Subcomponents Of Attention Research Articles

Effects of healthy ageing and bilingualism on attention networks

Abstract Both ageing and bilingualism can have positive as well as adverse cognitive effects. We investigated their combined impact on subcomponents of attention. We used the Attention Network Task to examine alerting, orienting, executive control and task-switching costs. Group comparisons revealed age-related declines for alerting alongside benefits for executive control, for mono- and bilinguals alike. For orienting, age-related decline was more pronounced for bilinguals than monolinguals. Task-switching was unaffected by age or language group. Within bilinguals, we found limited impact of individual differences in L2 proficiency, language switching or mixing: proficiency improves orienting and decreases switch costs, for young and older bilinguals alike; but no other individual differences effects were found. Thus, attention is a multi-faceted network, with clear adverse (alerting) and protective (executive control) ageing effects. We found these to be largely similar for mono- and bilinguals, with variability within bilinguals having only limited impact.

Attention biases for emotional facial expressions during a free viewing task increase between 2.5 and 5 years of age.

The normative, developmental changes in affect-biased attention during the preschool years are largely unknown. To investigate the attention bias for emotional versus neutral faces, an eye-tracking measurement and free viewing of paired pictures of facial expressions (i.e., happy, fearful, sad, or angry faces) and nonface pictures with neutral faces were conducted with 367 children participating in a Finnish cohort study at the age of 2.5 years and with 477 children at the age of 5 years, 216 of which having follow-up measurements. We found an attention-orienting bias for happy and fearful faces versus neutral faces at both age points. An attention-orienting bias for sad faces emerged between 2.5 and 5 years. In addition, there were significant biases in sustained attention toward happy, fearful, sad, and angry faces versus neutral faces, with a bias in sustained attention for fearful faces being the strongest. All biases in sustained attention increased between 2.5 and 5 years of age. Moderate correlations in saccadic latencies were found between 2.5 and 5 years. In conclusion, attention biases for emotional facial expressions seem to be age-specific and specific for the attentional subcomponent. This implies that future studies on affect-biased attention during the preschool years should use small age ranges and cover multiple subcomponents of attention. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Linear Mixed-Model Analysis Better Captures Subcomponents of Attention in a Small Sample Size of Persons With Aphasia.

Although there are several reports of attention deficits in aphasia, studies are typically limited to a single component within this complex domain. Furthermore, interpretation of results is affected by small sample size, intraindividual variability, task complexity, or nonparametric statistical models of performance comparison. The purpose of this study is to explore multiple subcomponents of attention in persons with aphasia (PWA) and compare findings and implications from various statistical methods-nonparametric, mixed analysis of variance (ANOVA), and linear mixed-effects model (LMEM)-when applied to a small sample size. Eleven PWA and nine age- and education-matched healthy controls (HCs) completed the computer-based Attention Network Test (ANT). ANT examines the effects of four types of warning cues (no, double, central, spatial) and two flanker conditions (congruent, incongruent) to provide an efficient way to assess the three subcomponents of attention (alerting, orienting, and executive control). Individual response time and accuracy data from each participant are considered for data analysis. Nonparametric analyses showed no significant differences between the groups on the three subcomponents of attention. Both mixed ANOVA and LMEM showed statistical significance on alerting effect in HCs, orienting effect in PWA, and executive control effect in both PWA and HCs. However, LMEM analyses additionally highlighted significant differences between the groups (PWA vs. HCs) for executive control effect, which were not evident on either ANOVA or nonparametric tests. By considering the random effect of participant ID, LMEM was able to show deficits in alerting and executive control ability in PWA when compared to HCs. LMEM accounts for the intraindividual variability based on individual response time performances instead of relying on measures of central tendencies.

