# Examining Flexibility in Visual Attentional Control

> **NIH NIH R15** · LEHIGH UNIVERSITY · 2020 · $335,569

## Abstract

Project Summary/ Abstract
In daily life, it is critical that we are able to direct our visual attention to information that is important for our
tasks while avoiding distracting information. To control our attention, we have to configure our brain to shift
how incoming visual signals are processed. All major theories of attention contain the idea of attentional
templates, an internal representation of our search goals. In spite of the consensus on the concept of
attentional templates, the mechanisms by which attentional templates operate are still unclear. Understanding
the mechanism of attentional templates is critical for developing models of the attentional system so that we
may fully understand what is going wrong in disorders associated with attention. This project focuses on
understanding the mechanisms underlying a newly discovered aspect of attentional control, ​active attentional
suppression​, driven by negative templates. General executive functions include aspects of inhibition and
selective attention, and deficits in executive functions have been highlighted in multiple mental health disorders
including addiction, ADHD, and Schizophrenia (Diamond, 2013). Negative templates include aspects of
inhibition and selective attention, and tap into a unique aspect of executive control within the visual system. We
will take neurophysiological measurements to examine the neural underpinnings of active attentional
suppression, and use measures of human behavior including eye tracking to interrogate new questions about
the nature of attentional control. Understanding how negative templates are implemented will illuminate the
mechanisms underlying attentional control more broadly.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9962741
- **Project number:** 1R15EY030247-01A1
- **Recipient organization:** LEHIGH UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Nancy Carlisle
- **Activity code:** R15 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $335,569
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2020-09-01 → 2024-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9962741

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9962741, Examining Flexibility in Visual Attentional Control (1R15EY030247-01A1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9962741. Licensed CC0.

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