scholarly journals Disruptions of Sustained Spatial Attention Can Be Resistant to the Distractor’s Prior Reward Associations

2021 ◽  
Vol 15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew D. Bachman ◽  
Madison N. Hunter ◽  
Scott A. Huettel ◽  
Marty G. Woldorff
Keyword(s):  
Boundary Condition ◽  
Spatial Attention ◽  
Attentional Capture ◽  
Visual Presentation ◽  
Visual Environment ◽  
Attentional Orienting ◽  
Prior Work ◽  
Instantaneous Amplitude ◽  
Reward Value ◽  
Human Participants

Attention can be involuntarily biased toward reward-associated distractors (value-driven attentional capture, VDAC). Yet past work has primarily demonstrated this distraction phenomenon during a particular set of circumstances: transient attentional orienting to potentially relevant stimuli occurring in our visual environment. Consequently, it is not well-understood if reward-based attentional capture can occur under other circumstances, such as during sustained visuospatial attention. Using EEG, we investigated whether associating transient distractors with reward value would increase their distractibility and lead to greater decrements in concurrent sustained spatial attention directed elsewhere. Human participants learned to associate three differently colored, laterally presented squares with rewards of varying magnitude (zero, small, and large). These colored squares were then periodically reintroduced as distractors at the same lateral locations during a demanding sustained-attention rapid-serial-visual-presentation (RSVP) task at the midline. Behavioral and neural evidence indicated that participants had successfully learned and maintained the reward associations to the distractors. During the RSVP task, consistent with prior work, we found that the distractors generated dips in the instantaneous amplitude of the steady-state visual evoked potentials (SSVEPs) elicited by the midline RSVP stimuli, indicating that the distractors were indeed transiently disrupting sustained spatial attention. Contrary to our hypotheses, however, the magnitude of this dip did not differ by the magnitude of the distractor’s reward associations. These results indicate that while sustained spatial attention can be impaired by the introduction of distractors at another location, the main distraction process is resistant to the distractors’ reward associations, thus providing evidence of an important boundary condition to value-driven attentional capture.

scholarly journals Neural Dynamics of Cognitive Control over Working Memory Capture of Attention

2019 ◽  
Vol 31 (7) ◽  
pp. 1079-1090 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter S. Whitehead ◽  
Mathilde M. Ooi ◽  
Tobias Egner ◽  
Marty G. Woldorff
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Visual Search ◽  
Cognitive Control ◽  
Attentional Capture ◽  
Search Display ◽  
Neural Mechanisms ◽  
High Temporal Resolution ◽  
Control Mechanisms ◽  
Attentional Orienting ◽  
Behavioral Studies

The contents of working memory (WM) guide visual attention toward matching features, with visual search being faster when the target and a feature of an item held in WM spatially overlap (validly cued) than when they occur at different locations (invalidly cued). Recent behavioral studies have indicated that attentional capture by WM content can be modulated by cognitive control: When WM cues are reliably helpful to visual search (predictably valid), capture is enhanced, but when reliably detrimental (predictably invalid), capture is attenuated. The neural mechanisms underlying this effect are not well understood, however. Here, we leveraged the high temporal resolution of ERPs time-locked to the onset of the search display to determine how and at what processing stage cognitive control modulates the search process. We manipulated predictability by grouping trials into unpredictable (50% valid/invalid) and predictable (100% valid, 100% invalid) blocks. Behavioral results confirmed that predictability modulated WM-related capture. Comparison of ERPs to the search arrays showed that the N2pc, a posteriorly distributed signature of initial attentional orienting toward a lateralized target, was not impacted by target validity predictability. However, a longer latency, more anterior, lateralized effect—here, termed the “contralateral attention-related negativity”—was reduced under predictable conditions. This reduction interacted with validity, with substantially greater reduction for invalid than valid trials. These data suggest cognitive control over attentional capture by WM content does not affect the initial attentional-orienting process but can reduce the need to marshal later control mechanisms for processing relevant items in the visual world.

scholarly journals Attentional capture is reduced when distractors remain visible in rapidserial visual presentation

2010 ◽  
Vol 8 (6) ◽  
pp. 1118-1118
Author(s):  
T. Inukai ◽  
T. Kumada ◽  
J. Kawahara
Keyword(s):  
Attentional Capture ◽  
Visual Presentation

scholarly journals Norepinephrine improves attentional orienting in a predictive context

