Attentional Dysfunction Research Articles

Attenuated responses to attention-modulating drugs in the neuroligin-3R451C mouse model of autism.

Attention deficits are frequently reported within the clinical autism population. Despite not being a core diagnostic feature, some aetiological theories place atypical attention at the centre of autism development. Drugs used to treat attention dysfunction are therefore increasingly prescribed to autistic patients, though currently off-label with uncertain efficacy. We utilised a rodent-translated touchscreen test of sustained attention in mice carrying an autism-associated R451C mutation in the neuroligin-3 gene (Nlgn3R451C). In doing so, we replicated their cautious but accurate response profile and probed it using two widely prescribed attention-modulating drugs: methylphenidate (MPH) and atomoxetine (ATO). In wild-type mice, acute administration of MPH (3 mg/kg) promoted impulsive responding at the expense of accuracy, while ATO (3 mg/kg) broadly reduced impulsive responding. These drug effects were absent in Nlgn3R451C mice, other than a small reduction in blank touches to the screen following ATO administration. The absence of drug effects in Nlgn3R451C mice likely arises from their altered behavioural baseline and underlying neurobiology, highlighting caveats to the use of classic attention-modulating drugs across disorders and autism subsets. It further suggests that altered dopaminergic and/or norepinephrinergic systems may drive behavioural differences in the Nlgn3R451C mouse model of autism, supporting further targeted investigation.

The relationship between peripheral immune cell markers and cognitive functions in patients with schizophrenia.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between peripheral immune cell markers and cognitive functions in patients with schizophrenia and healthy controls. Thirty-five patients diagnosed with schizophrenia with a stable course and a control group of 35 individuals matched in terms of sex, education, and age were included in this cross-sectional study. The Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST), the Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test (RAVLT), and the Stroop Test were used for neuropsychological evaluation. Blood neutrophil and lymphocyte percentages, neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), and systemic immune-inflammation index (SII) values were calculated. The female patients exhibited significantly higher NLR and neutrophil percentages than the female controls and higher NLR, neutrophil percentage, and SII than the male patients. The increased neutrophil percentages and NLR and decreased lymphocyte percentages in the female patients were significantly correlated with worsening Stroop interference and RAVLT 1 scores. Additionally, a longer duration of illness was significantly correlated with elevated NLR, SII, and neutrophil percentage and a decreased lymphocyte percentage. A higher number of previous hospitalizations was correlated with elevated SII and decreased lymphocyte percentages. Regression analysis showed a significant association between neutrophil percentages and Stroop interference scores used to evaluate attentional functions in patients with schizophrenia. These study results suggest that gender and the course of the illness may affect NLR and SII values. An elevated neutrophil percentage may be one of the factors affecting attentional dysfunction in patients with schizophrenia. Prospective studies are now needed to verify these findings.

Evaluation and Treatment of Cognitive Dysfunctions in Schizophrenia and Bipolar Disorder

Cognitive dysfunction is the most important determinant for the recovery in schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. Cognitive dysfunction serves as an endophenotype although it may be a consequence of drug treatments. In schizophrenia starting from the first episode, pronounced cognitive defects such as cognitive flexibility, inhibition, verbal fluency, verbal memory and visual-motor processing are observable. These cognitive defects remain stable in the chronic phase of schizophrenia. On the other hand, cognitive dysfunctions in bipolar disorder patients have a heterogeneous pattern. One group of patients show no evidence of cognitive dysfunction while one group has limited dysfunction (of processing speed, attention, verbal learning and social cognition) and another one has wide spread dysfunctions as seen in schizophrenia. Despite its importance, no satisfactory results have been achieved in the treatment of cognitive dysfunctions in schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. In this article, the evaluation and treatment of the most frequent cognitive dysfunctions of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder are reviewed.

