Auditory Attention following a Left Hemisphere Stroke: Comparisons of Alerting, Orienting, and Executive Control Performance Using an Auditory Attention Network Test

Aims: Complex attention, serving as a main diagnostic item of mild neurocognitive disorders (NCD), has been reported to be susceptible to pathological ageing. This study aimed to evaluate the attention network functions in older adults with subtypes of NCD. Methods: 36 adults with NCD due to Alzheimer's disease (NCD-AD), 31 adults with NCD due to vascular disease (NCD-vascular) and 137 healthy controls were recruited. Attention Network Test (ANT) was conducted to assess the efficiency of alerting, orienting and executive control. Results: Significant between-group differences were found in executive control (conventional score: F = 11.472, p < 0.001; ratio score: F = 8.430, p < 0.001) and processing speed (F = 4.958, p = 0.008). NCD subgroups demonstrated poorer performance on the ANT, particularly on executive control (healthy 59.9 ± 45.9, NCD-vascular 88.9 ± 44.8, NCD-AD 97.0 ± 53.9). Moreover, the NCD-AD group showed both less efficient executive control and prominent slowing processing speed (reaction time: healthy 687.5 ± 106.0 ms, NCD-vascular 685.3 ± 97.1 ms, NCD-AD 750.6 ± 132.6 ms). Conclusions: The NCD-vascular group appeared to be less efficient in executive control, while the NCD-AD group demonstrated less effective executive control and also slower processing speed. These results suggest that the characterized performance of ANT, processing speed and executive control in particular, might help differentiate adults at risk of different forms of cognitive impairment.

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Body Mobility and Attention Networks in 6- to 7-Year-Old Children

Frontiers in Psychology ◽

10.3389/fpsyg.2021.743504 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 ◽

Author(s):

Joëlle Rosenbaum ◽

Jean-Michel Hascoët ◽

Isabelle Hamon ◽

Arthur Petel ◽

Sébastien Caudron ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mental State ◽

Executive Control ◽

The Body ◽

Body Posture ◽

Attention Network Test ◽

Control Performance ◽

Attention Networks ◽

Close Relationship ◽

Free Body ◽

Three Body

Learning in 6- to 7-year-old children is strongly influenced by three functions of attention: alertness, orienting, and executive control. These functions share a close relationship with body mobility, such as the posture adopted or a request to stay still during tasks. The aim of this study (ClinicalTrials.gov) was to analyze the influence of body posture (standing versus sitting) and the influence of these imposed postures compared to a free body mobility on attention functions in 6- to 7-year-old children. Twenty-one children (11 girls) with a mean age of 6.7±0.6years performed the Attention Network Test for Children in three-body mobility conditions: sitting still, standing still, and free to move. Three attentional scores were calculated which would separately reflect performance of alertness, orienting, and executive control. Overall, no difference in alertness performance was found between the three bodily mobility conditions. In addition, our results suggest a general poor orienting performance in children, whatever the body mobility condition, which might be related to their young age. Finally, children improved their executive control performance when they stood still, probably due to an improvement in arousal and mental state.

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Attentional Skills in Soccer: Evaluating the Involvement of Attention in Executing a Goalkeeping Task in Virtual Reality

Applied Sciences ◽

10.3390/app11199341 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (19) ◽

pp. 9341

Author(s):

Andria Shimi ◽

Vanessa Tsestou ◽

Marios Hadjiaros ◽

Kleanthis Neokleous ◽

Marios Avraamides

Keyword(s):

Virtual Reality ◽

Executive Control ◽

Cognitive Abilities ◽

Cognitive Skills ◽

Critical Role ◽

Attention Network Test ◽

Immersive Virtual Reality ◽

Attention Network ◽

Physical Abilities

Physical abilities are essential to goalkeepers in soccer but the involved cognitive abilities for these players have only recently become the focus of extensive research. In this study, we investigated the role of different aspects of attention in a basic goalkeeping task in soccer. One hundred participants assumed the role of a goalkeeper in immersive virtual reality (VR) and carried out a task that entailed blocking balls shot towards their goal. In addition, they carried out two computerized tasks each assessing different attentional abilities: the Attention Network Test provided scores for three well-established networks of attention, namely the alerting, the orienting, and the executive control. The Whack-a-Mole task evaluated inhibitory control, by measuring performance in a classic Go/No-Go task and tapping on response inhibition. A regression analysis revealed that all three attention network scores contributed to performance in the VR goalkeeping task. Furthermore, performance in the Whack-a-Mole task correlated significantly with performance in the VR goalkeeping task. Overall, findings confirm that cognitive skills relating to attention play a critical role in the efficient execution of soccer-specific tasks. These findings have important implications for the training of cognitive skills in sports.

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Are Individual Differences in Absentmindedness Correlated with Individual Differences in Attention?

Journal of Individual Differences ◽

10.1027/1614-0001.30.4.220 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 30 (4) ◽

pp. 220-237 ◽

Cited By ~ 22

Author(s):

Yoko Ishigami ◽

Raymond M. Klein

Keyword(s):

Individual Differences ◽

Reaction Time ◽

Error Rate ◽

Executive Control ◽

Attention Network Test ◽

Global Measure ◽

Attention Network ◽

Warning Tone ◽

Cognitive Failures ◽

Cognitive Failures Questionnaire

We administered the Cognitive Failures Questionnaire (CFQ) and one of two versions of the Attention Network Test (ANT) to 200 participants. Orthogonal subtraction scores based on performance (reaction time and error rate) from selected conditions of the ANT provided measures of the efficacy of three attention components: alerting, orienting, and executive control, while the total CFQ score provided a global measure of absentmindedness. Executive control was not associated with the CFQ in either experiment. When alertness was generated by a warning tone, greater alerting effects in reaction time were associated with higher CFQ scores (greater absentmindedness). The orienting effects in accuracy obtained from the two versions of the ANT varied with absentmindedness in opposite directions, suggesting that these two tests tap different aspects of orienting.

