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

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.

scholarly journals The olivocochlear reflex strength in awake chinchillas is relevant for behavioural performance during visual selective attention with auditory distractors

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Macarena Bowen ◽  
Gonzalo Terreros ◽  
Felipe N. Moreno-Gómez ◽  
Macarena Ipinza ◽  
Sergio Vicencio ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Visual Attention ◽  
Selective Attention ◽  
Broad Band ◽  
Visual Selective Attention ◽  
Cognitive Capacity ◽  
Distortion Product ◽  
Band Noise ◽  
Behavioural Performance ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Auditory Distractors

Abstract The auditory efferent system comprises descending projections from the cerebral cortex to subcortical nuclei, reaching the cochlear receptor through olivocochlear fibres. One of the functions attributed to this corticofugal system is to suppress irrelevant sounds during selective attention to visual stimuli. Medial olivocochlear neurons can also be activated by sounds through a brainstem reflex circuit. Whether the individual variability of this reflex is related to the cognitive capacity to suppress auditory stimuli is still controversial. Here we propose that the individual strength per animal of the olivocochlear reflex is correlated with the ability to suppress auditory distractors during visual attention in awake chinchillas. The olivocochlear reflex was elicited with a contralateral broad-band noise at ~ 60 dB and ipsilateral distortion product otoacoustic emissions were obtained at different frequencies (1–8 kHz). Fourteen chinchillas were evaluated in a behavioural protocol of visual attention with broad-band noise and chinchilla vocalizations as auditory distractors. Results show that the behavioural performance was affected by both distractors and that the magnitudes of the olivocochlear reflex evaluated at multiple frequencies were relevant for behavioural performance during visual discrimination with auditory distractors. These results stress the ecological relevance of the olivocochlear system for suppressing natural distractors.

scholarly journals Eye Movements during dynamic scene viewing are affected by visual attention skills and events of the scene: Evidence from first-person shooter gameplay videos

2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Suvi Holm ◽  
Tuomo Häikiö ◽  
Konstantin Olli ◽  
Johanna Kaakinen
Keyword(s):  
Individual Differences ◽  
Eye Movements ◽  
Visual Attention ◽  
Eye Movement ◽  
First Person ◽  
Dynamic Scene ◽  
Attention Tasks ◽  
Scene Viewing ◽  
The Individual ◽  
First Person Shooter

The role of individual differences during dynamic scene viewing was explored. Participants (N=38) watched a gameplay video of a first-person shooter (FPS) videogame while their eye movements were recorded. In addition, the participants’ skills in three visual attention tasks (attentional blink, visual search, and multiple object tracking) were assessed.  The results showed that individual differences in visual attention tasks were associated with eye movement patterns observed during viewing of the gameplay video. The differences were noted in four eye movement measures: number of fixations, fixation durations, saccade amplitudes and fixation distances from the center of the screen. The individual differences showed during specific events of the video as well as during the video as a whole. The results highlight that an unedited, fast-paced and cluttered dynamic scene can bring about individual differences in dynamic scene viewing.

EFFECTS OF DIFFERENT VISUAL ATTENTION TASKS ON OBSTACLE CROSSING IN HEALTHY YOUNG ADULTS

2015 ◽  
Vol 27 (06) ◽  
pp. 1550059 ◽  
Author(s):  
On-Yee Lo ◽  
Li-Shan Chou
Keyword(s):  
Young Adults ◽  
Visual Attention ◽  
Stroop Task ◽  
Dual Task ◽  
Visuospatial Attention ◽  
Task Condition ◽  
Attention Task ◽  
Dual Task Condition ◽  
Obstacle Crossing ◽  
Attention Tasks

