Investigation of attention in healthy individuals via electroencephalogram correlates

his study aims to investigate attentional processes and neurocognitive responses to face and face pareidolia stimuli in healthy individuals. To examine the neural dynamics of visual attention and perceptual gating mechanisms in the brain, the study focused on the N170, VPP, and P300 components using EEG. A total of 34 healthy participants took part in the study. Four different task sets were administered. In the first task, face stimuli, scrambled images, and a red fixation point were presented, and participants were instructed to respond only to the faces. In the second task, face pareidolia stimuli, scrambled images, and a fixation point were presented, and participants responded only to the pareidolia stimuli. In the third task, face stimuli, a green light, scrambled images, and a fixation point were presented, and participants were instructed to respond only when they saw the green light. In the fourth task, face pareidolia stimuli, scrambled images, a fixation point, and a green light were presented, and participants responded solely to the green light. This design allowed for the assessment of attentional orienting and cognitive processing through both face and pareidolia stimuli. EEG data were quantitatively analyzed based on the N170, VPP, and P300 components. The results showed that N170 and VPP amplitudes were higher for face stimuli compared to face pareidolia stimuli, with slightly shorter latencies. P300 responses were observed for both face and pareidolia stimuli; notably, P300 amplitudes increased during responses to the green light, indicating enhanced attentional orienting processes. Overall, this study suggests that examining visual attention and perceptual gating processes via face and pareidolia stimuli provides insights into the underlying neural dynamics. The N170, VPP, and P300 components appear to be important markers for understanding these cognitive processes.