Prevalence of cognitive impairment and its predictors among chronic kidney disease patients: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Cognitive impairment (CI) is common among patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD), and is associated with a poor prognosis. We assessed the prevalence and associated factors of CI in patients with CKD. A systematic review and meta-analysis were conducted by searching PubMed, Embase, and the Web of Science through December 1, 2023. Random effects models were performed with subgroup analyses to further explore the heterogeneity. 50 studies involving 25,289 CKD patients were included. The overall prevalence of CI was 40% (95% confidence interval 33-46). The pooled prevalence of CI was relatively higher in CKD patients from Africa (58%), Asia (44%) and America (37%). Attention and executive dysfunction appeared to be the most common manifestations. The prevalence of CI was higher among patients with hemodialysis (53%) and peritoneal dialysis (39%) than those without dialysis (32%) and post-kidney transplanted (26%). In addition, advanced age, the presence of diabetes and hypertension might increase the risk of CI in CKD patients. People with CKD have a high prevalence of CI, especially in patients with hemodialysis. An early and comprehensive screening for CI in CKD patients is needed to improve clinical outcomes. Registration number: PROSPERO (CRD42023412864).

Interictal Dysfunctions of Attention, Vigilance, and Executive Functions in Migraine and Their Reversal by Preventive Treatment: A longitudinal Controlled Study.

To assess attention, vigilance, and executive functions in migraine patients during headache-free (interictal) periods and in healthy controls without migraine and to study the impact of migraine preventive treatment on these cognitive functions. Preventive drug-naive migraine patients, aged ≥18 years, without a history of medication overuse were studied and compared to non-migraine controls. Psychiatric comorbidity was screened by Patient Health Questionnaire-9, and those who screened positive were evaluated further by specific scales. The Epworth Sleepiness Scale assessed subjective complaints of sleep quality. Cognitive functions were assessed by Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), digit span forward and backward (DS-F, DS-B), trail-making tests (TMT-A and B) and Stroop word (SW), Stroop color (SC), and Stroop interference (SI) tests. Cognitive test scores at the end of 6 months following treatment were compared to baseline scores. One hundred and fifty migraine patients and controls each were studied. Compared to controls, migraine patients performed significantly worse in DS-B ( P < 0.0001), TMT-A ( P = 0.00004), TMT-B ( P < 0.0001), SW ( P < 0.0001), SC ( P < 0.0001), and SI ( P = 0.0221). MMSE scores did not differ between patients and the controls ( P = 0.3224). Compared to the patients without psychiatric comorbidity, migraine patients with psychiatric comorbidity showed no significant differences in the cognitive test scores. Significant improvement in all cognitive test scores ( P < 0.001) was observed after 6 months of treatment. Migraine patients, compared to non-migraine controls, showed deficits in attention, vigilance, and executive functions during the interictal period, which improved with successful preventive treatment. Psychiatric comorbidities did not have a significant impact on cognitive dysfunctions.

Cross-cultural differences through subjective cognition: illustration in translatology with the SSTIC-E in the UAE.

The development of appropriate and valid multicultural and multilingual instruments research is necessary due to a growing multicultural and multilingual society in the 21st century. We explored the use of a cognitive scale related to subjective complaints, focusing on the first step: a cross-cultural and semantic validation. This study presents the translation and cross-validation process of the "Subjective Scale to Investigate Cognition in Schizophrenia" (SSTICS) for the United Arab Emirates (UAE) region via different languages used in Dubaï/Abu Dhabi. This scale measures cognitive complaints and has been validated with psychosis and used in 20 clinical trials worldwide. It evaluates areas of the illness related to self-awareness focusing on memory dysfunction and deficits of attention, language, and praxis. We described the method of cross-cultural validation, with back-translation, semantic steps, and societal contexts. The use of the Subjective Scale to Investigate Cognition in Emirates (SSTIC-E) was explored with different samples of UAE Arabic-speaking subjects. First, a pilot sample mean SSTICS total score was 16.5 (SD:16.9); (p < 0.001). The SSTIC-E was then administered to 126 patients and 84 healthy control participants. The healthy group has a lower mean score of 22.55 (SD = 12.04) vs. 34.06 (SD = 15.19). The method was extended to nine other languages, namely, Pakistani/Urdu, Hindi, Marathi, Lithuanian, Serbian, German, Romanian, Sinhala, and Russian. The scales are provided in the article. The overall aim of the translation process should be to stay close to the original version of the instrument so that it is meaningful and easily understood by the target language population. However, for construct validity, some items must be adapted at the time of translation to ensure that the questioned cognitive domain is respected. For example, cooking, an executive function, does not have the same occurrence for an Emirati male, or remembering a prime minister's name, semantic memory, requires an electoral system to appoint the leader of a country. Translation methods and processes present many challenges but applying relevant and creative strategies to reduce errors is essential to achieve semantic validation. This study aims to measure personally experienced knowledge or attitudes; such language effects can be a thorny problem.

