Inattention and Uncertainty in the Predictive Brain

Negative effects of inattention on task performance can be seen in many contexts of society and human behavior, such as traffic, work, and sports. In traffic, inattention is one of the most frequently cited causal factors in accidents. In order to identify inattention and mitigate its negative effects, there is a need for quantifying attentional demands of dynamic tasks, with a credible basis in cognitive modeling and neuroscience. Recent developments in cognitive science have led to theories of cognition suggesting that brains are an advanced prediction engine. The function of this prediction engine is to support perception and action by continuously matching incoming sensory input with top-down predictions of the input, generated by hierarchical models of the statistical regularities and causal relationships in the world. Based on the capacity of this predictive processing framework to explain various mental phenomena and neural data, we suggest it also provides a plausible theoretical and neural basis for modeling attentional demand and attentional capacity “in the wild” in terms of uncertainty and prediction error. We outline a predictive processing approach to the study of attentional demand and inattention in driving, based on neurologically-inspired theories of uncertainty processing and experimental research combining brain imaging, visual occlusion and computational modeling. A proper understanding of uncertainty processing would enable comparison of driver's uncertainty to a normative level of appropriate uncertainty, and thereby improve definition and detection of inattentive driving. This is the necessary first step toward applications such as attention monitoring systems for conventional and semi-automated driving.

Joint Analysis of Eye Blinks and Brain Activity to Investigate Attentional Demand during a Visual Search Task

In several fields, the need for a joint analysis of brain activity and eye activity to investigate the association between brain mechanisms and manifest behavior has been felt. In this work, two levels of attentional demand, elicited through a conjunction search task, have been modelled in terms of eye blinks, brain activity, and brain network features. Moreover, the association between endogenous neural mechanisms underlying attentional demand and eye blinks, without imposing a time-locked structure to the analysis, has been investigated. The analysis revealed statistically significant spatial and spectral modulations of the recorded brain activity according to the different levels of attentional demand, and a significant reduction in the number of eye blinks when a higher amount of attentional investment was required. Besides, the integration of information coming from high-density electroencephalography (EEG), brain source localization, and connectivity estimation allowed us to merge spectral and causal information between brain areas, characterizing a comprehensive model of neurophysiological processes behind attentional demand. The analysis of the association between eye and brain-related parameters revealed a statistically significant high correlation (R > 0.7) of eye blink rate with anterofrontal brain activity at 8 Hz, centroparietal brain activity at 12 Hz, and a significant moderate correlation with the participation of right Intra Parietal Sulcus in alpha band (R = −0.62). Due to these findings, this work suggests the possibility of using eye blinks measured from one sensor placed on the forehead as an unobtrusive measure correlating with neural mechanisms underpinning attentional demand.

A Review of Occlusion as a Tool to Assess Attentional Demand in Driving

Objective The aim of this review is to identify how visual occlusion contributes to our understanding of attentional demand and spare visual capacity in driving and the strengths and limitations of the method. Background The occlusion technique was developed by John W. Senders to evaluate the attentional demand of driving. Despite its utility, it has been used infrequently in driver attention/inattention research. Method Visual occlusion studies in driving published between 1967 and 2020 were reviewed. The focus was on original studies in which the forward visual field was intermittently occluded while the participant was driving. Results Occlusion studies have shown that attentional demand varies across situations and drivers and have indicated environmental, situational, and inter-individual factors behind the variability. The occlusion technique complements eye tracking in being able to indicate the temporal requirements for and redundancy in visual information sampling. The proper selection of occlusion settings depends on the target of the research. Conclusion Although there are a number of occlusion studies looking at various aspects of attentional demand, we are still only beginning to understand how these demands vary, interact, and covary in naturalistic driving. Application The findings of this review have methodological and theoretical implications for human factors research and for the development of distraction monitoring and in-vehicle system testing. Distraction detection algorithms and testing guidelines should consider the variability in drivers’ situational and individual spare visual capacity.

Levels of What?Investigating Drivers’ Understanding of Different Levels of Automation in Vehicles

Extant levels of automation (LoAs) taxonomies describe variations in function allocations between the driver and the driving automation system (DAS) from a technical perspective. However, these taxonomies miss important human factors issues and when design decisions are based on them, the resulting interaction design leaves users confused. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to describe how users perceive different DASs by eliciting insights from an empirical driving study facilitating a Wizard-of-Oz approach, where 20 participants were interviewed after experiencing systems on two different LoAs under real driving conditions. The findings show that participants talked about the DAS by describing different relationships and dependencies between three different elements: the context (traffic conditions, road types), the vehicle (abilities, limitations, vehicle operations), and the driver (control, attentional demand, interaction with displays and controls, operation of vehicle), each with associated aspects that indicate what users identify as relevant when describing a vehicle with automated systems. Based on these findings, a conceptual model is proposed by which designers can differentiate LoAs from a human-centric perspective and that can aid in the development of design guidelines for driving automation.

Finger orthoses for management of joint hypermobility disorders: Relative effects on hand function and cognitive load

Background: Joint hypermobility refers to joints that move beyond their normal limits. Individuals with hypermobility of the fingers experience difficulties in activities of daily living. Finger orthoses are available for managing hypermobility of the fingers, but their effectiveness has received little attention in scholarly literature. Objectives: To determine if use of custom fit finger orthoses leads to improvements in time needed to perform standardised hand function tests, and attentional demand required to perform these tests, in individuals with joint hypermobility syndrome, Hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos syndrome or Classical Ehlers-Danlos syndrome. Study design: Repeated-measures study. Methods: Fourteen participants performed three different hand function tests (target box and block test, writing and picking up coins), with and without their finger orthoses. Time to complete each test was recorded as a measure of functional performance. Brain activity was recorded in the pre-frontal cortices as a measure of attentional demand. Results: Functional performance significantly improved for all but one test (picking up coins with non-dominant hand) when participants wore finger orthoses (p < 0.05). Activity in the pre-frontal cortex was lower when using the orthosis to perform the coin test (dominant hand; p < 0.05). No differences were observed in other tests (p > 0.05). Conclusions: Results suggested that finger orthoses improved hand function and provided limited evidence to suggest that they may also affect attentional demand. While the limited sample does not provide conclusive evidence supporting the use of finger orthosis in this clinical population, results warrant further investigation in large scale longitudinal studies or randomised controlled trials.

Parallel cortical-brainstem pathways to attentional analgesia

Pain perception is diminished when attention is diverted. Our previous human fMRI study, using a 2×2 factorial design with thermal stimuli and concurrent visual attention task, linked the brainstem triad of locus coeruleus (LC), rostroventromedial medulla (RVM) and periaqueductal grey (PAG) to attentional analgesia. This study was repeated with a larger cohort, replicating our earlier findings. Pain intensity was encoded by the RVM, whilst activity in the contralateral LC correlated with the magnitude of attentional analgesia. Psycho-Physiological Interaction analysis informed subsequent Dynamic Causal Modelling and identified two parallel paths between forebrain and the brainstem regions involved in analgesia. These cortico-brainstem connections were modulated by attentional demand: a bidirectional anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) – right-LC loop, and a top-down influence of task on ACC-PAG-RVM. Under conditions of competing attentional demands the ACC recruits discrete brainstem circuits to modulate nociceptive input.