scholarly journals Unpleasant Odors Affect Alerting Attention in Young Men: An Event-Related Potential Study Using the Attention Network Test

2021 ◽  
Vol 15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Minggang Zhang ◽  
Xinyu Gong ◽  
Jiafeng Jia ◽  
Xiaochun Wang
Keyword(s):  
Executive Control ◽  
Behavioral Response ◽  
Young Men ◽  
Event Related Potential ◽  
Supporting Evidence ◽  
Attention Network Test ◽  
Potential Threat ◽  
Odor Concentration ◽  
Attention Network ◽  
Control Networks

Attention to unpleasant odors is crucial for human safety because they may signal danger; however, whether odor concentration also plays a role remains debated. Here, we explored the effects of two concentrations of pleasant and unpleasant odors on the attention network, comprising the alerting, orienting, and executive control networks. Behavioral responses were examined using the Attention Network Test, while electrophysiological responses were examined by assessing N1 and N2 amplitudes in 30 young men. We found that irrespective of odor concentration, an unpleasant odor induced larger cue-related N1 and N2 amplitudes in the alerting and executive control networks at occipital and frontal electrode sites and that was only paralleled by a reduced behavioral response time of cue-related trails in the alerting network. Thus, our results do not provide supporting evidence for a concentration-dependent effect, but they do suggest that more attentional resources are allocated to alerting-relevant stimuli to improve behavioral response times to a potential threat in young men.

Efficiency of Attentional Components in Elderly with Mild Neurocognitive Disorders Shown by the Attention Network Test

2016 ◽  
Vol 41 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 93-98 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hanna Lu ◽  
Sandra S.M. Chan ◽  
Ada W.T. Fung ◽  
Linda C.W. Lam
Keyword(s):  
Executive Control ◽  
Processing Speed ◽  
Neurocognitive Disorders ◽  
Group Differences ◽  
Attention Network Test ◽  
Healthy Controls ◽  
Ratio Score ◽  
Attention Network ◽  
Network Functions ◽  
Complex Attention

Aims: Complex attention, serving as a main diagnostic item of mild neurocognitive disorders (NCD), has been reported to be susceptible to pathological ageing. This study aimed to evaluate the attention network functions in older adults with subtypes of NCD. Methods: 36 adults with NCD due to Alzheimer's disease (NCD-AD), 31 adults with NCD due to vascular disease (NCD-vascular) and 137 healthy controls were recruited. Attention Network Test (ANT) was conducted to assess the efficiency of alerting, orienting and executive control. Results: Significant between-group differences were found in executive control (conventional score: F = 11.472, p < 0.001; ratio score: F = 8.430, p < 0.001) and processing speed (F = 4.958, p = 0.008). NCD subgroups demonstrated poorer performance on the ANT, particularly on executive control (healthy 59.9 ± 45.9, NCD-vascular 88.9 ± 44.8, NCD-AD 97.0 ± 53.9). Moreover, the NCD-AD group showed both less efficient executive control and prominent slowing processing speed (reaction time: healthy 687.5 ± 106.0 ms, NCD-vascular 685.3 ± 97.1 ms, NCD-AD 750.6 ± 132.6 ms). Conclusions: The NCD-vascular group appeared to be less efficient in executive control, while the NCD-AD group demonstrated less effective executive control and also slower processing speed. These results suggest that the characterized performance of ANT, processing speed and executive control in particular, might help differentiate adults at risk of different forms of cognitive impairment.

scholarly journals Efficiency and Enhancement in Attention Networks of Elite Shooting and Archery Athletes

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Quanyu Lu ◽  
Pengli Li ◽  
Qiong Wu ◽  
Xinghua Liu ◽  
Yanhong Wu
Keyword(s):  
Elite Athletes ◽  
Environmental Information ◽  
Mindfulness Training ◽  
Mindfulness Practice ◽  
Attention Network Test ◽  
Attention Network ◽  
Attention Networks ◽  
Control Networks ◽  
National Team ◽  
Daily Training

Attention has been theorized as a system comprising three networks that can be estimated reliably by the attention network test (ANT); the three networks are defined as alerting, orienting, and conflict control. The present study aims to identify the attention networks that are crucial for elite shooting and archery athletes and to examine whether mindfulness training can improve elite athletes' attention networks. We compared the performances in ANT between 62 elite athletes (27 F/35 M, 23.66 ± 4.95 years) from the Chinese national team of shooting and archery and 49 athletes (19 F/30 M, 19.53 ± 3.38 years) from a provincial team in China. The results indicate three well-functioned attention networks in both groups, but elite athletes in the national team responded faster overall than athletes in the provincial team (Diff = 28.84 ms, p = 0.006). The 62 elite athletes in the national team then received mindfulness training with varied periods ranging from 5 to 8 weeks, after which the ANT was re-administered. After mindfulness training, the elite athletes improved in orienting (Diffspatial = 10.02 ms, p = 0.018) and conflict control networks (Diffincon = 12.01 ms, p = 0.019) compared with their pre-training performances. These results suggest that elite shooting and archery athletes in the national team are more efficient in all three attention networks, which means that they are able to reach the alerting state faster, make better use of environmental information, and suppress interference from distractors more efficiently. Moreover, the orienting and conflict control networks of the elite shooting and archery athletes can be improved by mindfulness training. We conclude that mindfulness practice should be considered as a useful addition to daily training for shooting and archery athletes.

scholarly journals Attentional Skills in Soccer: Evaluating the Involvement of Attention in Executing a Goalkeeping Task in Virtual Reality

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.

Are Individual Differences in Absentmindedness Correlated with Individual Differences in Attention?

