Role of the dorsal attention network in distracter suppression based on features

The ongoing stream of human consciousness relies on two distinct cortical systems, the default mode network and the dorsal attention network, which alternate their activity in an anticorrelated manner. We examined how the two systems are regulated in the conscious brain and how they are disrupted when consciousness is diminished. We provide evidence for a “temporal circuit” characterized by a set of trajectories along which dynamic brain activity occurs. We demonstrate that the transitions between default mode and dorsal attention networks are embedded in this temporal circuit, in which a balanced reciprocal accessibility of brain states is characteristic of consciousness. Conversely, isolation of the default mode and dorsal attention networks from the temporal circuit is associated with unresponsiveness of diverse etiologies. These findings advance the foundational understanding of the functional role of anticorrelated systems in consciousness.

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Interaction of the Salience Network, Ventral Attention Network, Dorsal Attention Network and Default Mode Network in Neonates and Early Development of the Bottom-up Attention System.

10.21203/rs.3.rs-465657/v1 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Valeria Onofrj ◽

Antonio Maria Chiarelli ◽

Richard Wise ◽

Cesare Colosimo ◽

Massimo Caulo

Keyword(s):

Functional Connectivity ◽

Default Mode Network ◽

Mediation Analysis ◽

Data Driven ◽

Salience Network ◽

Bottom Up ◽

Attention Network ◽

Default Mode ◽

Dorsal Attention Network

Abstract The Salience Network (SN), Ventral Attention Network (VAN), Dorsal Attention Network (DAN) and Default Mode Network (DMN) have shown significant interactions and overlapping functions in bottom-up and top-down mechanisms of attention. In the present study we tested if the SN, VAN, DAN and DMN connectivity can infer the gestational age (GA) at birth in a study group of 88 healthy neonates with GA at birth ranging from 28 to 40 weeks. We also ascertained whether the connectivity within each of the SN, VAN, DAN and DMN is able to infer the average functional connectivity of the others. The ability to infer GA at birth or another network's connectivity was evaluated using a multi-variate data-driven framework. A mediation analysis was performed in order to estimate the transmittance of change of a network’s functional connectivity (FC) over another mediated by the GA.The VAN, DAN and the DMN infer the GA at birth (p<0.05). The SN, DMN and VAN were able to infer the average connectivity over the other networks (p<0.05). Mediation analysis between VAN’s and DAN’s inference on GA found reciprocal transmittance of change of VAN’s and DAN’s connectivity (p<0.05). Our findings suggest that the VAN has a prominent role in the bottom-up salience detection in early infancy and that the role of the VAN and the SN may overlap in the bottom-up control of attention.

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The Dorsal Attention Network Reflects Both Encoding Load and Top–down Control during Working Memory

Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience ◽

10.1162/jocn_a_01195 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 30 (2) ◽

pp. 144-159 ◽

Cited By ~ 13

Author(s):

Steve Majerus ◽

Frédéric Péters ◽

Marion Bouffier ◽

Nelson Cowan ◽

Christophe Phillips

Keyword(s):

Working Memory ◽

Recognition Task ◽

Top Down ◽

Sensory Stimuli ◽

Attention Network ◽

Large Sets ◽

Dorsal Attention Network ◽

Memory Control ◽

And Control

The dorsal attention network is consistently involved in verbal and visual working memory (WM) tasks and has been associated with task-related, top–down control of attention. At the same time, WM capacity has been shown to depend on the amount of information that can be encoded in the focus of attention independently of top–down strategic control. We examined the role of the dorsal attention network in encoding load and top–down memory control during WM by manipulating encoding load and memory control requirements during a short-term probe recognition task for sequences of auditory (digits, letters) or visual (lines, unfamiliar faces) stimuli. Encoding load was manipulated by presenting sequences with small or large sets of memoranda while maintaining the amount of sensory stimuli constant. Top–down control was manipulated by instructing participants to passively maintain all stimuli or to selectively maintain stimuli from a predefined category. By using ROI and searchlight multivariate analysis strategies, we observed that the dorsal attention network encoded information for both load and control conditions in verbal and visuospatial modalities. Decoding of load conditions was in addition observed in modality-specific sensory cortices. These results highlight the complexity of the role of the dorsal attention network in WM by showing that this network supports both quantitative and qualitative aspects of attention during WM encoding, and this is in a partially modality-specific manner.

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New insights on the ventral attention network: Active suppression and involuntary recruitment during a bimodal task

10.1101/782649 ◽

2019 ◽

Author(s):

Rodolfo Solís-Vivanco ◽

Ole Jensen ◽

Mathilde Bonnefond

Keyword(s):

