Attention To Cues Research Articles

Exploring horses' (Equus caballus) gaze and asymmetric ear position in relation to human attentional cues.

Studies have shown that horses are sensitive to human attentional cues. Also, there is some evidence that they might be able to infer the knowledge state of a human and communicate intentionally with us. However, this ability is not fully characterized and certain behaviors, like gaze, asymmetric ears position or vocalizations, which could work as attention-getting behaviors, have been scarcely studied in this context. The aim of the present study was to assess whether horses' gaze toward a person, asymmetric ears position and vocalizations are subject to audience effects and adjust to human attentional cues, which would suggest a communicative function. For this purpose, we adapted a protocol used with domestic dogs [Kaminski et al. 2017] and observed horses' spontaneous behavior (gaze, asymmetric ears position and vocalizations) in the presence of a human holding and not holding food in an attentive position (facing the horse with open eyes) and in a non-attentive position (with her back turned towards the horse). We found significant evidence of horses being sensitive to human attentional cues (reflected in the horses' gaze duration and asymmetric position of the ears), but not of intentional communication towards humans.

Multi-layer feature fusion and attention enhancement for fine-grained vehicle recognition research

Abstract Vehicle recognition technology is widely applied in automatic parking, traffic restrictions, and public security investigations, playing a significant role in the construction of intelligent transportation systems. Fine-grained vehicle recognition seeks to surpass conventional vehicle recognition by concentrating on more detailed sub-classifications. This task is more challenging due to the subtle inter-class differences and significant intra-class variations. Localization-classification subnetworks represent an efficacious approach frequently employed for this task, but previous research has typically relied on CNN deep feature maps for object localization, which suffer from the low resolution, leading to poor localization accuracy. The multi-layer feature fusion localization method proposed by us fuses the high-resolution feature map of the shallow layer of CNN with the deep feature map, and makes full use of the rich spatial information of the shallow feature map to achieve more precise object localization. In addition, traditional methods acquire local attention information through the design of complex models, frequently resulting in regional redundancy or information omission. To address this, we introduce an attention module that adaptively enhances the expressiveness of global features and generates global attention features. These global attention features are then integrated with object-level features and local attention cues to achieve a more comprehensive attention enhancement. Lastly, we devise a multi-branch model and employ the aforementioned object localization and attention enhancement methods for end-to-end training to make the multiple branches collaborate seamlessly to adequately extract fine-grained features. Extensive experiments conducted on the Stanford Cars dataset and the self-built Cars-126 dataset have demonstrated the effectiveness of our method, achieving a leading position among existing methods with 97.7% classification accuracy on the Stanford Cars dataset.

Alpha-band fluctuations represent behaviorally relevant excitability changes as a consequence of top–down guided spatial attention in a probabilistic spatial cueing design

Abstract Spatial attention is a key function enabling the selection of relevant information and meaningful behavioral responses and is likely implemented by different neural mechanisms. In previous work, attention led to robust but uncorrelated modulations of Steady-State-Visual-Evoked-Potentials (SSVEPs) as a marker of early sensory gain and visual as well as motor alpha-band activity. We probed the behavioral relevance of attention-modulated trial-by-trial fluctuations of these measures. For this purpose, in an experiment with a classical probabilistic visuospatial attention cueing task, a to-be-discriminated target stimulus was validly, neutrally, or invalidly cued, while behavioral responses and EEG were recorded. Single-trial flicker-driven SSVEPs, visual and motor alpha-band activity were measured and the relationship between their amplitudes and reaction times was modeled via Bayesian regression models, respectively. We replicated previous findings that these neural measures and behavioral responses were overall modulated by the attentional cue. Beyond that, SSVEP amplitudes were not associated with behavior, while single-trial alpha-band amplitudes were predictive of reaction times: For trials with a valid or neutral cue, lower visual and motor alpha-band amplitudes measured contralateral to the target in the cue–target interval were associated with faster responses (and for valid cues also higher amplitudes ipsilateral to the target). For invalid cues, which required attentional reallocating to the uncued side, no such relationship was found. We argue that behavioral relevance of alpha-band modulations is a consequence but not a mechanism of top–down guided spatial attention, representing neural excitability in cortical areas activated by the attentional shift.