Visuo-Attentional and Phonological Deficits Explored in French Students with Dyslexia: Eye Movements Recorded during a Phonological Lexical Decision Task.

Whether dyslexia is caused by phonological or attentional dysfunction remains a widely debated issue. To enrich this debate, we compared the eye movements of 32 French university students with (14 students) and without (18 students) dyslexia while performing a delayed phonological lexical decision task on 300 visually presented stimuli. The processing stimuli involved either a lexical (i.e., words) or a non-lexical route relying on a grapheme-phoneme correspondence (pseudohomophones and pseudowords), while other stimuli involved only a visual search (consonant and symbol sequences). We recorded the number of fixations, the duration of the first fixation and the amplitude of saccades made on the stimuli. Compared to the controls, the participants with dyslexia made more fixations while reading regardless of the type of stimulus (lexical and non-lexical). Crucially, the participants with dyslexia exhibited longer first fixations in particular while reading phonologically challenging stimuli such as pseudohomophones and pseudowords compared to stimuli involving a simple visual search (consonants, symbols). Taken together, these results suggest that both visual and phonological impairments may be implicated in dyslexia, supporting the hypothesis that dyslexia is a multifactorial deficit.

Maternal choline supplementation lessens the behavioral dysfunction produced by developmental manganese exposure in a rodent model of ADHD

Studies in children have reported associations between elevated manganese (Mn) exposure and ADHD-related symptoms of inattention, impulsivity/hyperactivity, and psychomotor impairment. Maternal choline supplementation (MCS) during pregnancy/lactation may hold promise as a protective strategy because it has been shown to lessen cognitive dysfunction caused by numerous early insults. Our objectives were to determine whether (1) developmental Mn exposure alters behavioral reactivity/emotion regulation, in addition to impairing learning, attention, impulse control, and sensorimotor function, and (2) MCS protects against these Mn-induced impairments. Pregnant Long-Evans rats were given standard diet, or a diet supplemented with additional choline throughout gestation and lactation (GD 3 - PND 21). Male offspring were exposed orally to 0 or 50 mg Mn/kg/day over PND 1–21. In adulthood, animals were tested in a series of learning, attention, impulse control, and sensorimotor tasks. Mn exposure caused lasting dysfunction in attention, reactivity to errors and reward omission, learning, and sensorimotor function, recapitulating the constellation of symptoms seen in ADHD children. MCS lessened Mn-induced attentional dysfunction and partially normalized reactivity to committing an error or not receiving an expected reward but provided no protection against Mn-induced learning or sensorimotor dysfunction. In the absence of Mn exposure, MCS produces lasting offspring benefits in learning, attention, and reactivity to errors. To conclude, developmental Mn exposure produces a constellation of deficits consistent with ADHD symptomology, and MCS offered some protection against the adverse Mn effects, adding to the evidence that maternal choline supplementation is neuroprotective for offspring and improves offspring cognitive functioning.

Attentional impairment and altered brain activity in healthcare workers after mild COVID-19.

