The mental wormhole: Internal attention shifts without regard for distance

AbstractPrevious studies have associated visual working memory (VWM) capacity with the use of internal attention. Retrocues, which direct internal attention to a particular object or feature dimension, can improve VWM performance (i.e., retrocue benefit, RCB). However, so far, no study has investigated the relationship between VWM capacity and the magnitudes of RCBs obtained from object-based and dimension-based retrocues. The present study explored individual differences in the magnitudes of object- and dimension-based RCBs and their relationships with VWM capacity. Participants completed a VWM capacity measurement, an object-based cue task, and a dimension-based cue task. We confirmed that both object- and dimension-based retrocues could improve VWM performance. We also found a significant positive correlation between the magnitudes of object- and dimension-based RCB indexes, suggesting a partly overlapping mechanism between the use of object- and dimension-based retrocues. However, our results provided no evidence for a correlation between VWM capacity and the magnitudes of the object- or dimension-based RCBs. Although inadequate attention control is usually assumed to be associated with VWM capacity, the results suggest that the internal attention mechanism for using retrocues in VWM retention is independent of VWM capacity.

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Attention shifts to state health care reform efforts

AORN Journal ◽

10.1016/s0001-2092(07)68475-0 ◽

1994 ◽

Vol 60 (6) ◽

pp. 989

Author(s):

PAT NIESSNER PALMER

Keyword(s):

Health Care ◽

Health Care Reform ◽

State Health ◽

Attention Shifts

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Functional Delineation of Prefrontal Networks Underlying Working Memory in Schizophrenia: A Cross-data-set Examination

Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience ◽

10.1162/jocn_a_01726 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 1-29

Author(s):

Nicole Sanford ◽

Todd S. Woodward

Keyword(s):

Working Memory ◽

Mixed Model ◽

Data Sets ◽

Generation Task ◽

Data Set ◽

Set Switching ◽

Dorsolateral Prefrontal ◽

Task Conditions ◽

Experiment Analysis ◽

Internal Attention

Abstract Background: Working memory (WM) impairment in schizophrenia substantially impacts functional outcome. Although the dorsolateral pFC has been implicated in such impairment, a more comprehensive examination of brain networks comprising pFC is warranted. The present research used a whole-brain, multi-experiment analysis to delineate task-related networks comprising pFC. Activity was examined in schizophrenia patients across a variety of cognitive demands. Methods: One hundred schizophrenia patients and 102 healthy controls completed one of four fMRI tasks: a Sternberg verbal WM task, a visuospatial WM task, a Stroop set-switching task, and a thought generation task (TGT). Task-related networks were identified using multi-experiment constrained PCA for fMRI. Effects of task conditions and group differences were examined using mixed-model ANOVA on the task-related time series. Correlations between task performance and network engagement were also performed. Results: Four spatially and temporally distinct networks with pFC activation emerged and were postulated to subserve (1) internal attention, (2) auditory–motor attention, (3) motor responses, and (4) task energizing. The “energizing” network—engaged during WM encoding and diminished in patients—exhibited consistent trend relationships with WM capacity across different data sets. The dorsolateral-prefrontal-cortex-dominated “internal attention” network exhibited some evidence of hypoactivity in patients, but was not correlated with WM performance. Conclusions: Multi-experiment analysis allowed delineation of task-related, pFC-anchored networks across different cognitive constructs. Given the results with respect to the early-responding “energizing” network, WM deficits in schizophrenia may arise from disruption in the “energization” process described by Donald Stuss' model of pFC functions.

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