Modulations of the visual N1 component of event-related potentials by central and peripheral cueing.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study is to investigate the effects of the central and peripheral cueing on N1 component of the event-related potentials (ERPs) and the time course of these effects.

METHODS: ERPs were recorded while participants performed a discrimination task on the height of target bars, which were presented after informative-central, informative-peripheral or uninformative-peripheral cues with stimulus onset asynchronies (SOAs) of 100, 300, 500 or 700 ms.

RESULTS: Peripheral cues (informative and uninformative) elicited stronger effects of cue validity on N1 300 ms after cue onset, whereas central cues led to a more sustained validity effect on N1, with later stronger effects, at 500 ms SOA.

CONCLUSIONS: The present data showed that central and peripheral cues affected to the level of processing reflected by the N1 component, but there were differences in the time course of these effects. Attentional orienting in response to central cueing resulted in a sustained validity effect on N1, relative to the more transitory activation of the process reflected by the N1 validity effect in this peripheral cueing task.

SIGNIFICANCE: This study provides a detailed within-subject analysis of the time course of the effects of central and peripheral cueing on N1.