Attentional Capture ◽

Frequency Band ◽

Daily Life ◽

Sensory Modality ◽

Top Down ◽

Unexpected Events ◽

Attention Network ◽

Dorsal Attention Network ◽

Alpha Beta

ABSTRACTReorienting attention to unexpected events is essential in daily life. fMRI studies have revealed the involvement of the ventral attention network (VAN), including the temporo-parietal junction (TPJ), in such process. In this MEG study with 34 participants (17 women) we used a bimodal (visual/auditory) attention task to determine the neuronal dynamics associated with suppression of the activity of the VAN during top-down attention and its recruitment when information from the unattended sensory modality is involuntarily integrated. We observed an anticipatory power increase of alpha/beta (12-20 Hz) oscillations in the VAN following a cue indicating the modality to attend. Stronger VAN power increases predicted better task performance, suggesting that the VAN suppression prevents shifting attention to distractors. Moreover, the TPJ was synchronized with the frontal eye field in that frequency band, suggesting that the dorsal attention network (DAN) might participate in such suppression. Furthermore, we found a 12-20 Hz power decrease, in both the VAN and DAN, when information of both sensory modalities was congruent, suggesting an involvement of these networks for attention capture. Our results show that effective multimodal attentional reorientation includes the modulation of the VAN and DAN through upper-alpha/beta oscillations. Altogether these results indicate that the suppressing role of alpha/beta oscillations might operate beyond sensory regions.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENTReorienting attention to unexpected events from multiple sensory sources is essential in daily life. We explored the dynamics of the ventral attention network (VAN), a set of brain regions related to attentional reorienting, when relevant information was anticipated (i.e. during top-down attention) and when unexpected congruent information from another sensory modality was presented (involuntary attentional capture). We report that activity in the alpha/beta range (12-20 Hz) within the VAN indexed both top-down and attentional capture processes. Also, the VAN was synchronized with the dorsal attention network in this frequency band, suggesting an integrated role of both networks for attentional regulation. Our results shed light on the neurophysiological mechanisms that the brain carry out for reorienting attention to relevant environmental stimuli.

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The lateral intraparietal sulcus takes viewpoint changes into account during memory-guided attention in natural scenes

Brain Structure and Function ◽

10.1007/s00429-021-02221-y ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 226 (4) ◽

pp. 989-1006

Author(s):

Ilenia Salsano ◽

Valerio Santangelo ◽

Emiliano Macaluso

Keyword(s):

Spatial Information ◽

Temporal Cortex ◽

Independent Effect ◽

Long Term Memory ◽

Natural Scenes ◽

Behavioral Measures ◽

Attention Network ◽

Low Contrast ◽

Dorsal Attention Network

AbstractPrevious studies demonstrated that long-term memory related to object-position in natural scenes guides visuo-spatial attention during subsequent search. Memory-guided attention has been associated with the activation of memory regions (the medial-temporal cortex) and with the fronto-parietal attention network. Notably, these circuits represent external locations with different frames of reference: egocentric (i.e., eyes/head-centered) in the dorsal attention network vs. allocentric (i.e., world/scene-centered) in the medial temporal cortex. Here we used behavioral measures and fMRI to assess the contribution of egocentric and allocentric spatial information during memory-guided attention. At encoding, participants were presented with real-world scenes and asked to search for and memorize the location of a high-contrast target superimposed in half of the scenes. At retrieval, participants viewed again the same scenes, now all including a low-contrast target. In scenes that included the target at encoding, the target was presented at the same scene-location. Critically, scenes were now shown either from the same or different viewpoint compared with encoding. This resulted in a memory-by-view design (target seen/unseen x same/different view), which allowed us teasing apart the role of allocentric vs. egocentric signals during memory-guided attention. Retrieval-related results showed greater search-accuracy for seen than unseen targets, both in the same and different views, indicating that memory contributes to visual search notwithstanding perspective changes. This view-change independent effect was associated with the activation of the left lateral intra-parietal sulcus. Our results demonstrate that this parietal region mediates memory-guided attention by taking into account allocentric/scene-centered information about the objects' position in the external world.

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Disorganized resting‐state functional connectivity between the dorsal attention network and intrinsic networks in Parkinson's disease with freezing of gait

European Journal of Neuroscience ◽

10.1111/ejn.15439 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Qian Yu ◽

Qun Li ◽

Weidong Fang ◽

Yuchan Wang ◽

Yingcheng Zhu ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Parkinson’S Disease ◽

Parkinson's Disease ◽

Functional Connectivity ◽

Resting State ◽

Freezing Of Gait ◽

Resting State Functional Connectivity ◽

Attention Network ◽

Dorsal Attention Network

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Brain Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Highlights Altered Connections and Functional Networks in Patients With Hypertension

Hypertension ◽

10.1161/hypertensionaha.120.15296 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 76 (5) ◽

pp. 1480-1490 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Lorenzo Carnevale ◽

Angelo Maffei ◽

Alessandro Landolfi ◽

Giovanni Grillea ◽

Daniela Carnevale ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Magnetic Resonance Imaging ◽

Magnetic Resonance ◽

Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging ◽

Resting State ◽

Diffusion Tensor ◽

Functional Magnetic Resonance ◽

Resonance Imaging ◽

Attention Network ◽

Dorsal Attention Network ◽

The Brain

Hypertension is one of the main risk factors for vascular dementia and Alzheimer disease. To predict the onset of these diseases, it is necessary to develop tools to detect the early effects of vascular risk factors on the brain. Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging can investigate how the brain modulates its resting activity and analyze how hypertension impacts cerebral function. Here, we used resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging to explore brain functional-hemodynamic coupling across different regions and their connectivity in patients with hypertension, as compared to subjects with normotension. In addition, we leveraged multimodal imaging to identify the signature of hypertension injury on the brain. Our study included 37 subjects (18 normotensives and 19 hypertensives), characterized by microstructural integrity by diffusion tensor imaging and cognitive profile, who were subjected to resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging analysis. We mapped brain functional connectivity networks and evaluated the connectivity differences among regions, identifying the altered connections in patients with hypertension compared with subjects with normotension in the (1) dorsal attention network and sensorimotor network; (2) dorsal attention network and visual network; (3) dorsal attention network and frontoparietal network. Then we tested how diffusion tensor imaging fractional anisotropy of superior longitudinal fasciculus correlates with the connections between dorsal attention network and default mode network and Montreal Cognitive Assessment scores with a widespread network of functional connections. Finally, based on our correlation analysis, we applied a feature selection to highlight those most relevant to describing brain injury in patients with hypertension. Our multimodal imaging data showed that hypertensive brains present a network of functional connectivity alterations that correlate with cognitive dysfunction and microstructural integrity. Registration— URL: https://www.clinicaltrials.gov ; Unique identifier: NCT02310217.

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