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-COV-2) is highly transmissible and pathogenic. Patients with mild cases account for the majority of those infected with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Although there is evidence that many patients with COVID-19 have varying degrees of attentional impairment, little is known about how SARS-COV-2 affects attentional function. This study included a high-risk healthcare population divided into groups of healthcare workers (HCWs) with mild COVID-19 (patient group, n = 45) and matched healthy HCWs controls (HC group, n = 42), who completed general neuropsychological background tests and Attention Network Test (ANT), and underwent resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) using amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation (ALFF) to assess altered brain activity; Selective impairment occurred in orienting and executive control networks, but not in alert network, in the patient group, and widespread cognitive impairment encompassing general attention, memory, and executive dysfunction. Moreover, the patient group had significantly lower ALFF values in the left superior and left middle frontal gyri than the HC group. SARS-COV-2 infection may have led to reduced brain activity in the left superior and left middle frontal gyri, thus impairing attentional orienting and executive control networks, which may explain the development of attentional deficits after COVID-19.

CHANGES IN FUNCTIONAL CONNECTIVITY FOLLOWING INTENSIVE ATTENTION TRAINING IN PATIENTS WITH TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURY. A PILOT STUDY.

To explore functional connectivity after intensive attention training in the chronic phase after traumatic brain injury as clinical evidence indicates that intensive attention training improves attention dysfunction in persons with traumatic brain injury. A case series study. Two young adults, 13- and 18-months post traumatic brain injury, with traumatic brain injury induced attention deficits were assigned to 20 h of intensive attention training and neuroimaging. Functional magnetic resonance imaging during a psychomotor vigilance test was conducted pre- and post-intervention. The neuroimaging indicated both increased and decreased connectivity density in frontal, posterior and subcortical brain regions, for some regions with separate change patterns for left and right hemisphere respectively, and an overall reduction in variability in functional connectivity. The changed and decreased variability of functional connectivity in various brain regions, captured by fMRI during a psychomotor vigilance test after direct attention training in a small sample of persons with traumatic brain injury, suggests further studies of functional connectivity changes in neural networks.

Virtual Reality Assessment of Attention Deficits in Traumatic Brain Injury: Effectiveness and Ecological Validity

Early detection is crucial for addressing attention deficits commonly associated with Traumatic brain injury (TBI), informing effective rehabilitation planning and intervention. While traditional neuropsychological assessments have been conventionally used to evaluate attention deficits, their limited ecological validity presents notable challenges. This study explores the efficacy and validity of a novel virtual reality test, the Computerized Battery for the Assessment of Attention Disorders (CBAAD), among a cohort of TBI survivors (n = 20), in comparison to a healthy control group (n = 20). Participants, ranging in age from 21 to 62 years, were administered a comprehensive neuropsychological assessment, including the CBAAD and the Attention Related Cognitive Errors Scale. While variations in attentional performance were observed across age cohorts, the study found no statistically significant age-related effects within either group. The CBAAD demonstrated sensitivity to attentional dysfunction in the TBI group, establishing its value as a comprehensive test battery for assessing attention in this specific population. Regression analyses demonstrated the CBAAD’s effectiveness in predicting real-life attentional errors reported by TBI patients. In summary, the CBAAD demonstrates sensitivity to attentional dysfunction in TBI patients and the ability to predict real-world attentional errors, establishing its value as a comprehensive test battery for assessing attention in this specific population. Its implementation holds promise for enhancing the early identification of attentional impairments and facilitating tailored rehabilitation strategies for TBI patients.

Testing Prepulse Inhibition of Acoustic Startle in Rodents.

Prepulse inhibition (PPI) is a measure of sensorimotor gating which is widely used in rodents to study information processing and attention dysfunction. PPI is commonly measured in rats and mice using automated equipment. Here, we present details of aPPI testing protocol extensively used in previous studies. The protocol includes a set pulse-alone startle level and prepulse-pulse combinations with varying interval and intensity. Variations of this protocol can be used depending on the experimental aim or equipment and software version.