Dual-task obstacle crossing gait paradigms are commonly adopted to examine how attentional demands are associated with sensory-motor processing during obstacle crossing. Various attention tasks have been used with mixed findings. This raises a question whether and how different attention tasks would affect motor function differently. Therefore, we examined and compared the effects of two visual attention tasks on obstacle crossing in healthy young adults. In the first experiment, 10 young adults responded to a 200[Formula: see text]ms visuospatial attention task during the approaching phase of obstacle crossing. In the second experiment, another 10 young adults responded to a visual Stroop task while approaching and crossing an obstacle. In both experiments, subjects completed an obstacle crossing only, a visual attention only, or a dual-task obstacle crossing condition in a random order. Dual-task costs were calculated for each visual attention task on the accuracy rates, toe-obstacle clearances and gait velocities. Two tripping incidences occurred only in the dual-task condition with visuospital attention task. Trailing toe-obstacle clearance reduced in the dual-task condition with visuospital attention task, but toe-obstacle clearances of both limbs increased in the dual-task condition with Stroop task. Gait velocities were not affected by the visuospatial attention task but were significantly reduced when concurrently performing the Stroop task. Dual-task costs were significantly different between two experiments on the gait velocity and toe clearances, but not on the accuracy rate. Our findings demonstrated that different visual attention tasks lead to distinct modifications on obstacle crossing behaviors.

scholarly journals Value Associations Modulate Visual Attention and Response Selection

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Annabelle Walle ◽  
Ronald Hübner ◽  
Michel D. Druey
Keyword(s):  
Visual Search ◽  
Visual Attention ◽  
Selective Attention ◽  
Compatibility Effect ◽  
Response Selection ◽  
Spatial Compatibility ◽  
Experimental Paradigm ◽  
Amount Of Information ◽  
Vast Amount ◽  
Current Task

Every day, we are confronted with a vast amount of information that all competes for our attention. Some of this information might be associated with rewards (e.g., gambling) or losses (e.g., insurances). To what extent such information, even if irrelevant for our current task, not only attracts attention but also affects our actions is still a topic under examination. To address this issue, we applied a new experimental paradigm that combines visual search and a spatial compatibility task. Although colored stimuli did not modulate the spatial compatibility effect more than gray stimuli, we found clear evidence that reward and loss associations attenuated this effect, presumably by affecting attention and response selection. Moreover, there are hints that differences in these associations are also reflected in a modulation of the spatial compatibility effect. We discuss theoretical implications of our results with respect to the influences of color, reward, and loss association on selective attention and response selection.

Deficits in Selective Attention Alter Gait in Frail Older Adults

GeroPsych ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
pp. 29-36 ◽  
Author(s):  
Véronique Cornu ◽  
Jean-Paul Steinmetz ◽  
Carine Federspiel
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Nursing Home ◽  
Selective Attention ◽  
Dual Task ◽  
Nursing Home Residents ◽  
Gait Rehabilitation ◽  
Rehabilitation Programs ◽  
Gait Parameters ◽  
Growing Body ◽  
Task Conditions

Abstract. A growing body of research demonstrates an association between gait disorders, falls, and attentional capacities in older adults. The present work empirically analyzes differences in gait parameters in frail institutionalized older adults as a function of selective attention. Gait analysis under single- and dual-task conditions as well as selective attention measures were collected from a total of 33 nursing-home residents. We found that differences in selective attention performances were related to the investigated gait parameters. Poorer selective attention performances were associated with higher stride-to-stride variabilities and a slowing of gait speed under dual-task conditions. The present findings suggest a contribution of selective attention to a safe gait. Implications for gait rehabilitation programs are discussed.

scholarly journals Visual Attention and Aging: an Age-Related Cognitive Model of Positive Adaptation

2014 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 181-191
Author(s):  
José Manuel Rodríguez-Ferrer
Keyword(s):  
Young People ◽  
Visual Attention ◽  
Response Times ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Cognitive Model ◽  
Covert Attention ◽  
Positive Adaptation ◽  
Healthy Elderly ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Healthy Young People