Contextual cuing survives an interruption from an endogenous cue for attention.

Three experiments explored how the repetition of a visual search display guides search during contextual cuing under conditions in which the search process is interrupted by an instructional (endogenous) cue for attention. In Experiment 1, participants readily learned about repeated configurations of visual search, before being presented with an endogenous cue for attention towards the target on every trial. Participants used this cue to improve search times, but the repeated contexts continued to guide attention. Experiment 2 demonstrated that the presence of the endogenous cue did not impede the acquisition of contextual cuing. Experiment 3 confirmed the hypothesis that the contextual cuing effect relies largely on localized distractor contexts, following the guidance of attention. Together, the experiments point towards an interplay between two drivers of attention: after the initial guidance of attention, memory representations of the context continue to guide attention towards the target. This suggests that the early part of visual search is inconsequential for the development and maintenance of the contextual cuing effect, and that memory representations are flexibly deployed when the search procedure is dramatically interrupted.

Dynamic estimation of the attentional field from visual cortical activity.

This study explores whether spatial attention can dynamically adapt by shifting and broadening the attentional field. While previous research has focused on the modulation of neural responses at attended locations, less is known about how the size of the attentional field is represented within visual cortex. Using fMRI, we developed a novel paradigm to estimate the spatial tuning of the attentional field and demonstrate that we were able to recover both the location as well as the width of the attentional field. Our findings offer new insights into the neural mechanisms underlying the deployment of spatial attention, contributing to a deeper understanding of how spatial attention supports visual perception.

Application of deep learning for automatic detection of table tennis balls from an intelligent serving machine

The Intelligent Table Tennis Serving Machine (TTSM) has revolutionized table tennis training by simulating the variability and precision of human opponents. However, current systems lack the capability to track and analyze ball landing points, limiting comprehensive performance evaluation. To address this, we propose a novel approach utilizing YOLOv8 as the benchmark model for detecting table tennis balls launched by a TTSM, tailored to meet the demands of intelligent training systems. Our key innovation involves integrating a Res2Net architecture enhanced with a Non-local Attention Module (NLAM) and a Dilated Atrous Spatial Pyramid Pooling (DASPP) unit into the neck network. This design improves the network’s ability to integrate multi-scale local features, thereby enhancing global information processing. The DASPP module, with adaptive dilation convolution, ensures thorough context comprehension. Additionally, we incorporate an Omni-dimensional Dynamic Convolution (ODConv) module in the detection head, employing parallel strategies to learn diverse and complementary attention cues, further enhancing detection accuracy and robustness. To validate our method, we conducted evaluations using the publicly available OpenTTGames dataset and a self-constructed dataset comprising over 10,000 table tennis ball images captured in various environments. Experimental results indicate that our method enhances mAP0.5, Precision, and Recall by 2.3%, 5.1%, and 0.9% on the OpenTTGames dataset, and by 3%, 2%, and 1.6% on the self-built dataset, respectively. Finally, we describe the optimization process of the intelligent TTSM system, which leverages keyframe analysis of ball landing points to provide feedback, thereby enabling continuous performance improvement in subsequent phases.

General and specific effects of meditation on gaze cueing of attention

General and specific effects of meditation on gaze cueing of attention

Pre-stimulus EEG phase coherence predicts visual target detection failures in schizophrenia: A pilot study

Impaired visual target detection is a common finding in schizophrenia that is linked to poor functional outcomes. However, the neural mechanisms that contribute to this deficit remain unclear. Recent research in healthy samples has identified relationships between the phase of pre-stimulus electroencephalographic (EEG) activity in the alpha band (8-12 Hz) or theta band (4-7 Hz) and the likelihood of visual target detection with and without attentional cueing, but these effects have not yet been explored in schizophrenia. We performed a study to investigate such effects in schizophrenia (n = 19) and healthy participants (n = 14), using a visual target detection task with attentional cues. We found significant relationships between pre-stimulus EEG phase properties and visual target detection in both groups, but also clear differences in the effects as a function of frequency, group, and attentional cueing. Alpha-band phase effects were relatively uniform across groups and conditions. By contrast, theta-band phase effects showed differences by group and attentional condition which could be consistent with attentional hyperfocusing in the schizophrenia group. Thus, our results elucidate a novel neural mechanism that may help to explain known impairments affecting both visual target detection and attention in schizophrenia.

