scholarly journals Tactile-Visual Links in Exogenous Spatial Attention under Different Postures: Convergent Evidence from Psychophysics and ERPs

2001 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 462-478 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steffan Kennett ◽  
Martin Eimer ◽  
Charles Spence ◽  
Jon Driver
Keyword(s):  
Spatial Attention ◽  
Frame Of Reference ◽  
Right Visual Field ◽  
Brain Potentials ◽  
Left Hand ◽  
Visual Events ◽  
Brain Responses ◽  
Spatial Coordinates ◽  
Tactile Cues ◽  
The Right

Tactile-visual links in spatial attention were examined by presenting spatially nonpredictive tactile cues to the left or right hand, shortly prior to visual targets in the left or right hemifield. To examine the spatial coordinates of any cross-modal links, different postures were examined. The hands were either uncrossed, or crossed so that the left hand lay in the right visual field and vice versa. Visual judgments were better on the side where the stimulated hand lay, though this effect was somewhat smaller with longer intervals between cue and target, and with crossed hands. Event-related brain potentials (ERPs) showed a similar pattern. Larger amplitude occipital N1 components were obtained for visual events on the same side as the preceding tactile cue, at ipsilateral electrode sites. Negativities in the Nd2 interval at midline and lateral central sites, and in the Nd1 interval at electrode Pz, were also enhanced for the cued side. As in the psychophysical results, ERP cueing effects during the crossed posture were determined by the side of space in which the stimulated hand lay, not by the anatomical side of the initial hemispheric projection for the tactile cue. These results demonstrate that crossmodal links in spatial attention can influence sensory brain responses as early as the N1, and that these links operate in a spatial frame-of-reference that can remap between the modalities across changes in posture.

Rebalancing Spatial Attention: Endogenous Orienting May Partially Overcome the Left Visual Field Bias in Rapid Serial Visual Presentation

2017 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-13 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kamila Śmigasiewicz ◽  
Gabriel Sami Hasan ◽  
Rolf Verleger
Keyword(s):  
Visual Field ◽  
Spatial Attention ◽  
Left Visual Field ◽  
Visual Presentation ◽  
Right Visual Field ◽  
Alpha Power ◽  
Unequal Distribution ◽  
Endogenous Orienting ◽  
T1 And T2 ◽  
The Right

In dynamically changing environments, spatial attention is not equally distributed across the visual field. For instance, when two streams of stimuli are presented left and right, the second target (T2) is better identified in the left visual field (LVF) than in the right visual field (RVF). Recently, it has been shown that this bias is related to weaker stimulus-driven orienting of attention toward the RVF: The RVF disadvantage was reduced with salient task-irrelevant valid cues and increased with invalid cues. Here we studied if also endogenous orienting of attention may compensate for this unequal distribution of stimulus-driven attention. Explicit information was provided about the location of T1 and T2. Effectiveness of the cue manipulation was confirmed by EEG measures: decreasing alpha power before stream onset with informative cues, earlier latencies of potentials evoked by T1-preceding distractors at the right than at the left hemisphere when T1 was cued left, and decreasing T1- and T2-evoked N2pc amplitudes with informative cues. Importantly, informative cues reduced (though did not completely abolish) the LVF advantage, indicated by improved identification of right T2, and reflected by earlier N2pc latency evoked by right T2 and larger decrease in alpha power after cues indicating right T2. Overall, these results suggest that endogenously driven attention facilitates stimulus-driven orienting of attention toward the RVF, thereby partially overcoming the basic LVF bias in spatial attention.

scholarly journals Spatial attention in encoding letter combinations

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mahalakshmi Ramamurthy ◽  
Alex L. White ◽  
Clementine Chou ◽  
Jason D. Yeatman
Keyword(s):  
Spatial Attention ◽  
Reading Development ◽  
Right Visual Field ◽  
Correct Identification ◽  
Extensive Literature ◽  
Spatial Cues ◽  
Sequential Processing ◽  
The Right ◽  
Letter Processing