Exploring attention in the bilingualism continuum: A resting-state functional connectivity study

This study explores the effects of bilingualism on the subcomponents of attention using resting state functional connectivity analysis (rsFC). Unlike previous studies, measures of bilingualism - L2 Age of Acquisition (AOA), L2 exposure, and L2 proficiency - were examined along a continuum to study attentional mechanisms using rsFC instead of dichotomizing them. 20 seed regions were pre-selected for the three subcomponents of attention. The results showed a positive association between behavioral performance and rsFC for the seeds in alerting and orienting network; this was not true for the seeds in the executive control network. Secondly, rsFC for attention networks varied with different levels of bilingualism. The objective measures of bilingualism modulate all three attention networks. While the subjective measures such as L2 AOA modulates specific attention network. Thus, language performance in contrast to self-reported information, as a measure of bilingualism, has a greater potential to tap into the role of bilingualism in attentional processes.

Sustained Attention and Spatial Attention Distinctly Influence Long-term Memory Encoding.

Our attention is critically important for what we remember. Prior measures of the relationship between attention and memory, however, have largely treated "attention" as a monolith. Here, across three experiments, we provide evidence for two dissociable aspects of attention that influence encoding into long-term memory. Using spatial cues together with a sensitive continuous report procedure, we find that long-term memory response error is affected by both trial-by-trial fluctuations of sustained attention and prioritization via covert spatial attention. Furthermore, using multivariate analyses of EEG, we track both sustained attention and spatial attention before stimulus onset. Intriguingly, even during moments of low sustained attention, there is no decline in the representation of the spatially attended location, showing that these two aspects of attention have robust but independent effects on long-term memory encoding. Finally, sustained and spatial attention predicted distinct variance in long-term memory performance across individuals. That is, the relationship between attention and long-term memory suggests a composite model, wherein distinct attentional subcomponents influence encoding into long-term memory. These results point toward a taxonomy of the distinct attentional processes that constrain our memories.

Mindfulness interventions improve momentary and trait measures of attentional control: Evidence from a randomized controlled trial.

Mindfulness interventions have been shown to improve several subcomponents of attention; however, the psychological mechanisms driving these improvements are unknown. Mindfulness interventions train individuals to monitor present moment experiences while adopting an attitude of acceptance toward these experiences. We conducted a theoretically driven randomized controlled trial to test the putative mechanisms of mindfulness training that drive improvements in attentional control. Participants were randomly assigned to 1 of 3 conditions: (a) monitor and accept (MA) training, a standard 8-week mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) intervention that included cultivation of both monitoring and acceptance skills; (b) monitor only (MO) training, a well-matched modified 8-week MBSR-adapted intervention that focused on monitoring skills only; or (c) no treatment (NT) control. Momentary attentional control was measured via ecological momentary assessment for 3 days at baseline and postintervention. Trait attentional control was assessed at baseline and postintervention using traditional self-report. Participants also completed a dichotic listening task to assess sustained attention at baseline and postintervention. We found that MA and MO participants improved in momentary and trait attentional control (but not attention task performance) relative to NT participants. Analyses of indirect effects were consistent with the possibility that increased momentary attentional control partially accounts for MA/MO intervention-related increases in trait attentional control. This randomized controlled trial provides one of the first experimental tests of the mechanisms of mindfulness interventions that drive improvements in attention outcomes. These findings support the notion that present-focused monitoring skills training drives mindfulness intervention-related improvements in momentary attentional control, which in turn fosters greater trait attentional control. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Efficiency of attentional processes in bilingual speakers with aphasia

