The attentional blink and P300

THE attentional blink (AB) is a brief impairment of visual processing occur ring 200-500 ms after a target in a rapid stream of visual stimuli. At issu e here is the relationship between AB and the P300 ERP component, as both a re maximal at about 300 ms and have been hypothesised to reflect inhibitory processes. Two experiments revealed that AB and P300 follow a similar time course at the individual and group level, that reducing task difficulty ha s similar effects on AB and P300 magnitude at the group level, but that the re is no relationship between the magnitude of AB and P300 within observers . These findings suggest a moderate association between the two phenomena, which may mirror transient inhibition of cortical networks to Facilitate pr ocessing of target events. (C) 1999 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.