AbstractReading requires the correct identification of letters and letter positions within words. Selective attention is, therefore, required to select chunks of the text for sequential processing. Despite the extensive literature on visual attention, the well-known effects of spatial cues in simple perceptual tasks cannot inform us about the role of attention in a task as complex as reading. Here, we systematically manipulate spatial attention in a multi-letter processing task to understand the effects of spatial cues on letter encoding in typical adults. Overall, endogenous (voluntary) cue benefits were larger than exogenous (reflexive). We show that cue benefits are greater in the left than in the right visual field and larger for the most crowded letter positions. Endogenous valid cues reduced errors due to confusing letter positions more than misidentifications, specifically for the most crowded letter positions. Therefore, shifting endogenous attention along a line of text is likely an important mechanism to alleviate the effects of crowding on encoding letters within words. Our results help set the premise for constructing theories about how specific mechanisms of attention support reading development in children. Understanding the link between reading development and attention mechanisms has far-reaching implications for effectively addressing the needs of children with reading disabilities.

scholarly journals Spatial attention in encoding letter combinations

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mahalakshmi Ramamurthy ◽  
Alex L. White ◽  
Clementine Chao ◽  
Jason D. Yeatman
Keyword(s):  
Spatial Attention ◽  
Reading Disabilities ◽  
Reading Development ◽  
Right Visual Field ◽  
Correct Identification ◽  
Spatial Cues ◽  
Sequential Processing ◽  
The Right ◽  
Letter Processing

Reading requires the correct identification of letters and letter positions within words. Selectiveattention is, therefore, required to select chunks of the text for sequential processing. Despite theextensive literature on visual attention, the well known effects of spatial cues in simpleperceptual tasks cannot inform us about the role of attention in a task as complex as reading.Here, we systematically manipulate spatial attention in a multi-letter processing task tounderstand the effects of spatial cues on letter encoding in typical adults. Overall, endogenous(voluntary) cue benefits were larger than exogenous (involuntary). We show that cue benefitsare greater in the left than in the right visual field; and larger for the most crowded letterpositions. Endogenous valid cues reduced errors due to confusing letter positions more thanmisidentifications, specifically for the most crowded letter positions. Therefore, shiftingendogenous attention along a line of text is likely an important mechanism to alleviate theeffects of crowding on letters within words. Our results help set the premise for buildingtheories for how specific mechanisms of attention support reading development in children.Understanding the link between reading development and attention mechanisms has farreaching implications in the remediation for children with reading disabilities.

scholarly journals Cross–modal links in spatial attention

1998 ◽  
Vol 353 (1373) ◽  
pp. 1319-1331 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jon Driver ◽  
Charles Spence
Keyword(s):  
Spatial Attention ◽  
Crossmodal Integration ◽  
Crossmodal Interactions ◽  
Visual Events ◽  
Complex Scenes ◽  
Sensory Modalities ◽  
Spatial Coordinates ◽  
Salient Event ◽  
The One ◽  
Stimulation Of

A great deal is now known about the effects of spatial attention within individual sensory modalities, especially for vision and audition. However, there has been little previous study of possible crossmodal links in attention. Here, we review recent findings from our own experiments on this topic, which reveal extensive spatial links between the modalities. An irrelevant but salient event presented within touch, audition, or vision, can attract covert spatial attention in the other modalities (with the one exception that visual events do not attract auditory attention when saccades are prevented). By shifting receptors in one modality relative to another, the spatial coordinates of these crossmodal interactions can be examined. For instance, when a hand is placed in a new position, stimulation of it now draws visual attention to a correspondingly different location, although some aspects of attention do not spatially remap in this way. Crossmodal links are also evident in voluntary shifts of attention. When a person strongly expects a target in one modality (e.g. audition) to appear in a particular location, their judgements improve at that location not only for the expected modality but also for other modalities (e.g. vision), even if events in the latter modality are somewhat more likely elsewhere. Finally, some of our experiments suggest that information from different sensory modalities may be integrated preattentively, to produce the multimodal internal spatial representations in which attention can be directed. Such preattentive crossmodal integration can, in some cases, produce helpful illusions that increase the efficiency of selective attention in complex scenes.

