Abstract
Attention-related processes include three functional sub-components: alerting, orienting, and inhibition. We investigated these components using EEG-based, brain event-related potentials and their neuronal source activations during the Attention Network Test in typically developing school-aged children. Participants were asked to detect the swimming direction of the centre fish in a group of five fish. The target stimulus was either preceded by a cue (centre, double, or spatial) or no cue. An EEG using 128 electrodes was recorded for 83 children aged 12–13 years. RTs showed significant effects across all three sub-components of attention. Alerting and orienting (responses to double vs non-cued target stimulus and spatially vs centre-cued target stimulus, respectively) resulted in larger N1 amplitude, whereas inhibition (responses to incongruent vs congruent target stimulus) resulted in larger P3 amplitude. Neuronal source activation for the alerting effect was localized in the right anterior temporal and bilateral occipital lobes, for the orienting effect bilaterally in the occipital lobe, and for the inhibition effect in the medial prefrontal cortex and left anterior temporal lobe. Neuronal sources of ERPs revealed that sub-processes related to the attention network are different in children as compared to earlier adult fMRI studies, which was not evident from scalp ERPs.
Highlights
Visual attention identifies and selects information that is relevant to ongoing behaviour, and ignores information that is irrelevant[1]
We examined reaction times (RTs), brain event-related potentials (ERPs), and neuronal sources associated with attention network sub-components using a modified attention network test (ANT)[7] in typically developing school-aged children
Correspondence and requests for materials should be addressed to P.R.S.G. www.nature.com/scientificreports/. This alerting effect is observed in children, their RTs vary with age and are slower than those of adults
Summary
Visual attention identifies and selects information that is relevant to ongoing behaviour, and ignores information that is irrelevant[1]. We examined reaction times (RTs), brain ERPs, and neuronal sources associated with attention network sub-components using a modified attention network test (ANT)[7] in typically developing school-aged children. Previous studies showed that a warning cue helps increase alertness and decrease RTs to the target stimulus[5,12,13]. This alerting effect is observed in children, their RTs vary with age and are slower than those of adults. To the best of our knowledge, there are no studies that employ visual cue manipulation of the N1 alerting effect in typically developing children
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