Improvement in peripherical visual attentional performance in professional soccer players following a single neurofeedback training.

The effectiveness of EEG-neurofeedback (EEG-NFB) in modulating cognition has been the subject of much research for several years, particularly in relation to attentional functions in healthy subjects and those with attentional deficits. However, its effectiveness on sports performance remains poorly studied and its use is not widely practised among athletes, notably because of its accessibility and questionable effectiveness. The aim of this study is to show that this technology can be accessible, and that Alpha EEG-NFB is immediately effective. Fifteen professional soccer players took part in this study. Using a novel EEG headset that can be installed in less than one minute, and new processing software, the players performed two peripherical attentional tasks before and after, immediately and one month, a single Alpha EEG-NFB training session. The results showed a significant effect on both tasks immediately after EEG-NFB training, with a benefit of more than 30% and this performance continued after one month (20%). This study, the first to use this headset and software, shows that the improvement in sports performance can be related to cognitive performance, especially peripherical visual attentional functions. Furthermore, it demonstrates that the use of the EEG-NFB is accessible and effective for high-level athletes.

A BCI-Based Study on the Relationship Between the SSVEP and Retinal Eccentricity in Overt and Covert Attention

Covert attention aids us in monitoring the environment and optimizing performance in visual tasks. Past behavioral studies have shown that covert attention can enhance spatial resolution. However, electroencephalography (EEG) activity related to neural processing between central and peripheral vision has not been systematically investigated. Here, we conducted an EEG study with 25 subjects who performed covert attentional tasks at different retinal eccentricities ranging from 0.75° to 13.90°, as well as tasks involving overt attention and no attention. EEG signals were recorded with a single stimulus frequency to evoke steady-state visual evoked potentials (SSVEPs) for attention evaluation. We found that the SSVEP response in fixating at the attended location was generally negatively correlated with stimulus eccentricity as characterized by Euclidean distance or horizontal and vertical distance. Moreover, more pronounced characteristics of SSVEP analysis were also acquired in overt attention than in covert attention. Furthermore, offline classification of overt attention, covert attention, and no attention yielded an average accuracy of 91.42%. This work contributes to our understanding of the SSVEP representation of attention in humans and may also lead to brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) that allow people to communicate with choices simply by shifting their attention to them.

P041 The Impact of Simulated Night Shifts on Executive Functioning

Nightwork is associated with fatigue, decreased sleep quality, and impairments in cognitive function. While attentional tasks have been widely investigated, there are limited data on more complex tasks, such as executive functioning during nightwork. Workers often need to rapidly shift between tasks, adapting to new and complex situations. The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of nightwork on executive functioning. Healthy, non-shift working individuals (N=8; 5F, 24.8±5.0y) participated in a 7-day live-in laboratory study. Participants underwent an 8h TIB baseline sleep, followed by 4 consecutive simulated nightshifts with 7h TIB sleep during the day and an 8h TIB recovery sleep. Participants were assessed for executive function at 2000h, 2200h, 0100h and 0400h. Executive functioning was assessed with a mental flexibility switching task where a 3D rotation and math task were displayed simultaneously with an arrow indicating which task to complete in a random order. Resulting throughput data were analysed using linear mixed models. There was a main effect of time of night (F(3,77)=4.81,p=.004) on throughput such that there was a speed accuracy trade off over the night shift with slower switching ability later in the shift. There was also a main effect of nightshift (F(2,77)=54.33,p<.001) where participants’ performance improved on the task with each nightshift. This study suggests executive functioning is impaired on nightshift with worse performance at 0400h. Task improvements over consecutive nightshifts may have been due to learning or acclimation to nightwork. Understanding complex task performance on nightshift is important for tailoring countermeasures.