44 Functional Connectivity In The Default Mode Network Of ASD and ADHD

Objective:Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) are neurodevelopmental disorders with overlapping symptomatology and shared genetic makeup. Numerous previous studies have investigated ASD and ADHD using resting state functional networks. One functional network of particular interest is the Default Mode Network (DMN), as it has been shown to be abnormal in several mental disorders. Previous studies have investigated the DMN in ASD and ADHD separately but reported mixed trends of increased and decreased functional connectivity (FC) in the DMN in ASD and increased FC in ADHD. Additionally, little studies have investigated executive and attentional network dysfunction in the DMN for ASD and ADHD populations. To better understand the shared characteristics between ASD and ADHD, this study analyzed the DMN FC in children with ASD and ADHD.Participants and Methods:Archival datasets from Autism Brain Imaging Data Exchange (ABIDE)-I and ADHD-200 datasets were used, with 33 ADHD, 35 ASD, and 32 typically developing (TD) males (ages = 7-17 years). After applying a standard pre-processing pipeline, 11 regions of interest (ROIs) from the Dosenbach-160 atlas were examined with 55 ROI pairs generated for the 100 subjects.Results:Significant differences were noted between ASD-ADHD groups in attentional networks and executive functioning networks. Specifically, significant Group x VIQ interactions were noted for FC between the following pairs of regions: medial prefrontal cortex - ventromedial prefrontal cortex, anterior cingulate cortex -ventromedial prefrontal cortex, inferior temporal lobe - ventromedial prefrontal cortex, angular -ventromedial prefrontal cortex, angular -anterior cingulate cortex, inferior temporal lobe -ventrolateral prefrontal cortex, angular -superior frontal lobe, and intraparietal sulcus -superior frontal lobe. In the above FC pairs, FC in ADHD was negatively correlated with VIQ, with no correlation for ASD and positive correlation for TD. Previous literature has indicated that ADHD individuals demonstrate increased executive functioning deficits compared to ASD individuals. This study provides evidence at a neural level for these findings by demonstrating decreased FC trends in ADHD in attentional and executive functioning networks compared to ASD individuals. Group and VIQ main effects demonstrated mixed patterns across the three groups, as well as shared decreased FC in attention/executive networks for both ASD and ADHD groups.Conclusions:In summary, this study found similar findings from previous studies regarding mixed connectivity patterns, as well as shared dysfunction between ASD and ADHD groups. These results help in solidifying the theory that ASD and ADHD share clinical and neural patterns which need to be examined further. Future directions include utilizing more ASD+ADHD comorbid individuals in studies comparing ASD and ADHD FC trends as well as seeking to further understand the neuropsychological and neuroimaging profiles in ASD and ADHD.

7 The MOCA Versus Neuropsychological Testing in Assessing Presence of Memory Impairment and MCI

Objective:The Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MOCA) is a brief cognitive screener, widely used by providers to detect mild cognitive impairment (MCI). It encompasses 30 questions, assessing executive functioning, visuospatial skills, language, memory, attention, and orientation. Although the MOCA has been shown to have high sensitivity (90%) and specificity (87%) for detecting MCI, existing studies have primarily included participants who were already diagnosed with amnestic MCI via neuropsychological testing. Since several factors beyond the presence of MCI can contribute to low performance on the MOCA (e.g., premorbid IQ, fatigue, mood symptoms), over-reliance on the MOCA runs the risk of falsely identifying individuals as having cognitive impairment. The MOCA’s memory subtest raises particular concern as there are several language-based tasks between the learning and delay trials, introducing the potential for interference effects. Thus, the MOCA’s ability to accurately identify those at risk for MCI in the community remains unclear. The objective of the present study was to evaluate: (1) the MOCA’s association with neuropsychological memory measures; and (2) its ability to distinguish between neurocognitive groups (intact vs. MCI vs. dementia).Participants and Methods:This study involved a retrospective analysis of fifty-one patients (M age=72.58 [7.90]; M education= 16.37 [16.37]) who underwent neuropsychological evaluation. Standardized scores for total list-learning (HVLT; CVLT-bf) were used to capture memory encoding; retention % scores were used to capture memory storage. MOCA scores included Total MOCA, MOCA-Orientation, and the MOCA Memory Index (MOCA-MEM). MOCA-MEM was calculated based on Julayanont et al., 2014— (Free-Delayed Recall*3) + (Category-Cued Recall*2) + Multiple Choice-Cued Recall. Bivariate correlations were conducted for the MOCA and neuropsychological test scores. Participants were divided into three diagnostic groups, classified by the neuropsychologist: (1) Cognitive Intact (CI; n=13); (2) MCI (n=26); and (3) Major Neurocognitive Disorder/Dementia (MNCD; n=11). Analysis of covariance was used to analyze differences between the cognitive groups on Total MOCA, MOCA-Orientation, and MOCA-MEM.Results:Total MOCA correlated with word-list learning (r=.434, p=.004) and retention% (r=.306, p=.049). MOCA-MEM was correlated with word-list learning (r=.367, p=.042); it did not significantly correlate with retention%. MOCA-Orientation had the strongest correlation with retention0/) (r=.406, p=.009). Means of Total MOCA significantly differed between CI (25.31[2.56]), MCI (22.04[4.14]), and MNCD (15.44[4.13]). MOCA-MEM only differentiated CI (10[3.66]) and MNCD (5.71[2.14]); it did not differentiate MCI (6.94[3.13]) from either CI or MNCD.Conclusions:Our findings suggest that the MOCA has limitations in accurately classifying memory deficits in older adults. First, our study suggests that the MOCA-MEM reflects encoding rather than memory storage. Given that deficiency in encoding may be secondary to other cognitive deficits, such as attention and executive dysfunction, performance on MOCA-MEM cannot readily delineate the presence of an amnestic process. Second, the findings show that MOCA-MEM does not differentiate between patient groups with intact cognition versus MCI, nor those with MCI versus MNCD. These findings argue the importance of neuropsychological evaluation in deciphering patterns of memory performance and the presence of an amnestic process.