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Assessment of alerting, orienting, and executive control in persons with aphasia using the Attention Network Test

Aphasiology ◽

10.1080/02687038.2020.1795077 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 1-16

Author(s):

Arianna N. LaCroix ◽

McKayla Tully ◽

Corianne Rogalsky

Keyword(s):

Executive Control ◽

Attention Network Test ◽

Attention Network

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Functioning of the Attentional Networks at Rest vs. During Acute Bouts of Aerobic Exercise

Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology ◽

10.1123/jsep.33.5.649 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 33 (5) ◽

pp. 649-665 ◽

Cited By ~ 17

Author(s):

Florentino Huertas ◽

Javier Zahonero ◽

Daniel Sanabria ◽

Juan Lupiáñez

Keyword(s):

Reaction Time ◽

Aerobic Exercise ◽

Executive Control ◽

Attention Network Test ◽

General State ◽

Attention Network ◽

Attentional Functioning ◽

Attentional Networks ◽

Phasic Alertness ◽

Rest Condition

The present study explored the effects of three different activity conditions on three attentional functions: alerting, orienting, and executive control. A group of highly experienced cyclists performed the Attention Network Test–Interactions (Callejas, Lupiáñez, & Tudela, 2004) at rest, during moderate aerobic exercise, and during intense aerobic exercise. Results indicated that aerobic exercise accelerated reaction time and reduced the alerting effect compared with the rest condition. However, aerobic exercise did not modulate the functioning of either the orienting or the executive control attentional networks. No differences in reaction time or attentional functioning were observed between the two aerobic exercise workloads. The present results suggest that moderate aerobic exercise modulates the functioning of phasic alertness by increasing the general state of tonic vigilance.

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Executive control deficits and lesion correlates in acute left hemisphere stroke survivors with and without aphasia

Brain Imaging and Behavior ◽

10.1007/s11682-021-00580-y ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Erin L. Meier ◽

Catherine R. Kelly ◽

Emily B. Goldberg ◽

Argye E. Hillis

Keyword(s):

Left Hemisphere ◽

Executive Control ◽

Stroke Survivors ◽

Left Hemisphere Stroke

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Shimi et al_GKVR1

10.31234/osf.io/y5q2c ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Andria Shimi ◽

Vanessa Tsestou ◽

Marios Hatziaros ◽

Kleanthis Neokleous ◽

Marios N Avraamides

Keyword(s):

Virtual Reality ◽

Executive Control ◽

Cognitive Abilities ◽

Cognitive Skills ◽

Critical Role ◽

Attention Network Test ◽

Immersive Virtual Reality ◽

Attention Network ◽

Physical Abilities

Soccer is one of the most popular sports and goalkeepers are central to a team’s winning. Physical abilities are essential to goalkeepers but the involved cognitive abilities for these players are understudied and not well understood. In this study, we investigated the role of different aspects of attention in a goalkeeping task in soccer. Participants assumed the role of a goalkeeper in immersive Virtual Reality and carried out a task that entailed blocking balls shot towards their goal. In addition, they carried out two computerized tasks each assessing different attentional abilities: the Attention Network Test provided scores for three well-established networks of attention, namely the alerting, the orienting, and the executive control. The Whack-a-Mole task evaluated inhibitory control, by measuring performance in a classic Go/No-Go task and tapping on response inhibition. Results revealed that all three attention network scores predicted performance in the VR goalkeeping task. Furthermore, performance in the Whack-a-Mole task correlated significantly with performance in the VR goalkeeping task. Overall, findings confirm that cognitive skills relating to attention play a critical role in the efficient execution of soccer-specific tasks. These findings have important implications for the training of cognitive skills in sports.

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Age differences in reward-motivation attention: behavioural and ERP evidence

10.32920/ryerson.14644701.v1 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Farrah Kudus

Keyword(s):

Age Differences ◽

Executive Control ◽

Cognitive Aging ◽

Neural Systems ◽

Attention Network Test ◽

Attention Network ◽

Systems Research ◽

Attentional Networks ◽

Age Related ◽

Reward Motivation

The attentional system is comprised of three networks: alerting, orienting, and executive control, all of which are associated with unique neural systems. Research examining motivationcognition interactions implicate the dopaminergic and locus-coeruleus norepinephrine systems in attentional and motivational processes, both of which show age differences. The current study was conducted to explore the mechanisms through which gain and loss motivation affect attention across the lifespan, using behavioural and electrophysiological markers of attentional networks. Younger adults (18-33 years) and older adults (65-80 years) completed an incentivized version of the Attention Network Test. Our behavioural results showed age differences in incentive sensitivity, such that responses were modulated as a function of incentives. We also examined cue-N1, target-N1, and target-P3, which showed transient incentive-based modulation, and depended on incentive valence. Overall, our study provides evidence for age-related differences in the modulation of attentional networks, and contributes new insights into the mechanisms behind motivation-cognition interactions. Keywords: Attention Network Test, Motivation, Incentives, Cognitive Aging, Alerting, Executive Control

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