Large-scale brain network involved in voluntary orienting of attention
Interaction between dorsal and
ventral attention networks enables dynamic control of attention in relation to top-down goals and bottom-up sensory stimulation.
[1]
The dorsal attention network (DAN ), also known anatomically as the dorsal frontoparietal network (D-FPN ), is a
large-scale brain network of the human brain that is primarily composed of the
intraparietal sulcus (IPS) and
frontal eye fields (FEF).
[2]
[3] It is named and most known for its role in voluntary orienting of
visuospatial attention .
[4]
[5]
As the IPS and FEF were noticed to be activated during many attention-demanding tasks, this network was sometimes referred to as the task-positive network to contrast it against the
task-negative network , or default mode network.
[6] However, this dichotomy is now considered misleading, because the default mode network can be active in certain cognitive tasks.
[7]
Anatomy
The core regions of the DAN are the IPS and FEF of each hemisphere.
[8] Other regions of the network may include the
middle temporal region (MT+),
[6]
superior parietal lobule (SPL),
supplementary eye field (SEF),
[9] and ventral
premotor cortex .
[10]
More recent works indicate that the
cerebellum may participate in this network as well.
[11]
[12] Less studied regions include the right
dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and
superior colliculus .
[10]
Function
The DAN is most prominently involved in goal-directed, voluntary control of visuospatial attention.
[4]
[5] Corbetta et al., who first defined and named the DAN in the early-to-mid 2000s,
[5]
[13] suggest that the network is involved in general top-down selection of stimuli and responses, including other modalities (e.g. auditory, tactile).
[14] However, evidence that the full DAN is involved in auditory top-down attention has been questioned, as tests that make said claims incorporated both auditory and visual stimuli.
[15]
The dorsal attention network dynamically interacts with the
ventral attention network (or
salience network ) according to task demands.
[1] The
inferior frontal junction configures this interaction between the two networks during task switches or attention shifts.
[16]
Clinical significance
Reduced connectivity within the dorsal and ventral attention networks has been linked to higher levels of
attention deficit hyperactivity disorder symptoms.
[17]
[18] Similarly, reduced connectivity between the DAN and the
frontoparietal network is associated with
major depressive disorder .
[19] On the other hand, overactivation of the DAN has been observed in patients with
schizophrenia .
[20]
Nomenclature
There are several variations of this network's name in neuroscience literature, such as the dorsal attention system ,
[1] dorsal frontoparietal attention network ,
[9] and frontoparietal attention network .
[21] Until the discovery of other networks, such as the
frontoparietal control network , the term task-positive network referred to the DAN.
[22] The term task-positive networks is still sometimes used to refer to all non-
default-mode networks.
[23]
In 2019, Uddin et al. proposed that dorsal frontoparietal network (D-FPN ) be used as a standard anatomical name for this network.
[10]
References
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