2009 ◽  
Vol 30 (4) ◽  
pp. 220-237 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yoko Ishigami ◽  
Raymond M. Klein
Keyword(s):  
Individual Differences ◽  
Reaction Time ◽  
Error Rate ◽  
Executive Control ◽  
Attention Network Test ◽  
Global Measure ◽  
Attention Network ◽  
Warning Tone ◽  
Cognitive Failures ◽  
Cognitive Failures Questionnaire

We administered the Cognitive Failures Questionnaire (CFQ) and one of two versions of the Attention Network Test (ANT) to 200 participants. Orthogonal subtraction scores based on performance (reaction time and error rate) from selected conditions of the ANT provided measures of the efficacy of three attention components: alerting, orienting, and executive control, while the total CFQ score provided a global measure of absentmindedness. Executive control was not associated with the CFQ in either experiment. When alertness was generated by a warning tone, greater alerting effects in reaction time were associated with higher CFQ scores (greater absentmindedness). The orienting effects in accuracy obtained from the two versions of the ANT varied with absentmindedness in opposite directions, suggesting that these two tests tap different aspects of orienting.

Functioning of the Attentional Networks at Rest vs. During Acute Bouts of Aerobic Exercise

2011 ◽  
Vol 33 (5) ◽  
pp. 649-665 ◽  
Author(s):  
Florentino Huertas ◽  
Javier Zahonero ◽  
Daniel Sanabria ◽  
Juan Lupiáñez
Keyword(s):  
Reaction Time ◽  
Aerobic Exercise ◽  
Executive Control ◽  
Attention Network Test ◽  
General State ◽  
Attention Network ◽  
Attentional Functioning ◽  
Attentional Networks ◽  
Phasic Alertness ◽  
Rest Condition

The present study explored the effects of three different activity conditions on three attentional functions: alerting, orienting, and executive control. A group of highly experienced cyclists performed the Attention Network Test–Interactions (Callejas, Lupiáñez, & Tudela, 2004) at rest, during moderate aerobic exercise, and during intense aerobic exercise. Results indicated that aerobic exercise accelerated reaction time and reduced the alerting effect compared with the rest condition. However, aerobic exercise did not modulate the functioning of either the orienting or the executive control attentional networks. No differences in reaction time or attentional functioning were observed between the two aerobic exercise workloads. The present results suggest that moderate aerobic exercise modulates the functioning of phasic alertness by increasing the general state of tonic vigilance.

scholarly journals Attentional networks efficiency in preterm children

2009 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 130-137 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. PIZZO ◽  
S. URBEN ◽  
M. VAN DER LINDEN ◽  
C. BORRADORI-TOLSA ◽  
M. FRESCHI ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Gestational Age ◽  
Executive Control ◽  
Full Term ◽  
Preterm Children ◽  
Attention Network ◽  
Attentional Deficits ◽  
Control Networks ◽  
Attentional Networks ◽  
Preterm Group

AbstractRecent studies have reported specific executive and attentional deficits in preterm children. However, the majority of this research has used multidetermined tasks to assess these abilities, and the interpretation of the results lacks an explicit theoretical backdrop to better understand the origin of the difficulties observed. In the present study, we used the Child Attention Network Task (Child ANT; Rueda et al. 2004) to assess the efficiency of the alerting, orienting and executive control networks. We compared the performance of 25 preterm children (gestational age ≤ 32 weeks) to 25 full-term children, all between 5½ and 6½ years of age. Results showed that, as compared to full-term children, preterm children were slower on all conditions of the Child ANT and had a specific deficit in executive control abilities. We also observed a significantly higher correlation between the orienting and executive control networks in the preterm group, suggesting less differentiation of these two networks in this population. (JINS, 2010, 16, 130–137.)

scholarly journals Shimi et al_GKVR1

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andria Shimi ◽  
Vanessa Tsestou ◽  
Marios Hatziaros ◽  
Kleanthis Neokleous ◽  
Marios N Avraamides
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Reality ◽  
Executive Control ◽  
Cognitive Abilities ◽  
Cognitive Skills ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Attention Network Test ◽  
Immersive Virtual Reality ◽  
Attention Network ◽  
Physical Abilities

Soccer is one of the most popular sports and goalkeepers are central to a team’s winning. Physical abilities are essential to goalkeepers but the involved cognitive abilities for these players are understudied and not well understood. In this study, we investigated the role of different aspects of attention in a goalkeeping task in soccer. Participants assumed the role of a goalkeeper in immersive Virtual Reality 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. Results revealed that all three attention network scores predicted 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.

scholarly journals Age differences in reward-motivation attention: behavioural and ERP evidence

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Farrah Kudus
Keyword(s):  
Age Differences ◽  
Executive Control ◽  
Cognitive Aging ◽  
Neural Systems ◽  
Attention Network Test ◽  
Attention Network ◽  
Systems Research ◽  
Attentional Networks ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Reward Motivation

The attentional system is comprised of three networks: alerting, orienting, and executive control, all of which are associated with unique neural systems. Research examining motivationcognition interactions implicate the dopaminergic and locus-coeruleus norepinephrine systems in attentional and motivational processes, both of which show age differences. The current study was conducted to explore the mechanisms through which gain and loss motivation affect attention across the lifespan, using behavioural and electrophysiological markers of attentional networks. Younger adults (18-33 years) and older adults (65-80 years) completed an incentivized version of the Attention Network Test. Our behavioural results showed age differences in incentive sensitivity, such that responses were modulated as a function of incentives. We also examined cue-N1, target-N1, and target-P3, which showed transient incentive-based modulation, and depended on incentive valence. Overall, our study provides evidence for age-related differences in the modulation of attentional networks, and contributes new insights into the mechanisms behind motivation-cognition interactions. Keywords: Attention Network Test, Motivation, Incentives, Cognitive Aging, Alerting, Executive Control

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