ABSTRACT Background: Globalization has resulted in a growing bilingual population worldwide; thus, bilingual speakers with aphasia are also increasing. The ability to juggle languages has been reported to enhance attentional control abilities in healthy populations. However, few studies have looked at the impact of bilingualism on attentional control abilities in individuals with aphasia. Different subcomponents of attention are seldom studied in bilingual aphasia. Aims: The goal of the study is to explore the influence of bilingualism on three subcomponents of attention in individuals with aphasia, namely alerting, orienting and executive control. The study aimed to examine whether (1) individuals with aphasia show evidence of an attentional deficit in comparison to language-matched healthy peers, (2) there is evidence of a bilingual advantage in attentional mechanisms, and (3) there is a relationship between bilingualism and subcomponents of attention. Methods and Procedures: All the participants (10 French-English bilingual and 7 French monolingual adults with aphasia and 32 monolingual and bilingual healthy controls) performed a behavioural version of the Attention Network Test. The efficiency of the three attentional networks was assessed by measuring how response times varied with different warning cues and flanker type, resulting in alerting, orienting and executive control effects. Objective and subjective measures of bilingualism were also included. Results: Results confirmed a bilingual advantage in attentional mechanisms with and without aphasia. More specifically, group difference for healthy controls was evident in the accuracy rate only. For individuals with aphasia, between-group comparisons revealed differences in alerting ability: the bilingual group presented a significantly greater difference score than the monolingual group in the mu (μ) component of the response time distribution, whereas the monolingual group was able to take advantage of the alerting cue in the tau (τ) component. Furthermore, the monolingual and bilingual speakers with aphasia exhibited reduced alerting and more interference effect when compared to their respective healthy controls. Conclusions: This study provides evidence that bilingualism impacts attentional mechanisms in individuals with aphasia as well as healthy controls. Specifically, bilingual individuals with aphasia showed more efficient alerting skills than monolinguals with aphasia. Ex-Gaussian data analysis revealed effects that might otherwise be thought to be non-existent. Considering the growing bilingual population, an understanding of the behavioural signs and symptoms of attentional abilities in individuals with aphasia is necessary for both theoretical and clinical purposes.

Alerting, Orienting, and Executive Control: The Effect of Bilingualism and Age on the Subcomponents of Attention.

Life-long experience of using two or more languages has been shown to enhance cognitive control abilities in young and elderly bilinguals in comparison to their monolingual peers. This advantage has been found to be larger in older adults in comparison to younger adults, suggesting that bilingualism provides advantages in cognitive control abilities. However, studies showing this effect have used a variety of tasks (Simon Task, Stroop task, Flanker Task), each measuring different subcomponents of attention and raising mixed results. At the same time, attention is not a unitary function but comprises of subcomponents which can be distinctively addressed within the Attention Network Test (ANT) (1, 2). The purpose of this work was to examine the neurofunctional correlates of the subcomponents of attention in healthy young and elderly bilinguals taking into account the L2 age of acquisition, language usage, and proficiency. Participants performed an fMRI version of the ANT task, and speed, accuracy, and BOLD data were collected. As expected, results show slower overall response times with increasing age. The ability to take advantage of the warning cues also decreased with age, resulting in reduced alerting and orienting abilities in older adults. fMRI results showed an increase in neurofunctional activity in the frontal and parietal areas in elderly bilinguals when compared to young bilinguals. Furthermore, higher L2 proficiency correlated negatively with activation in frontal area, and that faster RTs correlated negatively with activation in frontal and parietal areas. Such a correlation, especially with L2 proficiency was not present in young bilinguals and provides evidence for a bilingual advantage in the alerting subcomponent of attention that characterizes elderly bilinguals' performance. This study thus provides extra details about the bilingual advantage in the subcomponent of attention, in older bilinguals. Consequently, speaking more than one language impacts cognition and the brain later in life.

Attentional processes in typically developing children as revealed using brain event-related potentials and their source localization in Attention Network Test

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.

Effect of bilingualism on the subcomponents of attention in older adults: neuroimaging study using ANT task

Effect of bilingualism on the subcomponents of attention in older adults: neuroimaging study using ANT task

The cerebellar topography of attention sub-components in spinocerebellar ataxia type 2