Clarifying the Rules of the Road

1959 ◽  
Vol 12 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 308-310
Author(s):  
Brett Hilder
Keyword(s):  
Narrow Channel ◽  
Frame Of Reference ◽  
Basic Rule ◽  
Left Hand ◽  
The Road ◽  
Clear Cut ◽  
Single Exception ◽  
Primary Rule ◽  
The Right ◽  
True Direction

The primary Rule of the Road at Sea is to keep to the right in practically all cases. The single exception which comes to mind in regard to fully manœuvrable vessels under power is overtaking in a narrow channel, when the overtaking vessel should keep to port and take the risk of meeting any on-coming traffic, like the working rule on the roads ashore. The alternate use of true direction as a frame of reference at sea, suggested by Lieutenant-Commander N. L. Fendig, U.S.C.G. in this Journal (October 1958) would lead us from simplicity into confusion. The same confusion would apply ashore if the roads were marked with compass courses, and vehicles were to give way to eastern traffic, which would sometimes be on the right, and sometimes on the left hand.The notes by Commander Clissold, R.N.R., under the above heading in the same Journal, are both sensible and workable, but hardly stimulating in nature, as they deal with tedious detail like the rules themselves, without calling for a new outlook. I find the basic Rule of the Road beautifully clear compared with the pages of exceptions and details, most of which show no correlation with each other, or to the basic rules. While I believe that the present rules are the best possible for fully manœuvrable powered vessels, those concerning vessels of limited movement are complicated with confused detail lacking a clear cut system based on relative manœuvrability.

Motor deficits and optokinetic stimulation in patients with left hemineglect

Neurology ◽  
1997 ◽  
Vol 49 (5) ◽  
pp. 1364-1370 ◽  
Author(s):  
Giuseppe Vallar ◽  
Cecilia Guariglia ◽  
Daniele Nico ◽  
Luigi Pizzamiglio
Keyword(s):  
Motor Deficits ◽  
Optokinetic Stimulation ◽  
Motor Weakness ◽  
Left Hand ◽  
Left Brain ◽  
Right Brain ◽  
Spatial Coordinates ◽  
Neglect Syndrome ◽  
The Right

Optokinetic stimulation with left direction of the movement of luminous dots temporarily improved motor weakness of the left hand in two right-brain-damaged patients with left spatial hemineglect. Stimulation to the right had no effect. In two left-brain-damaged patients, optokinetic stimulation did not affect the right motor weakness, regardless of direction of the movement of the optokinetic stimuli. We suggest that in patients with left hemineglect, contralesional motor deficits have a neglect-related component, which, as other aspects of the neglect syndrome, may be improved by optokinetic stimulation. The mechanisms may include a temporary restoration of the spatial coordinates of bodily representations, pathologically distorted towards the side of the lesion.

scholarly journals Somatosensory spatial attention modulates amplitudes, latencies, and latency jitter of laser-evoked brain potentials

2015 ◽  
Vol 113 (7) ◽  
pp. 2760-2768 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marcel Franz ◽  
Moritz M. Nickel ◽  
Alexander Ritter ◽  
Wolfgang H. R. Miltner ◽  
Thomas Weiss
Keyword(s):  
Spatial Attention ◽  
Brain Dynamics ◽  
Single Trial ◽  
Attentional Modulation ◽  
Laser Evoked Potentials ◽  
Brain Potentials ◽  
Left Hand ◽  
Trial Analysis ◽  
Latency Jitter ◽  
Electrical Stimuli

Several studies provided evidence that the amplitudes of laser-evoked potentials (LEPs) are modulated by attention. However, previous reports were based on across-trial averaging of LEP responses at the expense of losing information about intertrial variability related to attentional modulation. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of somatosensory spatial attention on single-trial parameters (i.e., amplitudes, latencies, and latency jitter) of LEP components (N2 and P2). Twelve subjects participated in a sustained spatial attention paradigm while noxious laser stimuli (left hand) and noxious electrical stimuli (right hand) were sequentially delivered to the dorsum of the respective hand with nonnoxious air puffs randomly interspersed within the sequence of noxious stimuli. Participants were instructed to mentally count all stimuli (i.e., noxious and nonnoxious) applied to the attended location. Laser stimuli, presented to the attended hand (ALS), elicited larger single-trial amplitudes of the N2 component compared with unattended laser stimuli (ULS). In contrast, single-trial amplitudes of the P2 component were not significantly affected by spatial attention. Single-trial latencies of the N2 and P2 were significantly smaller for ALS vs. ULS. Additionally, the across-trial latency jitter of the N2 component was reduced for ALS. Conversely, the latency jitter of the P2 component was smaller for ULS compared with ALS. With the use of single-trial analysis, the study provided new insights into brain dynamics of LEPs related to spatial attention. Our results indicate that single-trial parameters of LEP components are differentially modulated by spatial attention.

