Learning Generalized Representations of EEG between Multiple Cognitive Attention Tasks

In the present study, the patterns of phase synchronization in an acupuncturing task were investigated. Neiguan (PC6) and Shenmen (HT7) are the main acupoints, they are both the main points for heart diseases and insomnia, epilepsy, mental disorder. The task was divided up into the following parts, the resting condition; needling sensation; needling with power on for 20 minutes; needling retaining and needling extraction. The index of phase synchronization in different parts was calculated and compared. Phase synchronization was increased in alpha band in many cognitive, attention tasks. These findings suggest that the transient network of coupled cortical regions maybe mediated through neural synchronization. The result in this paper shows that during electro-acupuncture about 15 minutes, the index between the available electrodes in the hindbrain, especially after electrode CP6, and all the available electrodes in the brain increased. That means phase synchronization increased between the hindbrain regions and whole brain during the electrical-acupuncture about 15 minutes. It could be an evidence of regulating both the peripheral nervous system and central nervous system with stimulating these two points.

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Cognitive Function in Adults with Enduring Anorexia Nervosa

Nutrients ◽

10.3390/nu13030859 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (3) ◽

pp. 859

Author(s):

Maria Seidel ◽

Helen Brooker ◽

Kamilla Lauenborg ◽

Keith Wesnes ◽

Magnus Sjögren

Keyword(s):

Anorexia Nervosa ◽

Cognitive Function ◽

Episodic Memory ◽

Reaction Times ◽

Assessment System ◽

Cognitive Test ◽

Attention Tasks ◽

Inclusion Study ◽

Prospective Longitudinal

Anorexia Nervosa (AN) is a severe and often enduring disorder characterized by restriction of food intake, low body weight, fear of weight gain, and distorted body image. Investigations on cognition performance in AN patients have yielded conflicting results. Using an established and sensitive computerized cognitive test battery, we aimed to assess core aspects of cognitive function, including attention span, information processing, reasoning, working and episodic memory, in AN patients and controls. Patients were recruited from the Danish Prospective Longitudinal all-comer inclusion study in Eating Disorders (PROLED). Included were 26 individuals with AN and 36 healthy volunteers (HV). All were tested with CogTrack (an online cognitive assessment system) at baseline, and AN patients were tested again at a follow-up time point after weight increase (n = 13). At baseline, AN patients showed faster reaction times in the attention tasks, as well as increased accuracy in grammatical reasoning compared to HV. There were no differences in cognitive function between AN patients and HV in the other cognitive domains measured (sustained attention, working and episodic memory, speed of retrieval, and speed of grammatical reasoning). No differences were visible in the AN sample between baseline and follow-up. Performance did not correlate with any clinical variables in the AN sample. These findings supplement results from other studies suggesting increased concentration and reasoning accuracy in patients suffering from AN, who showed increased performance in cognitive tasks despite their illness.

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Sustained Splits of Attention within versus across Visual Hemifields Produce Distinct Spatial Gain Profiles

Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience ◽

10.1162/jocn_a_00883 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 28 (1) ◽

pp. 111-124 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Sabrina Walter ◽

Christian Keitel ◽

Matthias M. Müller

Keyword(s):

Visual Attention ◽

Visual Processing ◽

Behavioral Performance ◽

Lower Visual Field ◽

Light Emitting ◽

Visual Hemifield ◽

Attention Tasks ◽

Visual Cortices ◽

Cortical Visual Processing ◽

Visual Hemifields

Visual attention can be focused concurrently on two stimuli at noncontiguous locations while intermediate stimuli remain ignored. Nevertheless, behavioral performance in multifocal attention tasks falters when attended stimuli fall within one visual hemifield as opposed to when they are distributed across left and right hemifields. This “different-hemifield advantage” has been ascribed to largely independent processing capacities of each cerebral hemisphere in early visual cortices. Here, we investigated how this advantage influences the sustained division of spatial attention. We presented six isoeccentric light-emitting diodes (LEDs) in the lower visual field, each flickering at a different frequency. Participants attended to two LEDs that were spatially separated by an intermediate LED and responded to synchronous events at to-be-attended LEDs. Task-relevant pairs of LEDs were either located in the same hemifield (“within-hemifield” conditions) or separated by the vertical meridian (“across-hemifield” conditions). Flicker-driven brain oscillations, steady-state visual evoked potentials (SSVEPs), indexed the allocation of attention to individual LEDs. Both behavioral performance and SSVEPs indicated enhanced processing of attended LED pairs during “across-hemifield” relative to “within-hemifield” conditions. Moreover, SSVEPs demonstrated effective filtering of intermediate stimuli in “across-hemifield” condition only. Thus, despite identical physical distances between LEDs of attended pairs, the spatial profiles of gain effects differed profoundly between “across-hemifield” and “within-hemifield” conditions. These findings corroborate that early cortical visual processing stages rely on hemisphere-specific processing capacities and highlight their limiting role in the concurrent allocation of visual attention to multiple locations.

