Since our environment typically contains more information than can be processed at any one time due to the limited capacity of our visual system, we are bound to differentiate between relevant and irrelevant information. This process, termed attentional selection, is usually categorized into bottom-up and top-down processes. However, recent research suggests reward might also be an important factor in guiding attention. Monetary reward can bias attentional selection in favor of task-relevant targets and reduce the efficiency of visual search when a reward-associated, but task-irrelevant distractor is present. This study is the first to investigate reward-related target and distractor processing in an additional singleton task using neurophysiological measures and source space analysis. Based on previous studies, we hypothesized that source space analysis would find enhanced neural activity in regions of the value-based attention network, such as the visual cortex and the anterior cingulate. Additionally, we went further and explored the time courses of the underlying attentional mechanisms. Our neurophysiological results showed that rewarding distractors led to a stronger attentional capture. In line with this, we found that reward-associated distractors (compared with reward-associated targets) enhanced activation in frontal regions, indicating the involvement of top-down control processes. As hypothesized, source space analysis demonstrated that reward-related targets and reward-related distractors elicited activation in regions of the value-based attention network. However, these activations showed time-dependent differences, indicating that the neural mechanisms underlying reward biasing might be different for task-relevant and task-irrelevant stimuli.

由于我们的视觉系统容量有限，我们的环境通常包含的信息多于任何一次可以处理的信息，因此我们必须区分相关信息和不相关信息。这个过程称为注意力选择，通常分为自下而上和自上而下的过程。然而，最近的研究表明奖励也可能是引导注意力的一个重要因素。当存在与奖励相关但与任务无关的干扰因素时，金钱奖励可能会使注意力选择偏向于与任务相关的目标，并降低视觉搜索的效率。这项研究是第一个使用神经生理学测量和源空间分析在额外的单例任务中研究与奖励相关的目标和干扰物处理的研究。根据之前的研究，我们假设源空间分析会发现基于价值的注意力网络区域（例如视觉皮层和前扣带回）的神经活动增强。此外，我们进一步探索了潜在注意力机制的时间过程。我们的神经生理学结果表明，奖励性干扰因素会导致更强的注意力捕获。与此相一致，我们发现与奖励相关的干扰物（与奖励相关的目标相比）增强了额叶区域的激活，表明自上而下的控制过程的参与。正如假设的那样，源空间分析表明，与奖励相关的目标和与奖励相关的干扰因素会引发基于价值的注意力网络区域的激活。然而，这些激活表现出时间依赖性差异，表明奖励偏差背后的神经机制对于任务相关和任务无关的刺激可能是不同的。