We have studied the effects of normal aging on visual attention. Have participated a group of 38 healthy elderly people with an average age of 67.8 years and a group of 39 healthy young people with average age of 19.2 years. In a first experiment of visual detection, response times were recorded, with and without covert attention, to the presentation of stimuli (0.5º in diameter grey circles) appearing in three eccentricities (2.15, 3.83 and 5.53° of visual field) and with three levels of contrast (6, 16 and 78%). In a second experiment of visual form discrimination circles and squares with the same features as in the previous experiment were presented, but in this case subjects only should respond to the emergence of the circles. In both age groups, the covert attention reduced response times. Compared to young people, the older group achieved better results in some aspects of attention tests and response times were reduced more in the stimuli of greater eccentricity. The data suggest that there is a mechanism of adaptation in aging, in which visual attention especially favors the perception of those stimuli more difficult to detec

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

2016 ◽  
Vol 28 (1) ◽  
pp. 111-124 ◽  
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.

scholarly journals Could the Visual Differential Attention Be a Referential Gesture? A Study on Horses (Equus caballus) on the Impossible Task Paradigm

Animals ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (7) ◽  
pp. 120 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alessandra Alterisio ◽  
Paolo Baragli ◽  
Massimo Aria ◽  
Biagio D’Aniello ◽  
Anna Scandurra
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Visual Attention ◽  
Selective Attention ◽  
Visual Selective Attention ◽  
Expectancy Violation ◽  
The People ◽  
Tactile Interaction ◽  
Decision Making Processes ◽  
Impossible Task ◽  
Differential Attention

In order to explore the decision-making processes of horses, we designed an impossible task paradigm aimed at causing an expectancy violation in horses. Our goals were to verify whether this paradigm is effective in horses by analyzing their motivation in trying to solve the task and the mode of the potential helping request in such a context. In the first experiment, 30 horses were subjected to three consecutive conditions: no food condition where two persons were positioned at either side of a table in front of the stall, solvable condition when a researcher placed a reachable reward on the table, and the impossible condition when the food was placed farther away and was unreachable by the horse. Eighteen horses were used in the second experiment with similar solvable and impossible conditions but in the absence of people. We measured the direction of the horse’s ear cup as an indicator of its visual attention in terms of visual selective attention (VSA) when both ears were directed at the same target and the visual differential attention (VDA) when the ears were directed differentially to the persons and to the table. We also included tactile interaction toward table and people, the olfactory exploration of the table, and the frustration behaviors in the ethogram. In the first experiment, the VDA was the most frequent behavior following the expectancy violation. In the second experiment, horses showed the VDA behavior mostly when people and the unreachable resource were present at the same time. We speculate that the VDA could be a referential gesture aimed to link the solution of the task to the people, as a request for help.

scholarly journals Neuronal modulation in the mouse superior colliculus during covert visual selective attention

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lupeng Wang ◽  
James P. Herman ◽  
Richard J. Krauzlis
Keyword(s):  
Visual Attention ◽  
Selective Attention ◽  
Superior Colliculus ◽  
Firing Rate ◽  
Spatial Location ◽  
Relevant Information ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Uncued Location ◽  
Visual Selective Attention ◽  
Covert Visual Attention

AbstractCovert visual attention is accomplished by a cascade of mechanisms distributed across multiple brain regions. Recent studies in primates suggest a parcellation in which visual cortex is associated with enhanced representations of relevant stimuli, whereas subcortical circuits are associated with selection of visual targets and suppression of distractors. Here we identified how neuronal activity in the superior colliculus (SC) of head-fixed mice is modulated during covert visual attention. We found that spatial cues modulated both firing rate and spike-count correlations, and that the cue-related modulation in firing rate was due to enhancement of activity at the cued spatial location rather than suppression at the uncued location. This modulation improved the neuronal discriminability of visual-change-evoked activity between contralateral and ipsilateral SC neurons. Together, our findings indicate that neurons in the mouse SC contribute to covert visual selective attention by biasing processing in favor of locations expected to contain relevant information.

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