Spinocerebellar ataxia type 2 (SCA2) is an autosomal dominant neurodegenerative disease characterized by a progressive cerebellar syndrome and multiple-domain cognitive impairments. The cerebellum is known to contribute to distinct functional networks related to higher-level functions. The aims of the present study were to investigate the different sub-components of attention and to analyse possible correlations between attention deficits and specific cerebellar regions in SCA2 patients.To this purpose, 11 SCA2 patients underwent an exhaustive attention battery that evaluated several attention sub-components. The SCA2 group performed below the normal range in tasks assessing selective attention, divided attention, and sustained attention, obtaining negative Z-scores. These results were confirmed by non-parametric Mann–Whitney U tests that showed significant differences between SCA2 and control subjects in the same sub-components of the attention battery, allowing us to speculate on cerebellar involvement when a high cognitive demand is required (i.e., multisensory integration, sequencing, prediction of events, and inhibition of inappropriate response behaviours).The voxel-based morphometry analysis showed a pattern of significantly reduced grey matter volume in specific cerebellar lobules. In particular, the SCA2 patients showed significant grey matter loss in bilateral regions of the anterior cerebellar hemisphere (IV) and in the posterior lobe (VI-IX) and posterior vermis (VI-IX).Statistical analysis found significant correlations between grey matter reductions in the VIIb/VIIIa cerebellar lobules and impairments in Sustained and Divided Attention tasks and between grey matter reduction in the vermal VI lobule and impairment in the Go/NoGo task.For the first time, the study demonstrated the involvement of specific cerebellar lobules in different sub-components of the attention domain, giving further support to the inclusion of the cerebellum within the attention network.

Attentional impairments in Huntington's disease: A specific deficit for the executive conflict.

Huntington's disease (HD) is characterized by motor and cognitive impairments including memory, executive, and attentional functions. However, because earlier studies relied on multidetermined attentional tasks, uncertainty still abounds regarding the differential deficit across attentional subcomponents. Likewise, the evolution of these deficits during the successive stages of HD remains unclear. The present study simultaneously explored 3 distinct networks of attention (alerting, orienting, executive conflict) in preclinical and clinical HD. Thirty-eight HD patients (18 preclinical) and 38 matched healthy controls completed the attention network test, an integrated and theoretically grounded task assessing the integrity of 3 attentional networks. Preclinical HD was not characterized by any attentional deficit compared to controls. Conversely, clinical HD was associated with a differential deficit across the 3 attentional networks under investigation, showing preserved performance for alerting and orienting networks but massive and specific impairment for the executive conflict network. This indexes an impaired use of executive control to resolve the conflict between task-relevant stimuli and interfering task-irrelevant ones. Clinical HD does not lead to a global attentional deficit but rather to a specific impairment for the executive control of attention. Moreover, the absence of attentional deficits in preclinical HD suggests that these deficits are absent at the initial stages of the disease. In view of their impact on everyday life, attentional deficits should be considered in clinical contexts. Therapeutic programs improving the executive control of attention by neuropsychology and neuromodulation should be promoted. (PsycINFO Database Record

Modulation of auditory spatial attention by visual emotional cues: differential effects of attentional engagement and disengagement for pleasant and unpleasant cues.

Previous research has demonstrated that threatening, compared to neutral pictures, can bias attention towards non-emotional auditory targets. Here we investigated which subcomponents of attention contributed to the influence of emotional visual stimuli on auditory spatial attention. Participants indicated the location of an auditory target, after brief (250 ms) presentation of a spatially non-predictive peripheral visual cue. Responses to targets were faster at the location of the preceding visual cue, compared to at the opposite location (cue validity effect). The cue validity effect was larger for targets following pleasant and unpleasant cues compared to neutral cues, for right-sided targets. For unpleasant cues, the crossmodal cue validity effect was driven by delayed attentional disengagement, and for pleasant cues, it was driven by enhanced engagement. We conclude that both pleasant and unpleasant visual cues influence the distribution of attention across modalities and that the associated attentional mechanisms depend on the valence of the visual cue.

Specific Attentional Disorders and Freezing of Gait in Parkinson's Disease.

