Primary visual cortex reflects behavioral performance in the attentional blink.

When two masked targets are presented in a rapid sequence, attentional limitations are reflected in reduced identification accuracy for the second target (T2). We used functional magnetic resonance imaging to disentangle the distinct neural substrates of T2 processing during this attentional blink phenomenon. Spatially separating the two targets allows the retinotopic localization of the different stimuli's encoding sites in primary visual cortex (V1) and thus enables activation elicited by each target to be differentially measured in V1. The encoding location of the second target mirrored T2 identification accuracy in a retinotopically specific manner. These results are the first evidence for effects of behavioral performance on hemodynamic responses in V1 under conditions of the attentional blink.