Social face processing in chronic severe traumatic brain injury: Altered decoding of emotions and mental states but preserved gaze cueing of attention

The processing of social information transmitted by facial stimuli is altered in individuals with traumatic brain injury (TBI). This study investigated whether these alterations also affect the mechanisms underlying the orienting of visual attention in response to eye-gaze signals. TBI patients and a control group of healthy individuals matched on relevant criteria completed a spatial cueing task. In this task, a lateral visual target was presented along with a task-irrelevant face, with the gaze averted to the left or right. Arrows pointing towards the left or right were also used as non-social control stimuli. Social cognition abilities were further investigated through tests based on decoding emotional expressions and mental states conveyed by facial stimuli. The decoding of emotions and mental states was worse in the TBI group than in the control group. However, both groups demonstrated reliable and comparable orienting of attention to both eye-gaze and arrow stimuli. Despite impairments in certain aspects of social face processing among TBI patients, gaze cueing of attention appears to be preserved in this neuropsychological population.

Impact of attention cues on empathy for pain in college students with implicit weight stigma

Impact of attention cues on empathy for pain in college students with implicit weight stigma

2D and 3D Augmented Reality Attention Cueing Comparisons in 3D Target Search

This study compared three attentional cueing types to assist the user/participant in visually searching for a target within a simulated naturalistic scene. Participants had to locate a hostile combatant appearing in one of several building windows on an AR-simulated building. Other non-target windows either contain no people or people dressed in non-hostile clothes. We compare the effectiveness of three commonly used attention cues placed in simulated augmented reality on a head mounted display (Magic Leap 2): a 2D wedge arrow pointing toward the target, a 3D Arrow pointing toward the target, and a 3D gaze guidance line, connecting the center of the momentary field of view to the target. Results revealed that the gaze guidance line significantly supported the most rapid cueing and the 3D arrow was slowest and least accurate. The gaze guidance line also induced the fewest head movements. This pattern of results is explained via three mechanisms: the ambiguity of depth perception and the complexity of the 3D arrow, and the ability of the gaze guidance line to always indicate the direction of the target, even when the latter is not in the initial field of view.

Consistent metacognitive efficiency and variable response biases in peripheral vision.

Across the visual periphery, perceptual and metacognitive abilities differ depending on the locus of visual attention, the location of peripheral stimulus presentation, the task design, and many other factors. In this investigation, we aimed to illuminate the relationship between attention and eccentricity in the visual periphery by estimating perceptual sensitivity, metacognitive sensitivity, and response biases across the visual field. In a 2AFC detection task, participants were asked to determine whether a signal was present or absent at one of eight peripheral locations (±10°, 20°, 30°, and 40°), using either a valid or invalid attentional cue. As expected, results revealed that perceptual sensitivity declined with eccentricity and was modulated by attention, with higher sensitivity on validly cued trials. Furthermore, a significant main effect of eccentricity on response bias emerged, with variable (but relatively unbiased) c'a values from 10° to 30°, and conservative c'a values at 40°. Regarding metacognitive sensitivity, significant main effects of attention and eccentricity were found, with metacognitive sensitivity decreasing with eccentricity, and decreasing in the invalid cue condition. Interestingly, metacognitive efficiency, as measured by the ratio of meta-d'a/d'a, was not modulated by attention or eccentricity. Overall, these findings demonstrate (1) that in some circumstances, observers have surprisingly robust metacognitive insights into how performance changes across the visual field and (2) that the periphery may be subject to variable detection biases that are contingent on the exact location in peripheral space.

Using a linear dynamic system to measure functional connectivity from M/EEG

Objective. Measures of functional connectivity (FC) can elucidate which cortical regions work together in order to complete a variety of behavioral tasks. This study’s primary objective was to expand a previously published model of measuring FC to include multiple subjects and several regions of interest. While FC has been more extensively investigated in vision and other sensorimotor tasks, it is not as well understood in audition. The secondary objective of this study was to investigate how auditory regions are functionally connected to other cortical regions when attention is directed to different distinct auditory stimuli. Approach. This study implements a linear dynamic system (LDS) to measure the structured time-lagged dependence across several cortical regions in order to estimate their FC during a dual-stream auditory attention task. Results. The model’s output shows consistent functionally connected regions across different listening conditions, indicative of an auditory attention network that engages regardless of endogenous switching of attention or different auditory cues being attended. Significance. The LDS implemented in this study implements a multivariate autoregression to infer FC across cortical regions during an auditory attention task. This study shows how a first-order autoregressive function can reliably measure functional connectivity from M/EEG data. Additionally, the study shows how auditory regions engage with the supramodal attention network outlined in the visual attention literature.

