The role of controlled attention and selective encoding for kindergarteners' learning

Selectivity in encoding, aspects of attentional control and their contribution to learning performance were explored in a sample of preschoolers. While the children are performing a learning task, their encoding of relevant and attention towards irrelevant information was recorded through an eye-tracking device. Recognition of target items was used as measure of learning outcome, and individual differences in resistance to interference and inhibition of attention to task-irrelevant stimuli (i.e. distractibility) were used as measures of executive control of attention. Results indicated well-developed selectivity during encoding in young children. Recognition performance was related to selective encoding and aspects of attentional control, explaining individual differences in learning. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Assessing the function of the fronto-parietal attention network: Insights from resting-state fMRI and the attentional network test

In the recent past, various intrinsic connectivity networks (ICN) have been identified in the resting brain. It has been hypothesized that the fronto-parietal ICN is involved in attentional processes. Evidence for this claim stems from task-related activation studies that show a joint activation of the implicated brain regions during tasks that require sustained attention. In this study, we used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to demonstrate that functional connectivity within the fronto-parietal network at rest directly relates to attention. We applied graph theory to functional connectivity data from multiple regions of interest and tested for associations with behavioral measures of attention as provided by the attentional network test (ANT), which we acquired in a separate session outside the MRI environment. We found robust statistical associations with centrality measures of global and local connectivity of nodes within the network with the alerting and executive control subfunctions of attention. The results provide further evidence for the functional significance of ICN and the hypothesized role of the fronto-parietal attention network. Hum Brain Mapp , 2013. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

The effect of pain on involuntary and voluntary capture of attention

BACKGROUND: There is converging evidence for the notion that pain affects a broad range of attentional domains. This study investigated the influence of pain on the involuntary capture of attention as indexed by the P3a component in the event-related potential derived from the electroencephalogram. METHODS: Participants performed in an auditory oddball task in a pain-free and a pain condition during which they submerged a hand in cold water. Novel, infrequent and unexpected auditory stimuli were presented randomly in a series of frequent standard and infrequent target tones. P3a and P3b amplitudes were observed to novel, unexpected and target-related stimuli, respectively. RESULTS: Both electrophysiological components were characterized by reduced amplitudes in the pain compared with the pain-free condition. Hit rate and reaction time to target stimuli did not differ between the two conditions presumably because the experimental task was not difficult enough to exceed attentional capacities under pain conditions. CONCLUSIONS: These results indicate that voluntary attention serving the maintenance and control of ongoing information processing (reflected by the P3b amplitude) is impaired by pain. In addition, the involuntary capture of attention and orientation to novel, unexpected information (measured by the P3a) is also impaired by pain. Thus, neurophysiological measures examined in this study support the theoretical positions proposing that pain can reduce attentional processing capacity. These findings have potentially important implications at the theoretical level for our understanding of the interplay of pain and cognition, and at the therapeutic level for the clinical treatment of individuals experiencing ongoing pain.

Attention affects prospective memory performance in dichotic listening paradigm

The current study was designed to test for the effect of lateralized attention on prospective memory performance in a dichotic listening task. The practice phase of the experiment consisted of a semantic decision task during which the participants were presented with different words on either side via headphones. Depending on the experimental condition the participants were required to focus on the words presented on the left or right side and to decide if these words were abstract or concrete. Thereafter, the participants were informed about the prospective memory task. They were instructed to press a distinct key whenever they hear a word which denotes an animal in the same task later during the experiment. The participants were explicitly informed that the prospective memory cues could appear on either side of the headphones. This was followed by a retention interval which was filled with unrelated tasks. Next, the participants performed the prospective memory task. The results revealed more prospective hits for the attended side. The finding suggests that noticing a prospective memory cue is not an automatic process but requires attention.

Negative mood, self-focused attention, and the experience of physical symptoms: the joint impact hypothesis

A joint impact hypothesis on symptom experience is introduced that specifies the role of negative mood and self-focus, which have been considered independently in previous research. Accordingly, negative affect only promotes symptom experience when people simultaneously focus their attention on the self. One correlational study and 4 experiments supported this prediction: Only negative mood combined with self-focus facilitated the experience (see the self-reports in Studies 1, 2a, & 2b) and the accessibility (lexical decisions, Stroop task in Studies 3 & 4) of physical symptoms, whereas neither positive mood nor negative mood without self-focus did. Furthermore, the joint impact of negative mood and self-focused attention on momentary symptom experience remained significant after controlling for the influence of dispositional symptom reporting and neuroticism.

The role of the right frontal eye field in overt visual attention deployment as assessed by free visual exploration

The frontal eye field (FEF) is known to be involved in saccade generation and visual attention control. Studies applying covert attentional orienting paradigms have shown that the right FEF is involved in attentional shifts to both the left and the right hemifield. In the current study, we aimed at examining the effects of inhibitory continuous theta burst (cTBS) transcranial magnetic stimulation over the right FEF on overt attentional orienting, as measured by a free visual exploration paradigm. In forty-two healthy subjects, free visual exploration of naturalistic pictures was tested in three conditions: (1) after cTBS over the right FEF; (2) after cTBS over a control site (vertex); and, (3) without any stimulation. The results showed that cTBS over the right FEF-but not cTBS over the vertex-triggered significant changes in the spatial distribution of the cumulative fixation duration. Compared to the group without stimulation and the group with cTBS over the vertex, cTBS over the right FEF decreased cumulative fixation duration in the left and in the right peripheral regions, and increased cumulative fixation duration in the central region. The present study supports the view that the right FEF is involved in the bilateral control of not only covert, but also of overt, peripheral visual attention.

