Allocation of attention to the front of an object precedes orientation-dependent asymmetries of the rotation-related negativity
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1
The University of Auckland, School of Psychology, New Zealand
Aims: Mental rotation is thought to underlie successful decisions about whether a rotated object would face to the left or to the right if imagined at the upright. The typical response time function produced by these decisions is asymmetric whereby response times are faster for objects that face in the direction of the shortest angular rotation required. The rotation-related negativity (RRN) is a late waveform indexing the process of mental rotation. The RRN is characterised by increases in negativity for the mental rotation of stimuli presented further from the upright. If information involving the front of an object influences the mental rotation of that object then there should be a neural marker of the allocation of attention to the front of an object, specifically the N2pc. The orientation-dependent asymmetries found in response times should also be evident in the RRN. Method: Event-related potentials were recorded while 24 participants (12 male) made decisions regarding whether rotated objects would face to the left or to the right when imagined at the upright. Results: An N2pc component was observed, whereby activation was more negative in the hemisphere contralateral to the location of the front of an object compared to activation in the ipsilateral hemisphere. Asymmetries, similar to those found in response times, were also found in the rotation-related negativity. Conclusions: These results suggest that the N2pc reflects attention being directed to the front of an object prior to mental rotation. Information about the front of an object may bias the direction in which rotation occurs. This means that the shortest direction is not always employed, which is reflected in the RRN.
Keywords:
N2pc component,
rotation-related negativity,
mental rotation,
event related potentials (ERP),
visual attention,
Electroencephalography (EEG)
Conference:
ACNS-2013 Australasian Cognitive Neuroscience Society Conference, Clayton, Melbourne, Australia, 28 Nov - 1 Dec, 2013.
Presentation Type:
Poster
Topic:
Attention
Citation:
Searle
JA and
Hamm
JP
(2013). Allocation of attention to the front of an object precedes orientation-dependent asymmetries of the rotation-related negativity.
Conference Abstract:
ACNS-2013 Australasian Cognitive Neuroscience Society Conference.
doi: 10.3389/conf.fnhum.2013.212.00137
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Received:
15 Oct 2013;
Published Online:
25 Nov 2013.
*
Correspondence:
Miss. Jordan A Searle, The University of Auckland, School of Psychology, Auckland, New Zealand, jsea025@aucklanduni.ac.nz