Continuous Recognition of Teachers’ Hand Signals for Students with Attention Deficits

In the era of inclusive education, students with attention deficits are integrated into the general classroom. To ensure a seamless transition of students’ focus towards the teacher’s instruction throughout the course and to align with the teaching pace, this paper proposes a continuous recognition algorithm for capturing teachers’ dynamic gesture signals. This algorithm aims to offer instructional attention cues for students with attention deficits. According to the body landmarks of the teacher’s skeleton by using vision and machine learning-based MediaPipe BlazePose, the proposed method uses simple rules to detect the teacher’s hand signals dynamically and provides three kinds of attention cues (Pointing to left, Pointing to right, and Non-pointing) during the class. Experimental results show the average accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, precision, and F1 score achieved 88.31%, 91.03%, 93.99%, 86.32%, and 88.03%, respectively. By analyzing non-verbal behavior, our method of competent performance can replace verbal reminders from the teacher and be helpful for students with attention deficits in inclusive education.

Investigating the impact of schizophrenia traits on attention: the role of the theta band in a modified Posner cueing paradigm.

Joint attention is an indispensable tool for daily communication. Abnormalities in joint attention may be a key reason underlying social impairment in schizophrenia spectrum disorders. In this study, we aimed to explore the attentional orientation mechanism related to schizotypal traits in a social situation. Here, we employed a Posner cueing paradigm with social attentional cues. Subjects needed to detect the location of a target that is cued by gaze and head orientation. The power in the theta frequency band was used to examine the attentional process in the schizophrenia spectrum. There were four main findings. First, a significant association was found between schizotypal traits and attention orientation in response to invalid gaze cues. Second, individuals with schizotypal traits exhibited significant activation of neural oscillations and synchrony in the theta band, which correlated with their schizotypal tendencies. Third, neural oscillations and synchrony demonstrated a synergistic effect during social tasks, particularly when processing gaze cues. Finally, the relationship between schizotypal traits and attention orientation was mediated by neural oscillations and synchrony in the theta frequency band. These findings deepen our understanding of the impact of theta activity in schizotypal traits on joint attention and offer new insights for future intervention strategies.

Differences in Attentional Bias Toward e-Cigarette Cues Between e-Cigarette Users and Nonusers.

The use of electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) has increased rapidly in recent years, particularly among young adults. There is a dearth of research on the cognitive factors that contribute to ENDS use. One of the possible cognitive mechanisms involved with addictive behavior is attentional bias (AB). AB can manifest as either facilitated attention engagement toward or delayed attention disengagement from a relevant stimulus. The purpose of this study was to examine the difference in AB toward ENDS-related cues between ENDS users and non-ENDS users. ENDS users (n = 29) and nonusers (n = 24) between the ages of 18 and 29 years participated in the dot-probe and eye-tracking picture-viewing tasks. The results showed that there was a significant difference in the variance of AB between the two groups. In the eye-tracking task, ENDS users displayed significantly greater net dwell time and fixation time at time frames of 6-9, 9-12, and 12-15 seconds, compared to nonusers. It is noteworthy that ENDS users exhibited attentional fluctuation toward ENDS cues as well as difficulties disengaging attention from ENDS cues. The current findings offer insight into the nature of attentional processes associated with ENDS cues and provide useful data to guide the development of a nurse-led cognitive intervention focusing on biased attentional processing related to ENDS cues.

Impact of relative and absolute values on orienting attention in time.