Due to its high prevalence in dual-task paradigms, freezing of gait in Parkinson's disease is thought to be associated with dysexecutive syndrome and attentional disorders. However, the role of specific attentional disorders in patients with freezing of gait is still unclear. Here, we sought to specifically determine which basic attentional modalities are impaired in patients with freezing of gait. Seventy-eight parkinsonian patients performed a computer-controlled reaction-time paradigm designed to measure the different attentional subcomponents, controlled for visuospatial processing and motor participation. The freezer (n = 42) and non-freezer (n = 36) groups were matched for age, educational level, MMSE and Mattis Dementia Rating Scale. There were no intergroup differences in simple reaction times, whereas choice reaction times were higher in the freezer group than in the non-freezer group for divided attention (p = 0.023). At equivalent levels of overall cognitive efficiency, freezer patients showed a greater slowdown than non-freezer patients with a specific impairment in divided attention.

Possible Medication-Resistant Deficits in Adult ADHD

Objective: The nature of ADHD, especially in adulthood, is not well-understood. Therefore, we explored subcomponents of attention in adult ADHD. Method: Twenty-three adults with ADHD were tested on neurocognitive and visual tracking performance both while on their regular prescription stimulant medication and while abstaining from the medication for 1 day. Pairwise comparisons to 46 two-for-one matched normal controls were made to detect medication-resistant effects of ADHD, and within-participant comparisons were made to detect medication-sensitive effects in patients. Results: Even when on medication, patients performed more poorly than controls on a spatial working memory task, and on visual tracking and simple reaction time tasks immediately following other attention-demanding tasks. Patients’ visual tracking performance degraded while off-medication in a manner consistent with reduced vigilance. Conclusion: There may be persistent cognitive impairments in adult ADHD despite medication. In addition, the benefit of stimulants seems reduced under cognitive fatigue.

Visual search and attentional bias for smoking cues: The role of familiarity.

Despite decades of work, the relationship between drug cues and actual drug use remains unclear. One promising area of research that may help explain this disconnect is the role of cognitive processing of drug cues, including attentional bias. This study utilized a visual search task that has previously been used to examine attentional bias in anxiety and eating disorders, but was modified to assess attentional bias for smoking cues. The task was completed by 106 participants (42.5% female), divided among three groups: smokers who continued smoking ad libitum, smokers who had abstained for 12 hours, and nonsmokers. An attentional bias for smoking stimuli was observed for both the initial orienting and maintenance subcomponents of attention. However, maintenance bias depended heavily upon the type of neutral stimuli used for comparison. Neither orienting nor maintenance bias differed across groups, indicating that these effects were not limited to smokers. Critically, the strongest predictor of attentional bias for smoking cues was previous environmental exposure to tobacco smoke. This raises questions about whether the traditional interpretation of attentional bias as an index of the incentive-motivational value of smoking cues is appropriate. Future empirical and theoretical work on smoking-related attentional bias should give greater consideration to the role that environmental exposure may play in its development.

The pattern of attentional deficits in Parkinson's disease

BackgroundCognitive impairment without dementia is frequent in Parkinson's disease. It often presents as a dysexecutive syndrome with deficient attentional resource allocation. The nature of attention deficits in Parkinson's disease has rarely been investigated with robust, theory-based tasks. The main objective of the present study was to investigate attention disorders in Parkinson's disease patients by applying a paradigm based on a model of attention. We also sought to identify the main demographic and clinical characteristics associated with attention deficits in Parkinson's disease. MethodsEighty non-demented Parkinson's disease patients and 60 healthy controls participated in the study. Attention was assessed in a computer-controlled reaction time paradigm. The test session comprised a simple reaction time task and four choice reaction time tasks: a go/no-go task, a one-dimension, focused-attention task, a two-dimension, divided-attention task and an alternating task. Performance was assessed by composite measures: (i) cognitive reaction time, corresponding to the difference between the simple reaction time and the choice reaction time in the given condition, and (ii) reaction time variability, corresponding to the sum of the coefficients of variance of the reaction times. Accuracy was also considered. ResultsApart from an overall slowing and greater reaction time variability, Parkinson's disease patients were only significantly impaired in the alternating condition. This set-shifting impairment was associated with their performance in the go/no-go and divided-attention conditions. ConclusionOur systematic assessment of the different attentional subcomponents revealed that mental flexibility is particularly impaired in non-demented Parkinson's disease patients.