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amelie Reynaud ◽  
Mathilda Froesel ◽  
Carole Guedj ◽  
Sameh Ben Hadj Hassen ◽  
Justine Clery ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Spatial Attention ◽  
Accumulation Rate ◽  
Reaction Times ◽  
Decision Threshold ◽  
Attentional Orienting ◽  
Distractor Interference ◽  
Attentional Processes ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Brain

The role of norepinephrine (NE) in visuo-spatial attention remains poorly understood. Our goal was to identify the attentional processes under the influence of NE and to characterize these influences. We tested the effects of atomoxetine injections (ATX), a NE-reuptake inhibitor that boosts the level of NE in the brain, on seven monkeys performing a saccadic cued task in which cues and distractors were used to manipulate spatial attention. We found that when the cue accurately predicted the location of the upcoming cue in 80% of the trials, ATX consistently improved attentional orienting, as measured from reaction times (RTs). These effects were best accounted for by a faster accumulation rate in the valid trials, rather than by a change in the decision threshold. By contrast, the effect of ATX on alerting and distractor interference was more mitigated. Finally, we also found that, under ATX, RTs to non-cued targets were longer when these were presented separately from cued targets. This suggests that the impact of NE on visuo-spatial attention depends on the context, such that the adaptive changes elicited by the highly informative value of the cues in the most frequent trials were accompanied by a cost in the less frequent trials.

Opposite effects of lateralised transcranial alpha versus gamma stimulation on spatial attention

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Malte Wöstmann ◽  
Johannes Vosskuhl ◽  
Jonas Obleser ◽  
Christoph S. Herrmann
Keyword(s):  
Spatial Attention ◽  
Gamma Oscillations ◽  
Proof Of Concept ◽  
Functional Roles ◽  
Dichotic Listening Task ◽  
High Gamma ◽  
Transcranial Alternating Current Stimulation ◽  
Human Participants ◽  
Listening Task ◽  
Selection Of

AbstractSpatial attention relatively increases the power of neural 10-Hz alpha oscillations in the hemisphere ipsilateral to attention. The functional roles of lateralised oscillations for attention are unclear. Here, 20 human participants performed a dichotic listening task under continuous transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) at alpha (10 Hz, vs sham) or gamma (47 Hz, vs sham) frequency, targeting left temporo-parietal cortex. Participants attended to four spoken numbers presented to one ear, while ignoring numbers on the other ear. As predicted, we found that alpha-tACS contralateral to the attended ear decreased recall of attended targets. Notably, gamma-tACS reversed the effect. Results provide a proof of concept that externally amplified oscillations can enhance spatial attention and facilitate attentional selection of speech. Furthermore, opposite effects of alpha versus gamma oscillations support the view that, across modalities, states of high alpha are incommensurate with active neural processing as reflected by states of high gamma.

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 and Temporal Expectation Exert Differential Effects on Visual and Auditory Discrimination

2020 ◽  
Vol 32 (8) ◽  
pp. 1562-1576 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna Wilsch ◽  
Manuel R. Mercier ◽  
Jonas Obleser ◽  
Charles E. Schroeder ◽  
Saskia Haegens
Keyword(s):  
Spatial Attention ◽  
Auditory Processing ◽  
Spatial Information ◽  
Low Frequency ◽  
Stimulus Presentation ◽  
Response Speed ◽  
Auditory Task ◽  
Healthy Human ◽  
Temporal Expectation ◽  
Human Participants

