Midbrain and Forebrain Systems for Bottom-up Control of Spatial Attention

This chapter presents evidence that both forebrain and midbrain systems contribute to the bottom-up control of attention. It argues that these dual systems are linked with the well-studied forebrain and midbrain systems for controlling gaze direction. It highlights similarities in the challenges that the midbrain and forebrain systems face in selecting targets for gaze and attention. Finally, it reviews recent studies of specialized neural circuits that have been discovered in the midbrain system that may underlie the competitive selection process, a process that is essential to both attention and gaze control.