilateral deactivation of the same neural structures, however, led to restoration of spatial attentional behavior. A simple mathematical model, based on known cortical and midbrain connectivity of the cat, was used to simulate the neural mechanisms underlying intact, unilaterally impaired and bilaterally restored attentional behavior, as well as to produce predictions for further experiments. Our results outline the contributions of cortical and subcortical stations to attention-guided behavior, and characterize functional interactions between structures in either half of the brain.