26 The Importance of Executive Functioning for Academic Achievement Among a National Sample of Children with Epilepsy

Objective:Children with epilepsy are at greater risk of lower academic achievement than their typically developing peers (Reilly and Neville, 2015). Demographic, social, and neuropsychological factors, such as executive functioning (EF), mediate this relation. While research emphasizes the importance of EF skills for academic achievement among typically developing children (e.g., Best et al., 2011; Spiegel et al., 2021) less is known among children with epilepsy (Ng et al., 2020). The purpose of this study is to examine the influence of EF skills on academic achievement in a nationwide sample of children with epilepsy.Participants and Methods:Participants included 427 children with epilepsy (52% male; MAge= 10.71), enrolled in the Pediatric Epilepsy Research Consortium (PERC) Epilepsy Surgery Database who had been referred for surgery and underwent neuropsychological testing. Academic achievement was assessed by performance measures (word reading, reading comprehension, spelling, and calculation and word-based mathematics) and parent-rating measures (Adaptive Behavior Assessment System (ABAS) Functional Academics and Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) School Performance). EF was assessed by verbal fluency measures, sequencing, and planning measures from the Delis Kaplan Executive Function System (DKEFS), NEPSY, and Tower of London test. Rating-based measures of EF included the 'Attention Problems’ subscale from the CBCL and 'Cognitive Regulation’ index from the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function (BRIEF-2). Partial correlations assessed associations between EF predictors and academic achievement, controlling for fullscale IQ (FSIQ; A composite across intelligence tests). Significant predictors of each academic skill or rating were entered into a two-step regression that included FSIQ, demographics, and seizure variables (age of onset, current medications) in the first step with EF predictors in the second step.Results:Although zero-order correlations were significant between EF predictors and academic achievement (.29 &lt; r’s &lt; .63 for performance; -.63 &lt; r’s &lt; -.50 for rating measures), partial correlations controlling for FSIQ showed fewer significant relations. For performance-based EF, only letter fluency (DKEFS Letter Fluency) and cognitive flexibility (DKEFS Trails Condition 4) demonstrated significant associations with performance-based academic achievement (r’s &gt; .29). Regression models for performance-based academic achievement indicated that letter fluency (ß = .22, p = .017) and CBCL attention problems (ß = -.21, p =.002) were significant predictors of sight-word reading. Only letter fluency (ß = .23, p =.006) was significant for math calculation. CBCL Attention Problems were a significant predictor of spelling performance (ß = -.21, p = .009) and reading comprehension (ß = -.18, p =.039). CBCL Attention Problems (ß = -.38, p &lt;.001 for ABAS; ß = -.34, p =.002 for CBCL School) and BRIEF-2 Cognitive Regulation difficulties (ß = -.46, p &lt; .001 for ABAS; ß = -.46, p =.013 for CBCL School) were significant predictors of parent-rated ABAS Functional Academics and CBCL School Performance.Conclusions:Among a national pediatric epilepsy dataset, performance-based and ratings-based measures of EF predicted performance academic achievement, whereas only ratings-based EF predicted parent-rated academic achievement, due at least in part to shared method variance. These findings suggest that interventions that increase cognitive regulation, reduce symptoms of attention dysfunction, and promote self-generative, flexible thinking, may promote academic achievement among children with epilepsy.

