ERP EVIDENCE FOR A SHIFTING ATTENTION-DEFICIT IN PATIENTS WITH DAMAGE TO THE CEREBELLUM

In a previous study, we found that patients with damage to the neocerebellum were significantly impaired in the ability to rapidly shift their attention bem een ongoing sequences of auditory and visual stimuli (Akshoomoff & Courchesne, 1992). In the present study young patients with damage to the neocerebellum were found to be impaired in rapidly shifting their attention between visual stimuli chat occurred within a single location. Event-related potentials recorded during the shifting attention experiment suggested that this reflects a deficit in the covert ability to selectively activate and deactivate attention. These results lend further support to the hypothesis that the neocerebellum plays a role in the ability to rapidly shift attention.