Threat Effects on Attention Networks in Individuals with a History of Externalizing Behaviors

Research identifying the biobehavioral processes that link threat exposure to cognitive alterations can inform treatments designed to reduce perpetration of stress-induced aggression. The present study attempted to specify the effects of relatively predictable (acute) vs unpredictable (diffuse) threat on two theoretically relevant attention networks, attentional alerting and executive control; and to examine the extent to which aggression proneness moderated those effects. In a sample with high rates of externalizing behaviors (n = 74), we measured event-related brain activity during an attention network test that manipulated cognitive systems activation under distinct contexts of threat (NPU manipulation). The first set of results confirmed that threat exposure alters alerting and executive control. The predictable threat condition, relative to unpredictable threat, increased visual alerting (alert cue N1) and decreased attention (P3) to subsequent task-relevant stimuli (flanker). In contrast, overall threat and unpredictable threat conditions were associated with alerting-related quicker responding and poorer conflict resolution (congruence-related flanker N2 reductions and RT interference). The second set of results indicated that different operationalizations of aggression proneness were inconsistently related to threat-related alterations in cognitive systems. While these results regarding threat-related cognitive alterations in aggression require more study, they nevertheless expand what is known about threat-related modulation of cognition in a sample of individuals with histories of externalizing behaviors.

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

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.

The Effects of Bilateral and Ipsilateral Auditory Stimuli on the Subcomponents of Visual Attention

Attention contains three functional network subcomponents of alerting, orienting, and executive control. The attention network test (ANT) is usually used to measure the efficiency of three attention subcomponents. Previous researches have focused on examining the unimodal attention with visual or auditory ANT paradigms. However, it is still unclear how an auditory stimulus influences the visual attention networks. This study investigated the effects of bilateral auditory stimuli (Experiment 1) and ipsilateral auditory stimulus (Experiment 2) on the visual attention subcomponents. We employed an ANT paradigm and manipulated the target modality types, including visual and audiovisual modalities. The participants were instructed to distinguish the direction of the central arrow surrounded by distractor arrows. In Experiment 1, we found that the simultaneous bilateral auditory stimuli reduced the efficiency of visual alerting and orienting, but had no significant effect on the efficiency of visual executive control. In Experiment 2, the ipsilateral auditory stimulus reduced the efficiency of visual executive control, but had no significant effect on the efficiency of visual alerting and orienting. We also observed a reduced relative multisensory response enhancement (rMRE) effect in cue condition relative to no cue condition (Experiment 1), and an increased rMRE effect in congruent condition compared with incongruent condition (Experiment 2). These results firstly provide evidence for the alerting, orienting and executive control effects in audiovisual condition. And the bilateral and ipsilateral auditory stimuli have different effects on the subcomponents of visual attention.

Body Mobility and Attention Networks in 6- to 7-Year-Old Children

Learning in 6- to 7-year-old children is strongly influenced by three functions of attention: alertness, orienting, and executive control. These functions share a close relationship with body mobility, such as the posture adopted or a request to stay still during tasks. The aim of this study (ClinicalTrials.gov) was to analyze the influence of body posture (standing versus sitting) and the influence of these imposed postures compared to a free body mobility on attention functions in 6- to 7-year-old children. Twenty-one children (11 girls) with a mean age of 6.7±0.6years performed the Attention Network Test for Children in three-body mobility conditions: sitting still, standing still, and free to move. Three attentional scores were calculated which would separately reflect performance of alertness, orienting, and executive control. Overall, no difference in alertness performance was found between the three bodily mobility conditions. In addition, our results suggest a general poor orienting performance in children, whatever the body mobility condition, which might be related to their young age. Finally, children improved their executive control performance when they stood still, probably due to an improvement in arousal and mental state.

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

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.

Is Brief Exposure to Green Space in School the Best Option to Improve Attention in Children?

The positive effects of Green Spaces on health are thought to be achieved through the mechanisms of mitigation, instoration and restoration. One of the benefits of Green Spaces may be the restoration of attention and so the objective of this research is testing empirically whether exposure to a green environment improves attention in school children. For so doing, we first used a split-unit statistical design in each of four schools, then combined the primary results via meta-analysis. The Attention Network Test (ANT) was used to measure attention before and after exposure and a total of 167 seven-year-old students participated in the experiments. Overall, our experimental results do not support the hypothesis that students’ exposure to activities in green vs. grey spaces affected their performance in ANT. This was so despite the fact that neither age nor gender biases have been detected and despite that our experiments have been proved to be sufficiently statistically powerful. It would be advisable to consider air pollution and noise. We also recommend that participants attend the experiment with mental exhaustion to maximize the ability to detect significant changes.

Attention Deficit in Children With Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder at Primary School Age Measured With the Attention Network Test (Ant): A Protocol for a Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

BackgroundAttentional deficits are among the most bothersome symptoms in attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). To date, the neurological basis of attentional deficits has not been fully described according to the diagnostic criteria. ADHD may result from deficits in various attributes of attention. There is no specialist neuropsychological diagnostic method that allows reliable distinction between primary attention disorders in the ethology of ADHD and secondary problems that may arise due to co-morbidities. This protocol aims to systematically review the literature to evaluate patterns of attention common to school-age children either diagnosed with ADHD or at high risk of ADHD, as measured by the neuropsychological attention network test (ANT). MethodsOur searchstrategy will consist of electronic databases (PubMed, PsychInfo, Web of Science, EMBASE, and Cochrane Library) and hand searching. Both prospective cohort studies and prospective studies of intervention effects will be included, provided they used the ANT. The primary output variable will be attention deficits. Screening and eligibility will be done independently by two reviewers based on pre-specified eligibility criteria. Data extraction will be based on a pre-pilot data extraction form, and conducted by two authors independently. Study quality will be assessed by two authors independently. Any discrepancies identified at any stage of the review will be resolved by discussion or/and consultation with another reviewer. We plan a descriptive summary of the findings and a meta-analysis if the data allow.DiscussionThe research will identify patterns of neuropsychological ANT results characteristic to both school-age children diagnosed with ADHD and those at high risk of having ADHD. Our results could be used to check whether the pattern of a child's performance in the ANT corresponds to the characteristic pattern of the results of children with ADHD. At present, the ANT is used only in research ; the results of this review will serve as a useful benchmark.Hopefully, in the future, it will be possible to use the ANT in the wider diagnosis of ADHD.Systematic review registrationPROSPERO: CRD42021249768

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

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