# Defining the Neural Circuits of Attention Control: A New Hypothesis

> **NIH NIH R01** · ROCKEFELLER UNIVERSITY · 2021 · $658,309

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
The recent discovery of a putative attention control area shows that there is a fundamental gap in our
understanding of the neural mechanisms of attentional control. The existence of this conceptual gap constitutes
an important problem because, until it is filled, we will not be able to explain a key cognitive function, the flexible
selection of information according to current demands and interests, nor to appropriately treat impairments of
attention. The long-term goal of this research is to understand how sensory processing and cognitive control
mechanisms interact to generate intelligent behavior. The overall objective of this proposal is the determination
of the functional organization of the neural circuits supporting attentional control and the mechanisms they are
implementing to achieve this function. The experimental model utilizes brain-wide imaging of functional
specializations for attention followed by the targeted determination of local neural processes. It allows to test the
central hypothesis that there is at least one area in the temporal lobe that is critical for the endogenous control
of visual attention. The rationale for this proposal is that completion of the research will re-define endogenous
attentional control circuits, which is of direct relevance to neurological practice. The central hypothesis will be
tested through four specific aims: Aim1 will determine, using whole-brain functional magnetic resonance imaging
(fMRI) and targeted single-unit electrophysiology, the functional specializations of visual attentional control areas
and test the working hypothesis that endogenous attention is controlled by specific set of areas sharing a similar
organization across species. Aim 2 will determine population codes and dynamics controlling attention and test
the working hypothesis that a temporal and a parietal area control the focus of attention in similar ways, yet with
differential coupling to its expression into action. Aim 3 will determine the network structure of attentional control
areas and test the working hypothesis that the three regions of attentional control are selectively interconnected
to form an integrated network of attentional control. Aim 4 will determine the neural mechanisms of visual
attentional control over sensory areas and behavior through artificial activation and inactivation during attentive
visual processing and test the working hypothesis that a recently discovered temporal lobe area exerts
attentional control. The approach is innovative, because it challenges long-held views on the neural circuits of
attention and because it introduces a new multi-modal experimental paradigm that promises to shift the approach
to neural systems analysis in the cognitive neurosciences. The proposed research is significant, because
discovery and characterization of a new attentional control area will fundamentally alter current concepts of
attention and brain organization, and because it overcomes a c...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10136723
- **Project number:** 5R01MH120288-02
- **Recipient organization:** ROCKEFELLER UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Winrich Freiwald
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $658,309
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2020-04-01 → 2025-01-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10136723

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10136723, Defining the Neural Circuits of Attention Control: A New Hypothesis (5R01MH120288-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10136723. Licensed CC0.

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