The Influence of Noise Exposure at Different Loudness Levels on EEG Index and Types of Attention.

Noise is one of the most important harmful factors in the environment. There are limited studies on the effect of noise loudness on brain signals and attention. The main objective of this study was to investigate the relationship between exposure to different loudness levels with brain index, types of attention, and subjective evaluation. Four noises with different loudness levels were generated. Sixty-four male students participated in this study. Each subject performed the integrated visual and auditory continuous performance test (IVA-2) test before and during exposure to noise loudness signals while their electroencephalography was recorded. Finally, the alpha-to-gamma ratio (AGR), five types of attention, and the subjective evaluation results were examined. During exposure to loudness levels, the AGR and types of attention decreased while the NASA-Tax Load Index (NASA-TLX) scores increased. The noise exposure at lower loudness levels (65 and 75 phon) leads to greater attention dysfunction than at higher loudness. The AGR was significantly changed during exposure to 65 and 75 phon and audio stimuli. This significant change was observed in exposure at all loudness levels except 85 phon and visual stimuli. The divided and sustained attention changed significantly during exposure to all loudness levels and visual stimuli. The AGR had a significant inverse correlation with the total score of NASA-TLX during noise exposure. These results can lead to the design of methods to control the psychological effects of noise at specific frequencies (250 and 4000 Hz) and can prevent non-auditory damage to human cognitive performance in industrial and urban environments.

Association of Intrinsic Functional Connectivity between the Locus Coeruleus and Salience Network with Attentional Ability.

The locus coeruleus (LC) is a brainstem region associated with broad neural arousal because of norepinephrine production, but it has increasingly been associated with specific cognitive processes. These include sustained attention, with deficits associated with various neuropsychological disorders. Neural models of attention deficits have focused on interrupted dynamics between the salience network (SAL) with the frontoparietal network, which has been associated with task-switching and processing of external stimuli, respectively. Conflicting findings for these regions suggest the possibility of upstream signaling leading to attention dysfunction, and recent research suggests LC involvement. In this study, resting-state functional connectivity and behavioral performance on an attention task was examined within 584 individuals. Analysis revealed significant clusters connected to LC activity in the SAL. Given previous findings that attention deficits may be caused by SAL network switching dysfunctions, findings here further suggest that dysfunction in LC-SAL connectivity may impair attention.

The Effect on Differentiation and Maturation of Oligodendrocyte by Age of Cerebral Palsy Modeling Using Sprague Dawley Rat

