The cortical dynamics underlying effective switching of auditory spatial attention

Successful rapid deployment of attention to relevant sensory stimuli is critical for survival. In a complex environment, attention can be captured by salient events or be deployed volitionally. Furthermore, when multiple events are of interest concurrently, effective interaction with one's surroundings hinges on efficient top-down control of shifting attention. It has been hypothesized that two separate cortical networks coordinate attention shifts across multiple modalities. However, the cortical dynamics of these networks and their behavioral relevance to switching of auditory attention are unknown. Here we show that the strength of each subject's right temporoparietal junction (RTPJ, part of the ventral network) activation was highly correlated with their behavioral performance in an auditory task. We also provide evidence that the recruitment of the RTPJ likely precedes the right frontal eye fields (FEF; participating in both the dorsal and ventral networks) and middle frontal gyrus (MFG) by around 100 ms when subjects switch their auditory spatial attention. (C) 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.