Modifying food items valuation and weight with gamified executive control training

Recent lines of research suggest that repeated executive control of motor responses to food items modifies their perceived value and in turn their consumption. Cognitive interventions involving the practice of motor control and attentional tasks have thus been advanced as potential approach to improve eating habits. Yet, their efficacy remains debated, notably due to a lack of proper control for the effects of expectations. We examined whether a one-month intervention combining the practice of Go/NoGo and Cue approach training modified the perceived palatability of food items (i.e. decrease in unhealthy and increase in healthy food items' palatability ratings), and in turn participants’ weights. We assessed our hypotheses with a parallel, double-blind, randomized controlled trial. Motivation and adherence to the intervention were maximized by a professional-level gamification of the training tasks. The control intervention differed from the experimental intervention only in the biasing of the stimulus–response mapping rules, enabling to balance expectations between the two groups and thus to conclude on the causal influence of motoric control on items valuation. We found a larger decrease of the unhealthy items' palatability ratings in the experimental (20.6%) than control group (13.1%). However, we did not find any increase of the healthy items’ ratings or weight loss. Overall, the present registered report confirms that the repeated inhibition of motor responses to food cues, together with the development of attentional biases away from these cues, reduces their perceived value.

Attention-Dependent Physiological Correlates in Sleep-Deprived Young Healthy Humans

Cognitive functions could be specifically altered but masked from the unspecific effect of workload, a common factor affecting cognitive functions that modulate peripheral outputs. To identify workload-related and specific, task-dependent components, physiological correlates of cognitive functioning were derived by studying 15 healthy volunteers performing attentional tasks in baseline and post-sleep-deprivation conditions (one week interval). Sleep deprivation was introduced to increase workload. We performed recordings of heart pulse, facial temperature, and head movements during tasks assessing attentional network efficiency (ANT, Attentional Network Task; CCT, Continuous Compensatory Tracker) workload assessments after execution of tasks. Changes in cognitive and physiological indices were studied in both conditions; physiological correlates of cognitive performance were identified by correlating changes from baseline to post-sleep-deprivation condition of task indices with those of physiological measures after correction for between-conditions workload changes. We found that mental and physical demands of workload increased after sleep deprivation. We identified no changes in cognitive and physiological indices across conditions; specific physiological correlates of attentional systems, as indicated by the negative correlation between changes in ANT-alerting and changes in amplitude of head movements and the positive correlation between changes in CCT-speed indexing alertness and changes in facial temperature.

Pupil-based states of brain integration across cognitive states

Arousal is a potent mechanism that provides the brain with functional flexibility and adaptability to external conditions. Within the wake state, arousal levels driven by activity in the neuromodulatory systems are related to specific signatures of neural activation and brain synchrony. However, direct evidence is still lacking on the varying effects of arousal on macroscopic brain characteristics and across a variety of cognitive states in humans. Using a concurrent fMRI-pupillometry approach, we used pupil size as a proxy for arousal and obtained patterns of brain integration associated with increasing arousal levels. We carried out this analysis on resting-state data and data from two attentional tasks implicating different cognitive processes. We found that an increasing level of arousal was related to a non-linear pattern of brain integration, with increasing brain integration from intermediate to larger arousal levels. This effect was prominent in the salience network in all tasks, while other regions showed task-specificity. Furthermore, task performance was also related to arousal level, with accuracy being highest at intermediate levels of arousal across tasks. Taken together, our study provides evidence in humans for pupil size as an index of brain network state, and supports the role of arousal as a switch that drives brain coordination in specific brain regions according to the cognitive state.

