Abstract
Attentional blink (AB) describes a phenomenon whereby correct identification of a first target impairs the processing of a second target (i.e., probe) nearby in time. Evidence suggests that explicit attention orienting in the time domain can attenuate the AB. Here, we used scalp-recorded, event-related potentials to examine whether auditory AB is also sensitive to implicit temporal attention orienting. Expectations were set up implicitly by varying the probability (i.e., 80% or 20%) that the probe would occur at the +2 or +8 position following target presentation. Participants showed a significant AB, which was reduced with the increased probe probability at the +2 position. The probe probability effect was paralleled by an increase in P3b amplitude elicited by the probe. The results suggest that implicit temporal attention orienting can facilitate short-term consolidation of the probe and attenuate auditory AB.
Highlights
Attentional blink (AB) refers to the phenomenon whereby correct identification of a first target causes a processing deficit for a second target when the two are presented in close succession amongst distracters in a rapid, serial, auditory/visual presentation
By varying probe probability, we provide new evidence that attention can be biased implicitly toward a specific temporal position thereby easing probe detection within the AB window. This attenuation of the auditory AB was paralleled by increased P3b amplitude elicited by the probe
The behavioral and electrophysiological data provide converging evidence that the allocation of processing resources can be induced implicitly, and that temporal attention orienting can partly overcome the processing limitation reflected in the AB
Summary
Attentional blink (AB) refers to the phenomenon whereby correct identification of a first target (target or T1) causes a processing deficit for a second target (probe or T2) when the two are presented in close succession amongst distracters in a rapid, serial, auditory/visual presentation. There is evidence from scalp recording of event-related potentials (ERPs) that auditory AB can be modulated by instructing participants to focus their attention to a specific time interval within a sequence of stimuli [12] Together, these studies indicate that there is some degree of flexibility in the allocation of processing resources, despite the existence of processing bottlenecks [13], and that attention can be directed toward a probe feature [11] or temporal position [9,12], thereby facilitating its processing. Los and Heslenfeld [17] used sequential effects of foreperiod and revealed an effect of implicit temporal expectation on reaction time and the amplitude of the contingent negative variation (CNV) Together, these studies provide converging evidence suggesting that implicit manipulation can successfully bias attention toward a specific time thereby facilitating target processing. We hypothesized that 1) reduced auditory AB would be observed when attention was oriented towards the probe position and 2) that reduced AB would coincide with an increase in P3b amplitude which may be explained by increased processing resources being allocated to that position
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