Impact of side of lesion, seizure outcome and interictal epileptiform discharges on attention and memory after surgery in temporal lobe epilepsy

To determine the impact of side of surgery, seizure outcome and interictal epileptiform discharges (IEDs) on attention and memory in a cohort of patients with temporal lobe epilepsy who had undergone unilateral mesial temporal lobe resection. Ninety-four patients were investigated pre- and postoperatively by means of a standardised neuropsychological battery measuring subcomponents of attention, as well as short-term, working and long-term memory. The side of epilepsy surgery, seizure outcome and the presence of postoperative IEDs, as well as their possible relationship to the neuropsychological changes, were assessed. Statistical data were analysed using a repeated-measures MANOVA. The absence of seizures following surgery had a positive effect on short-term memory and attentional control. The occurrence of IEDs was found in patients with impaired figural learning. In terms of attentional control and working memory, patients who continued to present IEDs had also scored lower in these domains prior to surgery. IEDs had an effect independent of seizure presence, but were found to have a "supplementary negative effect" when the two variables were combined.

Attentional Functions in Major Depressive Disorders With and Without Comorbid Anxiety

The aim of this study was to explore if the divergent results regarding attentional functions in patients with mood disorders are due to selective impairments in higher level or more basic and distinctive attentional subcomponents. We compared outpatients with current major depressive disorders (MDD; n = 37) and MDD with comorbid anxiety disorder (MDDA; n = 24) with healthy controls (n = 92) on Stroop and Attentional Network Test (ANT). The current data indicate that significant impairment in attentional functions corresponds to the presence of MDD and MDDA. MDDA displayed significantly lower performance on the Stroop variables, and MDD were significantly impaired in the alerting function in ANT. These results show impairments on different levels of attention in mood disorders. MDDA show impairments on higher level executive attention functions, whereas MDD display deficits at the basic attentional level. These findings suggest that including comorbid anxiety disorder in MDD is important for future research.

Kognitive Defizite in frühen Stadien der schubförmigen multiplen Sklerose

Einleitung Neuropsychologische Defizite werden im Rahmen der neurologischen Routine-Untersuchungen von Patienten mit multipler Sklerose häufig erst in fortgeschrittenen Stadien diagnostiziert. Jedoch können bereits geringe kognitive Defizite, insbesondere von Gedächtnis, Aufmerksamkeit und visuell-räumlichen Fähigkeiten zusammen mit affektiven Veränderungen im schub- und behinderungsfreien Frühstadium der MS zu erheblicher Einschränkung der Lebensqualität führen. Patienten und Methoden Wir untersuchten mittels einer umfangreichen neuropsychologischen Testbatterie eine homogene Gruppe von MS-Patientinnen (n = 27; Alter 24 - 46 Jahre) im Frühstadium ihrer Erkrankung mit schubförmigem Verlauf ohne Behinderungen (n = 13; EDSS ≤ 0 - 1,5) oder mit geringen bis mittelgradigen Behinderungen (n = 13; EDSS ≥ 2 - 5,5) und verglichen sie mit einer alters- und IQ-entsprechenden Gruppe von Kontrollpersonen (n = 16). Ergebnisse Alle Patientinnen wiesen im Wesentlichen Aufmerksamkeitsdefizite (phasische Alertnessreaktion, geteilte Aufmerksamkeit) auf. Patientinnen mit geringem Behinderungsgrad zeigten im Vergleich zu den gesunden Kontrollpersonen vor allem Störungen der visuell-räumlichen Fähigkeiten, der nonverbalen Merkfähigkeit sowie der Aufmerksamkeit (phasische Alertness, selektive und geteilte Aufmerksamkeit). Diskussion Bereits im Frühstadium ohne Behinderungen kann die neuropsychologische Diagnostik relevante Defizite bei Patientinnen mit multipler Sklerose nachweisen, die in die Bewertung von Lebensqualität, Therapie und Verlauf der MS einbezogen werden müssen.