Ego depletion and attention regulation under pressure: Is a temporary loss of self-control strength indeed related to impaired attention regulation?

In the current study we investigated whether ego depletion negatively affects attention regulation under pressure in sports by assessing participants' dart throwing performance and accompanying gaze behavior. According to the strength model of self-control, the most important aspect of self-control is attention regulation. Because higher levels of state anxiety are associated with impaired attention regulation, we chose a mixed design with ego depletion (yes vs. no) as between-subjects and anxiety level (high vs. low) as within-subjects factor. Participants performed a perceptual-motor task requiring selective attention, namely, dart throwing. In line with our expectations, depleted participants in the high-anxiety condition performed worse and displayed a shorter final fixation on bull's eye, demonstrating that when one's self-control strength is depleted, attention regulation under pressure cannot be maintained. This is the first study that directly supports the general assumption that ego depletion is a major factor in influencing attention regulation under pressure.

Ego depletion and attention regulation under pressure: Is a temporary loss of self-control strength indeed related to impaired attention regulation?

In the present study we investigated whether ego depletion negatively affects attention regulation under pressure in sports by assessing participants’ dart throwing performance and accompanying gaze behavior. According to the strength model of self-control the most important aspect of self-control is attention regulation (Schmeichel & Baumeister, 2010). As higher levels of state anxiety are associated with impaired attention regulation (Nieuwenhuys & Oudejans, 2012) we chose a mixed design with ego depletion (yes vs. no) as between-subjects and anxiety level (high vs. low) as within-subjects factor. A total of 28 right-handed students participated in our study (Mage = 23.4, SDage = 2.5; 10 female; no professional dart experience). Participants performed a perceptual-motor task requiring selective attention, namely, dart throwing. The task was performed while participants were positioned high and low on a climbing wall (i.e., with high and low levels of anxiety). In line with our expectations, a mixed-design ANOVA revealed that depleted participants in the high anxiety condition performed worse (p < .001) and displayed a shorter final fixation on bull’s eye (p < .01) than in the low anxiety condition, demonstrating that when one is depleted attention regulation under pressure cannot be maintained. This is the first study that directly supports the general assumption that ego depletion is a major factor in influencing attention regulation under pressure.

Varying expectancies and attention bias in phobic and non-phobic individuals.

Phobic individuals display an attention bias to phobia-related information and biased expectancies regarding the likelihood of being faced with such stimuli. Notably, although attention and expectancy biases are core features in phobia and anxiety disorders, these biases have mostly been investigated separately and their causal impact has not been examined. We hypothesized that these biases might be causally related. Spider phobic and low spider fearful control participants performed a visual search task in which they specified whether the deviant animal in a search array was a spider or a bird. Shorter reaction times (RTs) for spiders than for birds in this task reflect an attention bias toward spiders. Participants' expectancies regarding the likelihood of these animals being the deviant in the search array were manipulated by presenting verbal cues. Phobics were characterized by a pronounced and persistent attention bias toward spiders; controls displayed slower RTs for birds than for spiders only when spider cues had been presented. More important, we found RTs for spider detections to be virtually unaffected by the expectancy cues in both groups, whereas RTs for bird detections showed a clear influence of the cues. Our results speak to the possibility that evolution has formed attentional systems that are specific to the detection of phylogenetically salient stimuli such as threatening animals; these systems may not be as penetrable to variations in (experimentally induced) expectancies as those systems that are used for the detection of non-threatening stimuli. In sum, our findings highlight the relation between expectancies and attention engagement in general. However, expectancies may play a greater role in attention engagement in safe environments than in threatening environments.

Delayed positive effects of acute coordinative exercise on children’s attention

Since attention is an important prerequisite for learning, it is particularly worthwhile to promote it in schools, through specific interventions. The present study examined the effects of an acute bout of coordinative exercise in physical education on the attention of primary school children. A total of 90 fifth grade primary school children (41 boys, 49 girls; M = 11.0 yr., SD = 0.6) participated in the study and were randomly assigned to either the experimental or the control group. The experimental group received a cognitively demanding physical education lesson consisting of different coordinative exercises; the control group attended a normal sedentary school lesson. Before, immediately after, and 90 min. after each experimental condition, the children's attentional performance was tested using the revised version of the d2 Test of Attention (d2-R). Results of the repeated-measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) revealed that children's attentional performance increased through the specifically designed physical education lesson, not immediately but 90 min. after cessation. The results are discussed in terms of mechanisms explaining the relationship between acute physical exercise, and immediate and delayed effects on attention.