視覺空間注意力與眼球運動的相互關係一直是注意力研究中一項亟需解決的問題。最近有許多神經生理學與腦造影上的新發現，讓這個研究議題又再次活絡起來。這個議題最重要的辯論是在於：內隱性注意力(covert attention)的運作歷程是否等同於動作準備的運作歷程？兩者的神經運作機制又是否完全相同? 由於功能性核磁共振造影(fMRI)無法提供精確的時序性腦功能定位，所以內隱性注意力與眼球運動有可能是在同一些腦區?面運作，然而卻在不同的時序點進行；而且其神經運作的機制也可能不盡相同。這個計畫書的研究目的之ㄧ，是要用具有優越的空間與時間的腦功能定位能力的跨顱磁刺激術(transcranial magnetic stimulation)來釐清這個議題，並建立相關腦區與上述兩個認知功能的因果關係；並將作者之前對這個議題在額葉眼動區(frontal eye fields)的研究延伸到其他的視覺動作區，包含：後頂葉區 (posterior parietal cortex)以及躡頂葉交界區(temporoparietal junction)。另一個研究目的是要探討目標導向(goal-directed)與刺激導向(stimulus-driven)兩個類型的注意力之間如何進行轉換 ? 其時序的演化為何? 並釐清上述三個視覺動作區在這個轉換過程參與的時序點及其因果的角色。 The relationship between spatial attention and motor preparation has been an important issue in the attentional research since 19th century. Recent neurophysiological and neuroimaging findings have shed new light on this issue and have also revived the debate. The core of the debate is whether the neural mechanism of covert allocation of attention is equal to that of motor preparation. Neuroimaging techniques like fMRI cannot parse the temporal dynamics of spatial attention and eye movements and it remains possible that visual analysis and saccade preparation can be dissociated temporally in the human brain, notwithstanding anatomical correspondence. One goal of this proposal is to address the issue with transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) and then to extend my previous findings on this topic in the frontal eye fields (FEF) to other visuomotor areas like: the posterior parietal cortex (PPC) and the temporoparietal junction (TPJ). TMS has very good temporal resolution in functional localization of the brain and can establish the causal roles of the interested areas in this issue. The other goal of this proposal is to elucidate the interplay between goal-directed (top-down, endogeneous) and stimulus-driven (bottom-up, exogeneous) attentional systems by examining the temporal and functional relationships between FEF, PPC and TPJ and their involvements and their causal roles in processing the goal-directed and the stimulus-driven attention. 研究期間：9608 ~ 9707