Reward has been known to render the reward-associated stimulus more salient to block effective attentional orienting in space. However, whether and how reward influences goal-directed attention in time remains unclear. Here, we used a modified attentional cueing paradigm to explore the effect of reward on temporal attention, in which the valid targets were given a low monetary reward and invalid targets were given a high monetary reward. The results showed that the temporal cue validity effect was significantly smaller when the competitive reward structure was employed (Experiment 1), and we ruled out the possibility that the results were due to the practice effect (Experiment 2a) or a reward-promoting effect (Experiment 2b). When further strengthening the intensity of the reward from 1:10 to 1:100 (Experiment 3), we found a similar pattern of results to those in Experiment 1. These results suggest that reward information which was based on relative instead of absolute values can weaken, but not reverse, the orienting attention in time.

Characteristics of Joint Attention and Maternal Cues in Mother-Child Interactions for Toddlers with Cochlear Implants

Objectives: This study aimed to identify the differences in the establishment of joint attention between the cochlear implant (CI) group and the typical hearing (TH) group during mother-child interactions and to explore the relationship between the joint attention variables and language development abilities in young children with CIs. Methods: Thirteen pairs of hearing mothers and children with CIs and seventeen pairs of mothers and children with TH participated in this study. Their interactions during a 20-minute free-play task were recorded using digital cameras. Results: The frequency of joint attention attempts in the CI group was significantly higher than in the TH group. There was no significant difference between the two groups in the success rate of joint attention; however, there was a considerable difference in the time ratio of joint attention and joint attention span. Children’s language scores were significantly correlated with the success rate of joint attention, the time ratio of joint attention, and joint attention span in the CI group. Conclusion: We observed the mothers’ efforts to establish joint attention with their children with CIs. These results suggest that children with CIs are more likely to have less time for joint attention during parent-child interactions. These findings can inform the development of parent-coaching programs in early auditory intervention for children with CIs.

A preliminary investigation of the acute effects of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol on pain and opioid attentional bias among persons with opioid use disorder

IntroductionAttentional bias (AB) is believed to be an important factor in the development and maintenance of both opioid use disorder (OUD) and chronic pain. Cannabis and its main psychoactive constituent, delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), produce analgesic effects via processes that are potentially relevant to AB and is commonly used by persons with OUD. This exploratory study investigated if THC influences AB towards pain and opioid cues individuals with OUD. MethodsUsing a within-subject, crossover design, 27 adults receiving methadone were randomly assigned to receive single doses of oral THC (10 mg, 20 mg administered as dronabinol) or placebo across three, 5-h sessions. During each session, a visual probe task was used to measure AB to pain and opioid cues at baseline and 120 min post-THC administration. ResultsMixed-effects models examined main effects of THC dose, time, and their interaction across all participants; findings were then stratified by methadone dose (low dose <90 mg/day and high dose ≥90 mg/day). Among individuals receiving high doses of methadone, a significant interaction was observed such that AB towards opioids increased following 10 mg THC administration and decreased following 20 mg THC administration. Additionally, participants receiving low doses of methadone showed significant increases in the variability of opioid-related AB post THC administration. ConclusionWe provide preliminary evidence showing that THC may cause dose-dependent effects on selective attention for opioid cues among methadone patients. These results underscore the need for further clinical investigation into the effects of cannabinoids and other substances with potential analgesic and addictive properties among persons with OUD.

Bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) display gaze alternation and referential communication in an impossible task

Gaze cues play a vital role in conveying critical information about objects and locations necessary for survival, such as food sources, predators, and the attentional states of conspecific and heterospecific individuals. During referential intentional communication, the continuous alternation of gaze between a communicative partner and a specific object or point of interest attracts the partner's attention towards the target. This behaviour is considered by many as essential for understanding intentions and is thought to involve mental planning. Here, we investigated the behavioural responses of seven bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) that were given an impossible task in the presence of two experimenters (a ‘commanding experimenter’ and a ‘non-commanding experimenter’), whose attentional state towards the dolphins varied. We found that the dolphins spontaneously displayed gaze alternation, specifically triadic referential pointing, only when the human commanding experimenter was facing them. However, they ceased to alternate their gaze between the impossible object and the commanding experimenter when the experimenter had their back turned. Notably, the dolphins' behaviour differed from general pointing and gaze, as their triadic sequence occurred within a narrow time window. These findings suggest that the dolphins were sensitive to human attentional cues and utilized their own gaze cue (pointing) as a salient signal to attract the attention of the commanding experimenter towards a specific location.