Editorial Note

1946 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 2-2
Keyword(s):  
Editorial Note ◽  
Speech Sounds ◽  
Left Hand ◽  
Hand Column ◽  
Right Hand ◽  
Infant Speech ◽  
The Right

In the article “Infant Speech Sounds and Intelligence” by Orvis C. Irwin and Han Piao Chen, in the December 1945 issue of the Journal, the paragraph which begins at the bottom of the left hand column on page 295 should have been placed immediately below the first paragraph at the top of the right hand column on page 296. To the authors we express our sincere apologies.

Is the Future the Right Time?

2010 ◽  
Vol 57 (4) ◽  
pp. 308-314 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marc Ouellet ◽  
Julio Santiago ◽  
Ziv Israeli ◽  
Shai Gabay
Keyword(s):  
Auditory Task ◽  
English Speakers ◽  
Visual Modality ◽  
Opposite Pattern ◽  
Time Line ◽  
Temporal Reference ◽  
Left Hand ◽  
Reading Direction ◽  
Mental Time Line ◽  
The Right

Spanish and English speakers tend to conceptualize time as running from left to right along a mental line. Previous research suggests that this representational strategy arises from the participants’ exposure to a left-to-right writing system. However, direct evidence supporting this assertion suffers from several limitations and relies only on the visual modality. This study subjected to a direct test the reading hypothesis using an auditory task. Participants from two groups (Spanish and Hebrew) differing in the directionality of their orthographic system had to discriminate temporal reference (past or future) of verbs and adverbs (referring to either past or future) auditorily presented to either the left or right ear by pressing a left or a right key. Spanish participants were faster responding to past words with the left hand and to future words with the right hand, whereas Hebrew participants showed the opposite pattern. Our results demonstrate that the left-right mapping of time is not restricted to the visual modality and that the direction of reading accounts for the preferred directionality of the mental time line. These results are discussed in the context of a possible mechanism underlying the effects of reading direction on highly abstract conceptual representations.

scholarly journals Hand Preference and Performance in Basketball Tasks

2019 ◽  
Vol 16 (22) ◽  
pp. 4336 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emanuela Gualdi-Russo ◽  
Natascia Rinaldo ◽  
Alba Pasini ◽  
Luciana Zaccagni
Keyword(s):  
Professional Training ◽  
Factor Model ◽  
Hand Preference ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Basketball Players ◽  
Confirmatory Factor Analyses ◽  
Left Hand ◽  
Confirmatory Factor ◽  
And Performance ◽  
The Right

The aims of this study were to develop and validate an instrument to quantitatively assess the handedness of basketballers in basketball tasks (Basketball Handedness Inventory, BaHI) and to compare it with their handedness in daily activities by the Edinburgh Handedness Inventory (EHI). The participants were 111 basketballers and 40 controls. All subjects completed the EHI and only basketballers filled in the BaHI. To validate the BaHI, a voluntary subsample of basketballers repeated the BaHI. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses supported a two-factor model. Our results show that: (i) Handedness score (R) in daily actions did not differ between basketball players (R by EHI = 69.3 ± 44.6) and the control group (R by EHI = 64.5 ± 58.6); (ii) basketballers more frequently favored performing certain sport tasks with the left hand or mixed hands (as highlighted by R by BaHI = 50.1 ± 47.1), although their choice was primarily the right hand in everyday gestures; and (iii) this preference was especially true for athletes at the highest levels of performance (R by BaHI of A1 league = 38.6 ± 58.3) and for those playing in selected roles (point guard’s R = 29.4 ± 67.4). Our findings suggest that professional training induces handedness changes in basketball tasks. The BaHI provides a valid and reliable measure of the skilled hand in basketball. This will allow coaches to assess mastery of the ball according to the hand used by the athlete in the different tasks and roles.

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