Attention & Brain Dynamics

Attentional capture, suppression and neural timing

How do unexpected events and task-irrelevant information gain access to cognitive processing—and how can attention be selectively controlled? NHRG combines temporally resolved electrophysiology, fast optical imaging and quantitative signal analysis to investigate mechanisms of attention.

Project distinction: the 2024 auditory-deviance results illustrate the group’s experimental and neuroimaging methods. They are related scientific evidence, not results of the separately funded 2025–2029 visual-attention grant.

Complementary methods

Experimental and computational approaches

EEG and ERP

Quantification of event-related cortical responses and temporally resolved processing of standard versus unexpected sensory events.

Fast optical neuroimaging

Optical signals provide complementary information on cortical responses, including regions in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex.

Computational signal analysis

Waveform comparisons, spatiotemporal localization and quantitative analysis of neural and hemodynamic signals.

Visual-attention studies

The ongoing SNSF program studies the attraction and suppression of attention by visual stimuli.

Original peer-reviewed illustrations

Published EEG and EROS results from auditory-deviance research

**Figure 2 · Jaquerod et al. (2024).** Standard and deviant auditory stimuli produce differing event-related potentials and scalp maps across time. Original publication ↗

**Figure 3 · Jaquerod et al. (2024).** Contrasts of optical EROS responses to deviant versus standard tones, including prefrontal anatomical localization. Original publication ↗

Funded research

Funded program and scientific interpretation

The ongoing research program Attraction and suppression of attention: Unravelling the Intricacies of Visual Capture extends the group’s investigation of attentional dynamics. The 2024 published auditory-deviance study demonstrated prefrontal involvement in processing unexpected sounds. The project’s current visual-attention hypotheses and future outcomes should be reported separately from completed auditory experiments.

SNSF-funded project

Project period: March 2025–February 2029 (based on the grant details provided by NHRG).

Swiss National Science Foundation project record ↗

References & provenance

Selected publications

Jaquerod, M. E., Knight, R. S., Lintas, A., & Villa, A. E. P. (2024). A Dual Role for the Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortex (DLPFC) in Auditory Deviance Detection. Brain Sciences 14(10), 994.

doi:10.3390/brainsci14100994 ↗

Dotare, M., et al. (2020). Attention Networks in ADHD Adults after Working Memory Training with a Dual n-Back Task. Brain Sciences 10(10), 715.

doi:10.3390/brainsci10100715 ↗

Original published figures are reproduced with acknowledgement and links to their source articles. NHRG-supplied and openly licensed images are stored locally in this website.