Cerebral palsy induces motor, cognitive, attention, and behavioral dysfunctions caused by brain damages. It is caused by damage to oligodendrocyte induced hypoxic ischemia and injection in the perinatal period. Therefore, an animal models that performed hypoxiaischemia-lipopolysaccharide injection (HIL) at 4-7 days of age (PND) are widely used. However, there is a difference in the brain damage due to exposure time under the hypoxic condition, gender, and ligation surgery techniques. In this paper, the optimal surgical age was found by analyzing behavioral tests, inflammatory reactions, and the differentiation and maturation of oligodendrocytes by performing HIL on rats 4, 5, 6, and 7 days old, respectively. On the 4th, 5th, 6th, and 7th days of birth (PND) of male Sprague Dawley rats, the right common carotid artery was ligated, they were incubated in an environment of 37℃, 92% N2, and 8% O2, and then peritoneally injected LPS (1 mg/kg) after removing the ligation. The rota-rod test were performed at PND 10, 20, 30, and 40, and memory tests such as passive avoidance and Morris water maze tests were performed on PND36-40, and then they were euthanized to analyze inflammatory indicators (NF-kB, TNF-a, IL-6, iNOS, and COX2) and indicators of the differentiation and maturation (Olig2, CNPase). In the case of the PND4 group, the limb coordination test were significantly different from that of the normal group, but there was no difference in other analyses. In the case of PND5 group, there were significantly differences in limb coordination tests, memory tests, inflammatory indicators, and differentiation and maturation of oligodendrocyte. In the case of the PND6 group, there was a significantly difference in limb coordination and memory tests, and a significantly increase in inflammatory indicators compared to other groups, but the mortality rate increased and indicators of the differentiation and maturation of oligodendrocyte were increased. In the case of the PND7 group, the limb coordination test showed significantly differences compared to normal group, but there was no difference from the normal group in other analyses. In conclusion, this study suggests that the PND5 group, where abnormal behavioral tests, an increase in appropriate inflammatory indicators, and a decrease in maturation and differentiation-related proteins of oligodendrocyte are comprehensively observed, is most suitable.

“I can't focus now, I will study tomorrow” - The link between academic procrastination and resistance to distraction

Procrastination is a tendency to delay tasks, despite being aware of the negative consequences of doing so. Previous studies have shown that students who frequently procrastinate, present difficulties with maintaining attention during task completion. These problems might be related to decreased resistance to distraction caused by task-irrelevant stimuli appearing in the surrounding environment. In the present study we verified this hypothesis by investigating the relationship between procrastination and susceptibility to distraction with the use of behavioral and neurophysiological measures. We recruited high (HP) and low (LP) procrastinating students and asked them to perform an Auditory Visual Distraction task which required participants to respond to visual stimuli and ignore the preceding sounds. Although HP (vs. LP) did not show increased orientation of attention towards distracting sounds, they were still less attentive to task-relevant stimuli. These results indicate that procrastination-related attentional deficits might be linked to other sources of distraction, such as mind-wandering episodes. Educational relevance statementAccording to our knowledge, the presented study was the first to use objective measures in order to investigate the link between procrastination and the ability to ignore external distractors. Although we did not confirm the expected relationship, we observed that students who frequently procrastinate still present certain attentional dysfunctions, which might be related to other sources of distraction, such as mind-wandering episodes. We believe that observed deficits might partially explain higher propensity to delay completion of different assignments, as inability to maintain sustained attention can increase the perceived aversiveness and difficulty of the performing tasks and/or facilitate attentional shift towards alternative goals. Obtained findings might contribute to the development of therapeutic interventions or guidelines for psychologists, managers, team leaders or teachers on how to manage the problem of procrastination in the workplace or school settings.

Dysfunction of visual novelty detection in physical but not social anhedonia in a non-clinical sample

Background/objectiveDespite its obvious motivational impairment, anhedonia as a transdiagnostic psychopathological construct is accompanied by deficits in attention function. Previous studies have identified voluntary attention anomalies in anhedonia, but its involuntary attention has received less study. MethodUsing a visual novelty oddball task, the current event-related potential study assessed electrophysical correlates underlying mismatch detection in anhedonia with a non-clinical sample. Well-matched healthy control (N = 28; CNT), social anhedonia (N = 27; SA), and physical anhedonia (N = 26; PA) groups were presented standard, target, and perceptually novel stimuli while their EEG was recording. ResultsThe PA group relative to the CNT group exhibited a reduced N2 to novel stimuli but not to target stimuli. In contrast, the SA group as compared to the other two groups showed comparable N2 responses to both target and novel stimuli. Control analyses indicated that these patterns were unaffected by depression symptoms. ConclusionsThese findings suggest that anhedonia is a heterogenous construct associated with impairments in early detection of visual novelty in physical but not social anhedonia, highlighting that dysfunction in involuntary attention may play a mediating role in the development, maintenance, and consequences of anhedonia-related psychopathology.