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Telephone Conversations Affect the Executive but not the Alerting or Orienting Network

10.31234/osf.io/ytpd7 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Melina Kunar ◽

Derrick Watson ◽

Rhiannon Richards ◽

Daniel Gunnell

Keyword(s):

Visual Attention ◽

Selective Attention ◽

Mobile Phone ◽

Dual Task ◽

Response Times ◽

Amount Of Information ◽

Attentional Networks ◽

Attention Tasks ◽

Conflict Effect ◽

The Individual

Previous work has shown that talking on a mobile phone leads to an impairment of visual attention. Gunnell et al. (2020) investigated the locus of these dual-task impairments and found that although phone conversations led to cognitive delays in response times, other mechanisms underlying particular selective attention tasks were unaffected. Here we investigated which attentional networks, if any, were impaired by having a phone conversation. We used the Attentional Network Task (ANT) to evaluate performance of the alerting, orienting and executive attentional networks, both in conditions where people were engaged in a conversation and where they were silent. Two experiments showed that there was a robust delay in response across all three networks. However, at the individual network level, holding a conversation did not influence the size of the alerting or orienting effects but it did reduce the size of the conflict effect within the executive network. The findings suggest that holding a conversation can reduce the overall speed of responding and, via its influence on the executive network, can reduce the amount of information that can be processed from the environment.

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A-16 MoCA Subtest Analysis: Discriminating between Healthy Controls and MCI

Archives of Clinical Neuropsychology ◽

10.1093/arclin/acab062.34 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 36 (6) ◽

pp. 1057-1057

Author(s):

Lauren N Ratcliffe ◽

Taylor F McDonald ◽

Craig Marker

Keyword(s):

Cognitive Impairment ◽

Cognitive Assessment ◽

Pacific Islander ◽

Word Recall ◽

Healthy Controls ◽

Cognitive Markers ◽

Attention Tasks ◽

Asian Pacific Islander ◽

Significant Difference ◽

Asian Pacific

Abstract Objective The Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) is a suitable, sensitive, and specific cognitive screener for detecting mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Previous research has found markers to discriminate between healthy controls and MCI on MoCA subtest scores. Specifically, MCI performed worse on executive functioning and attention tasks (i.e., inverse digits, serial 7’s, repetition, fluency, abstraction, and word recall). The aim of the present study is to assess for discrimination patterns in MoCA performance between healthy controls and MCI. Method Data was collected through the National Alzheimer’s Coordinating Center (NACC). A sample of healthy controls (n = 3776, 65% female, 80% White, 17% Black, 3% Asian/Pacific Islander) and MCI (n = 1143; 51% female, 82% White, 15% Black, 3% Asian/Pacific Islander) were examined. Results An initial independent t-test revealed a statistically significant difference in MoCA scores for healthy controls (M = 26.18, SD = 2.78) and MCI (M = 22.01, SD = 3.49; t(4917) = 36.91, p = 0.000, Cohen’s d = 1.32). Additional t-tests were performed to compare MoCA subtest scores and domain scores for diagnostic groups. There was a statistically significant difference for healthy controls and MCI groups across all MoCA subtests and domains. Further examination using normal distribution revealed worse performance on cube copy and word recall in MCI groups. Conclusions Consistent with previous findings, word recall was able to discriminate between healthy controls and MCI. However, this study was able to find discrimination in cube copy performance. These findings may guide clinicians to use these interval changes as early cognitive markers for impairment, allowing for early detection and intervention.

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If You’re Happy and You Know it Stay Alert: The Effects of Lighting on Vigilance Performance and Affective State

Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Annual Meeting ◽

10.1177/1071181321651314 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 65 (1) ◽

pp. 854-858

Author(s):

Lauren E. Monroe ◽

Samantha L. Smith

Keyword(s):

Affective State ◽

Light Condition ◽

Bright Light ◽

Extended Period ◽

Light Therapy ◽

Speed Of Information Processing ◽

Attention Tasks ◽

High Workload ◽

Dim Light ◽

Over Time

Vigilance, or sustained attention tasks involve detecting critical signals, embedded amid more frequent neutral signals, over an extended period of time. A decline in performance, engagement, and arousal over time, as well as high workload and stress, are common outcomes of such tasks. Exposure to broad-spectrum or short wavelength bright light has been found to positively impact alertness, speed of information processing, and mood, but has not been extensively explored in the vigilance domain. The present study explored whether a light therapy lamp could mitigate the negative vigilance outcomes found in both performance and affective state. Results indicated that the therapy light did not prevent a decline in detection of critical signals over time, nor significantly impact workload, sleepiness, or subjective stress state compared to a dim light condition. However, mood questionnaire results suggest that lighting may impact separate constructs of arousal and tiredness, warranting further research.

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Are Divided Attention Tasks Useful in the Assessment and Management of Sport-Related Concussion?