Effects of genetic variability of CYP2D6 on neural substrates of sustained attention during on-task activity

The polymorphic drug-metabolizing enzyme CYP2D6, which is responsible for the metabolism of most psychoactive compounds, is expressed not only in the liver, but also in the brain. The effects of its marked genetic polymorphism on the individual capacity to metabolize drugs are well known, but its role in metabolism of neural substrates affecting behavior personality or cognition, suggested by its CNS expression, is a long-standing unresolved issue. To verify earlier findings suggesting a potential effect on attentional processes, we collected functional imaging data, while N = 415 participants performed a simple task in which the reward for correct responses varied. CYP2D6 allelic variants predicting higher levels of enzymatic activity level were positively associated with cortical activity in occipito-parietal areas as well as in a right lateralized network known to be activated by spatial attentional tasks. Reward-related modulation of activity in cortical areas was more pronounced in poor metabolizers. In conjunction with effects on reaction times, our findings provide evidence for reduced cognitive efficiency in rapid metabolizers compared to poor metabolizers in on-task attentional processes manifested through differential recruitment of a specific neural substrate.

A Novel Auditory-Cognitive Training App for Delaying or Preventing the Onset of Dementia: Participatory Design With Stakeholders

Background Multiple gaming apps exist under the dementia umbrella for skills such as navigation; however, an app to specifically investigate the role of hearing loss in the process of cognitive decline is yet to be designed. There is a demonstrable gap in the utilization of games to further the knowledge of the potential relationship between hearing loss and dementia. Objective This study aims to identify the needs, facilitators, and barriers in designing a novel auditory-cognitive training gaming app. Methods A participatory design approach was used to engage key stakeholders across audiology and cognitive disorder specialties. Two rounds, including paired semistructured interviews and focus groups, were completed and thematically analyzed. Results A total of 18 stakeholders participated, and 6 themes were identified to inform the next stage of app development. These included congruence with hobbies, life getting in the way, motivational challenge, accessibility, addictive competition, and realism. Conclusions The findings can now be implemented in the development of the app. The app will be evaluated against outcome measures of speech listening in noise, cognitive and attentional tasks, quality of life, and usability.

Driving Accidents, Driving Violations, Symptoms of Attention-Deficit-Hyperactivity (ADHD) and Attentional Network Tasks

Background: Iran has serious problems with traffic-related injuries and death. A major reason for traffic accidents is cognitive failure due to deficits in attention. In this study, we investigated the associations between traffic violations, traffic accidents, symptoms of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), age, and on an attentional network task in a sample of Iranian adults. Methods: A total of 274 participants (mean age: 31.37 years; 80.7% males) completed questionnaires covering demographic information, driving violations, traffic accidents, and symptoms of ADHD. In addition, they underwent an objective attentional network task (ANT), based on Posner’s concept of attentional networks. Results: More frequent traffic violations, correlated with lower age and poorer performance on the attentional network tasks. Higher symptoms of ADHD were associated with more accidents and more traffic violations, but not with the performance of the attentional tasks. Higher ADHD scores, a poorer performance on attentional network tasks, and younger age predicted traffic violations. Only higher symptoms of ADHD predicted more traffic accidents. Conclusions: In a sample of Iranian drivers, self-rated symptoms of ADHD appeared to be associated with traffic violations and accidents, while symptoms of ADHD were unrelated to objectively assessed performance on an attentional network task. Poor attentional network performance was a significant predictor of traffic violations but not of accidents. To increase traffic safety, both symptoms of ADHD and attentional network performance appear to merit particular attention.

Impact of Attentional Loading and Task Constraints on Postural Control of Healthy Older Adults

Postural control is attention demanding, and it may be jeopardized when a secondary cognitive task is involved, particularly for older adults. The magnitude of this interference depends on different individual (perceptuo-motor status), task (single vs. dual tasking), and environmental constraints (support surface). The purpose of this research was to examine if older adults may be affected by various types of secondary cognitive tasks, while maintaining quiet standing on different support surfaces. In line with conceptual models, the results indicated that postural control of older adults was compromised when they were required to dual-task, especially when the support surface was challenging. This was a robust finding across all the measures of COP. In regards to the degree to which different attentional tasks affected postural control, the results remained equivocal. From a practical standpoint, the results indicated that older adults should exhibit caution when simultaneously performing a balance and a cognitive task involved particularly when the surface is unsteady.