The superior colliculus (SC) has long been known to be part of the network of brain areas involved in spatial attention, but recent findings have dramatically refined our understanding of its functional role. The SC both implements the motor consequences of attention and plays a crucial role in the process of target selection that precedes movement. Moreover, even in the absence of overt orienting movements, SC activity is related to shifts of covert attention and is necessary for the normal control of spatial attention during perceptual judgments. The neuronal circuits that link the SC to spatial attention may include attention-related areas of the cerebral cortex, but recent results show that the SC's contribution involves mechanisms that operate independently of the established signatures of attention in visual cortex. These findings raise new issues and suggest novel possibilities for understanding the brain mechanisms that enable spatial attention.

中文翻译：

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上丘和视觉空间注意。

长期以来，人们都知道上丘 (SC) 是参与空间注意力的大脑区域网络的一部分，但最近的发现极大地改善了我们对其功能作用的理解。SC 既执行注意力的运动结果，又在运动之前的目标选择过程中发挥关键作用。此外，即使没有明显的定向运动，SC 活动也与隐性注意力的转移有关，并且对于知觉判断期间空间注意力的正常控制是必要的。将 SC 与空间注意力联系起来的神经元回路可能包括大脑皮层的注意力相关区域，但最近的结果表明，SC 的贡献涉及独立于视觉皮层中已建立的注意力特征运作的机制。