Cognitive Control Network Contributions to Memory Guided Visual Attention.
Visual attentional capacity is severely limited, but humans excel in familiar visual contexts, in part because long term memories guide efficient deployment of attention. To investigate the neural substrates that support memory guided visual attention, we performed a set of functional MRI experiments that contrast long term, memory guided visuospatial attention with stimulus guided visuospatial attention in a change detection task. Whereas the dorsal attention network was activated for both forms of attention, the cognitive control network(CCN) was preferentially activated during memory guided attention. Three posterior nodes in the CCN, posterior precuneus, posterior callosal sulcus/mid cingulate, and lateral intraparietal sulcus exhibited the greatest specificity for memory guided attention. These 3 regions exhibit functional connectivity at rest, and we propose that they form a subnetwork within the broader CCN. Based on the task activation patterns, we conclude that the nodes of this subnetwork are preferentially recruited for long term memory guidance of visuospatial attention.
Cerebral cortex