Anticipation of an impending stimulus shapes the state of the sensory systems, optimizing neural and behavioral responses. Here, we studied the role of brain oscillations in mediating spatial and temporal anticipations. Because spatial attention and temporal expectation are often associated with visual and auditory processing, respectively, we directly contrasted the visual and auditory modalities and asked whether these anticipatory mechanisms are similar in both domains. We recorded the magnetoencephalogram in healthy human participants performing an auditory and visual target discrimination task, in which cross-modal cues provided both temporal and spatial information with regard to upcoming stimulus presentation. Motivated by prior findings, we were specifically interested in delta (1–3 Hz) and alpha (8–13 Hz) band oscillatory state in anticipation of target presentation and their impact on task performance. Our findings support the view that spatial attention has a stronger effect in the visual domain, whereas temporal expectation effects are more prominent in the auditory domain. For the spatial attention manipulation, we found a typical pattern of alpha lateralization in the visual system, which correlated with response speed. Providing a rhythmic temporal cue led to increased postcue synchronization of low-frequency rhythms, although this effect was more broadband in nature, suggesting a general phase reset rather than frequency-specific neural entrainment. In addition, we observed delta-band synchronization with a frontal topography, which correlated with performance, especially in the auditory task. Combined, these findings suggest that spatial and temporal anticipations operate via a top–down modulation of the power and phase of low-frequency oscillations, respectively.

The role of top-down spatial attention in contingent attentional capture

2016 ◽  
Vol 53 (5) ◽  
pp. 650-662 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wanyi Huang ◽  
Yuling Su ◽  
Yanfen Zhen ◽  
Zhe Qu
Keyword(s):  
Spatial Attention ◽  
Attentional Capture ◽  
Top Down ◽  
Contingent Attentional Capture

scholarly journals Involuntary Attentional Capture is Determined by Task Set: Evidence from Event-related Brain Potentials

2008 ◽  
Vol 20 (8) ◽  
pp. 1423-1433 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin Eimer ◽  
Monika Kiss
Keyword(s):  
Attentional Capture ◽  
Alternative Interpretation ◽  
Color Singleton ◽  
Attentional Orienting ◽  
Brain Potentials ◽  
Task Set ◽  
Visual Objects ◽  
Current Task ◽  
Physically Identical

To find out whether attentional capture by irrelevant but salient visual objects is an exogenous bottom–up phenomenon, or can be modulated by current task set, two experiments were conducted where the N2pc component was measured as an electrophysiological marker of attentional selection in response to spatially uninformative color singleton cues that preceded target arrays. When observers had to report the orientation of a uniquely colored target bar among distractor bars (color task), behavioral spatial cueing effects were accompanied by an early cue-induced N2pc, indicative of rapid attentional capture by color singleton cues. In contrast, when they reported the orientation of target bars presented without distractors (onset task), no behavioral cueing effects were found and no early N2pc was triggered to physically identical cue arrays. Experiment 2 ruled out an alternative interpretation of these N2pc differences in terms of distractor inhibition. These results do not support previous claims that attentional capture is initially unaffected by top–down intention, and demonstrate the central role of task set in involuntary attentional orienting.

Beyond establishing involvement: quantifying the contribution of anticipatory α- and β-band suppression to perceptual improvement with attention

2012 ◽  
Vol 108 (9) ◽  
pp. 2352-2362 ◽  
Author(s):  
Freek van Ede ◽  
Malte Köster ◽  
Eric Maris
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Neuroscience ◽  
Brain Activity ◽  
Detection Task ◽  
Attentional Orienting ◽  
Neural Signals ◽  
Upper Limit ◽  
Neurophysiological Mechanisms ◽  
Novel Method ◽  
Human Participants ◽  
And Behavior

Systems and cognitive neuroscience aim at understanding the neurophysiological mechanisms that underlie cognition and behavior. Many studies have revealed the involvement of many types of neural signals in diverse cognitive and behavioral phenomena. Here, we go beyond establishing such involvement and address two fundamental, yet largely unaddressed, questions: 1) exactly how much does a given neural signal contribute to a cognitive or behavioral phenomenon of interest; and 2) to what extent are distinct neural signals independently related to this phenomenon? We recorded brain activity using magnetoencephalography while human participants performed a cued somatosensory detection task. Using a novel method, we then quantified the contribution (in a predictive but not causal sense) of two well-established neural phenomena to the improvement in perception with attentional orienting. In our sample, the anticipatory suppression of extracranially recorded oscillatory α- and β-band amplitudes from contralateral primary somatosensory cortex could account for maximally 29% of the attention-induced improvement in tactile perception. In addition, although amplitude suppressions in the α- and β-frequency bands both contributed to this improvement, their contribution was largely shared. These data reveal the upper limit of the cognitive/behavioral relevance of this type of signal and show that at least 71% of the perceptual improvement with attention must be accounted for by other signals.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document