The visual N1 is a visual evoked potential, a type of event-related electrical potential (ERP), that is produced in the brain and recorded on the scalp. The N1 is so named to reflect the polarity and typical timing of the component. The "N" indicates that the polarity of the component is negative with respect to an average mastoid reference. The "1" originally indicated that it was the first negative-going component, but it now better indexes the typical peak of this component, which is around 150 to 200 milliseconds post-stimulus. The N1 deflection may be detected at most recording sites, including the occipital, parietal, central, and frontal electrode sites.[1] Although, the visual N1 is widely distributed over the entire scalp, it peaks earlier over frontal than posterior regions of the scalp,[1][2] suggestive of distinct neural and/or cognitive correlates.[3] The N1 is elicited by visual stimuli, and is part of the visual evoked potential – a series of voltage deflections observed in response to visual onsets, offsets, and changes. Both the right and left hemispheres generate an N1, but the laterality of the N1 depends on whether a stimulus is presented centrally, laterally, or bilaterally. When a stimulus is presented centrally, the N1 is bilateral. When presented laterally, the N1 is larger, earlier, and contralateral to the visual field of the stimulus. When two visual stimuli are presented, one in each visual field, the N1 is bilateral. In the latter case, the N1's asymmetrical skewedness is modulated by attention.[4] Additionally, its amplitude is influenced by selective attention, and thus it has been used to study a variety of attentional processes.[5][6]
- ^ a b Mangun, G.R., & Hillyard, S.A, (1991). Modulations of sensory-evoked brain potentials indicate changes in perceptual processing during visual-spatial priming. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human perception and performance, 17(4): 1057-1074.
- ^ Ciesielski, K.T., & French, C.N. (1989). Event-related potentials before and after training: Chronometry and lateralization of visual N1 and N2. Biological Psychology, 28: 227-238.
- ^ Makeig, S., Westerfield, M., Townsend, J., Jung, T., Courchesne, E., & Sejnowski, T.J. (1999). Functionally independent components of early event-related potentials in a visual spatial attention task. Royal Society, 354: 1135-1144.
- ^ Wascher, E., Hoffman, S., Sanger, J., Grosjean, M. (2009). Visuo-spatial processing and the N1 component of the ERP. Psychophysiology, 46: 1270–1277.
- ^ Luck, S. J., Woodman, G. E., and Vogel, E. K. (2000). Event-related potential studies of attention. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 4, 432-440.
- ^ Rugg, M.D., Milner, A.D., Lines, C.R., & Phalp, R. (1987). Modulations of visual event-related potentials by spatial and non-spatial visual selective attention. Neuropsychologia, 25, 85-96.