scholarly journals The instructed context of a motor task modulates covert response preparation and shifts of spatial attention

2009 ◽  
Vol 46 (3) ◽  
pp. 655-667 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elena Gherri ◽  
José Van Velzen ◽  
Martin Eimer
1998 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 95-107 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shuhei Yamaguchi ◽  
Haruhisa Tsuchiya ◽  
Shotai Kobayashi

The cerebellum has been implicated in higher cognitive functions including learning, memory, and attention as well as its well-known role in motor programming. Recent studies have suggested that the cerebellum plays a role in shifts of attention. We investigated the contribution of the cerebellum to visuospatial attentional ability in a trial-by-trial cueing task involving the covert orienting of spatial attention. We recorded event-related evoked potentials (ERPs) and reaction times (RTs) in patients with cerebellar degenerative disorders affecting mainly the lateral cerebellum and compared them to age-matched controls. The RT data demonstrated that both the cerebellar patients and control subjects responded to the valid cues faster than to the invalid cues for both the central and the peripheral cues. Consistent with the RT data, the ERP data showed a comparable generation of attention shift-related negativities during the cue-target interval for both the central and the peripheral cue experiments. The early negative component of the ERP to the target was also comparably modulated in both groups as a function of cue validity, suggesting efficient facilitation of sensory pathways by prior allocation of spatial attention to the cued place. Conversely, the late negative deflection preceding the imperative target stimulus and the late sustained positivity following target presentation, which reflect neural activities for response preparation and selection, were reduced in the cerebellar group. These findings suggest that the lateral cerebellum makes little contribution to visuospatial attention shift in either the voluntary or automatic modes and support a role of the lateral cerebellum in the neural system required for response preparation and selection.


1992 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 453-465 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charles L. Folk ◽  
William J. Hoyer

Author(s):  
B.D. Terris ◽  
R. J. Twieg ◽  
C. Nguyen ◽  
G. Sigaud ◽  
H. T. Nguyen

We have used a force microscope in the attractive, or noncontact, mode to image a variety of surfaces. In this mode, the microscope tip is oscillated near its resonant frequency and shifts in this frequency due to changes in the surface-tip force gradient are detected. We have used this technique in a variety of applications to polymers, including electrostatic charging, phase separation of ionomer surfaces, and crazing of glassy films.Most recently, we have applied the force microscope to imaging the free surfaces of chiral liquid crystal films. The compounds used (Table 1) have been chosen for their polymorphic variety of fluid mesophases, all of which exist within the temperature control range of our force microscope.


1976 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 207-219 ◽  
Author(s):  
Constance P. DesRoches

A statistical review provides analysis of four years of speech therapy services of a suburban school system which can be used for comparison with other school system programs. Included are data on the percentages of the school population enrolled in therapy, the categories of disabilities and the number of children in each category, the sex and grade-level distribution of those in therapy, and shifts in case-load selection. Factors affecting changes in case-load profiles are identified and discussed.


2019 ◽  
Vol 62 (7) ◽  
pp. 2099-2117 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jason A. Whitfield ◽  
Zoe Kriegel ◽  
Adam M. Fullenkamp ◽  
Daryush D. Mehta

Purpose Prior investigations suggest that simultaneous performance of more than 1 motor-oriented task may exacerbate speech motor deficits in individuals with Parkinson disease (PD). The purpose of the current investigation was to examine the extent to which performing a low-demand manual task affected the connected speech in individuals with and without PD. Method Individuals with PD and neurologically healthy controls performed speech tasks (reading and extemporaneous speech tasks) and an oscillatory manual task (a counterclockwise circle-drawing task) in isolation (single-task condition) and concurrently (dual-task condition). Results Relative to speech task performance, no changes in speech acoustics were observed for either group when the low-demand motor task was performed with the concurrent reading tasks. Speakers with PD exhibited a significant decrease in pause duration between the single-task (speech only) and dual-task conditions for the extemporaneous speech task, whereas control participants did not exhibit changes in any speech production variable between the single- and dual-task conditions. Conclusions Overall, there were little to no changes in speech production when a low-demand oscillatory motor task was performed with concurrent reading. For the extemporaneous task, however, individuals with PD exhibited significant changes when the speech and manual tasks were performed concurrently, a pattern that was not observed for control speakers. Supplemental Material https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.8637008


2015 ◽  
Vol 74 (1) ◽  
pp. 55-60 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexandre Coutté ◽  
Gérard Olivier ◽  
Sylvane Faure

Computer use generally requires manual interaction with human-computer interfaces. In this experiment, we studied the influence of manual response preparation on co-occurring shifts of attention to information on a computer screen. The participants were to carry out a visual search task on a computer screen while simultaneously preparing to reach for either a proximal or distal switch on a horizontal device, with either their right or left hand. The response properties were not predictive of the target’s spatial position. The results mainly showed that the preparation of a manual response influenced visual search: (1) The visual target whose location was congruent with the goal of the prepared response was found faster; (2) the visual target whose location was congruent with the laterality of the response hand was found faster; (3) these effects have a cumulative influence on visual search performance; (4) the magnitude of the influence of the response goal on visual search is marginally negatively correlated with the rapidity of response execution. These results are discussed in the general framework of structural coupling between perception and motor planning.


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