The role of the ventrolateral frontoparietal attention network in social attention

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.

Download Full-text

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.

Download Full-text

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

Cognitive Neuroscience ◽

10.1080/17588928.2019.1683525 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 11 (1-2) ◽

pp. 37-46 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Armien Lanssens ◽

Gloria Pizzamiglio ◽

Dante Mantini ◽

Celine R. Gillebert

Keyword(s):

Attention Network ◽

Dorsal Attention Network

Download Full-text

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.

Download Full-text

Social status gates social attention in humans

Biology Letters ◽

10.1098/rsbl.2011.0881 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 8 (3) ◽

pp. 450-452 ◽

Cited By ~ 74

Author(s):

Mario Dalmaso ◽

Giulia Pavan ◽

Luigi Castelli ◽

Giovanni Galfano

Keyword(s):

Social Status ◽

Social Factors ◽

Social Attention ◽

High Status ◽

The Social ◽

The Face ◽

Curriculum Vitae ◽

Gaze Cuing ◽

Specific Identity

Humans tend to shift attention in response to the averted gaze of a face they are fixating, a phenomenon known as gaze cuing. In the present paper, we aimed to address whether the social status of the cuing face modulates this phenomenon. Participants were asked to look at the faces of 16 individuals and read fictive curriculum vitae associated with each of them that could describe the person as having a high or low social status. The association between each specific face and either high or low social status was counterbalanced between participants. The same faces were then used as stimuli in a gaze-cuing task. The results showed a greater gaze-cuing effect for high-status faces than for low-status faces, independently of the specific identity of the face. These findings confirm previous evidence regarding the important role of social factors in shaping social attention and show that a modulation of gaze cuing can be observed even when knowledge about social status is acquired through episodic learning.

Download Full-text