Neuropsychology Review ◽

10.1007/s11065-013-9238-1 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 23 (4) ◽

pp. 300-313 ◽

Cited By ~ 41

Author(s):

Johna K. Register-Mihalik ◽

Ashley C. Littleton ◽

Kevin M. Guskiewicz

Keyword(s):

Divided Attention ◽

Attention Tasks

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To what extent do erotic images elicit visuospatial versus cognitive attentional processes? Consistent support for a (non-spatial) Sexual Content-Induced Delay

10.31234/osf.io/jx4f8 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Roland Imhoff ◽

Paul Barker ◽

Alexander F. Schmidt

Keyword(s):

Visuospatial Attention ◽

Attention Capture ◽

Heterosexual Men ◽

Sexual Content ◽

Major Drawback ◽

Total N ◽

Attentional Processes ◽

Erotic Stimuli ◽

Cognitive Attention ◽

Consistent Support

It is almost a cultural truism that erotic images attract our attention, presumably because paying attention to erotic stimuli provided our ancestors with mating benefits. Attention, however, can be narrowly defined as visuospatial attention (keeping such stimuli in view) or more broadly as cognitive attention (such stimuli taking up one’s thoughts). We present four independent studies aiming to test the extent to which erotic images have priority in capturing visuospatial versus cognitive attention. Whereas the former would show in quicker reactions to stimuli presented in locations where erotic images appeared previously, the latter causes delayed responding after erotic images, independent of their location). To this end, we specifically modified spatial cueing tasks to disentangle visuospatial attention capture from general sexual content-induced delay (SCID) effects—a major drawback in the previous literature. Consistently across all studies (total N = 399), we found no evidence in support of visuospatial attention capture but reliably observed an unspecific delay of responding for trials in which erotic images appeared (irrespective of cue location). This SCID is equally large for heterosexual men and women and reliably associated with their self-reported sexual excitability.

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Revisiting Persistent Neuronal Activity During Covert Spatial Attention

Frontiers in Neural Circuits ◽

10.3389/fncir.2021.679796 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 15 ◽

Author(s):

Julian L. Amengual ◽

Suliann Ben Hamed

Keyword(s):

Spatial Attention ◽

Neural Representation ◽

Persistent Activity ◽

Sources Of Information ◽

Multiple Sources ◽

Oscillatory Dynamics ◽

Attention Orienting ◽

Related Information ◽

Attention Tasks ◽

Reduction Methods

Persistent activity has been observed in the prefrontal cortex (PFC), in particular during the delay periods of visual attention tasks. Classical approaches based on the average activity over multiple trials have revealed that such an activity encodes the information about the attentional instruction provided in such tasks. However, single-trial approaches have shown that activity in this area is rather sparse than persistent and highly heterogeneous not only within the trials but also between the different trials. Thus, this observation raised the question of how persistent the actually persistent attention-related prefrontal activity is and how it contributes to spatial attention. In this paper, we review recent evidence of precisely deconstructing the persistence of the neural activity in the PFC in the context of attention orienting. The inclusion of machine-learning methods for decoding the information reveals that attention orienting is a highly dynamic process, possessing intrinsic oscillatory dynamics working at multiple timescales spanning from milliseconds to minutes. Dimensionality reduction methods further show that this persistent activity dynamically incorporates multiple sources of information. This novel framework reflects a high complexity in the neural representation of the attention-related information in the PFC, and how its computational organization predicts behavior.

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Attentional control in subclinical anxiety and depression: depression symptoms are associated with deficits in target facilitation, not distractor inhibition

10.31234/osf.io/dhptk ◽

2019 ◽

Author(s):

Alexandra C Pike ◽

Frida Printzlau ◽

Alexander H. von Lautz ◽

catherine harmer ◽

Mark G. Stokes ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Depressive Symptoms ◽

Trait Anxiety ◽

Attentional Control ◽

Target Location ◽

Predictive Coding ◽

Self Report ◽

Depression Symptoms ◽

Attentional Processes ◽

Distractor Inhibition ◽

Attention Tasks

Mood and anxiety disorders are associated with deficits in attentional control involving emotive and non-emotive stimuli. Current theories focus on impaired attentional inhibition of distracting stimuli in producing these deficits. However, standard attention tasks struggle to separate distractor inhibition from target facilitation. Here, we investigate whether distractor inhibition underlies these deficits using neutral stimuli in a behavioural task specifically designed to tease apart these two attentional processes. Healthy participants performed a four-location Posner cueing paradigm and completed self-report questionnaires measuring depressive symptoms and trait anxiety. Using regression analyses, we found no relationship between distractor inhibition and mood symptoms or trait anxiety. However, we find a relationship between target facilitation and depression. Specifically, higher depressive symptoms were associated with reduced target facilitation in a task-version in which the target location repeated over a block of trials. We suggest this may relate to findings previously linking depression with deficits in predictive coding in clinical populations.

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