Search

Background: The attentional network test (ANT) is widely used to evaluate the performance of three attentional networks: alerting, orienting and executive attention networks. This study aimed to investigate the characteristics of attention functions in HIV-negative patients with early forms of neurosyphilis (NS) and their correlation with abnormalities in brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Methods: Thirty patients with early forms of NS, 31 patients with syphilis but without NS (Non-NS) and 35 healthy controls were recruited from an HIV-negative cohort between September 2020 and November 2022. The participants were evaluated with the ANT and the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE). Brain MRI was performed in NS and Non-NS patients. Results: No significant differences were observed in the MMSE scores among the three groups. However, patients with early forms of NS showed poorer performance in orienting and alerting functions than Non-NS group (F = 6.952, P = 0.011 and F = 8.794, P = 0.004, respectively); No significant difference was observed in executive function between the two groups (F = 0.001, P = 0.980). Multivariate analysis of variance using the Bonferroni post hoc test indicated that patients with NS exhibited less efficient orienting function (P = 0.023), and alerting function (P = 0.003) but not executive function (P = 0.99), compared to Non-NS patients. Additionally, a significant difference was found in orienting function between patients with NS and healthy controls (P < 0.001) compared to healthy controls. MRI scans revealed that the NS group had a higher prevalence of abnormalities in the frontal lobes and/or the temporoparietal junction compared to the Non-NS group (24/25 vs. 13/19, P = 0.032). Conclusions: The orienting and alerting functions but not executive function were significantly less efficient in early forms of NS group than in the Non-NS group (P < 0.01). This indicates deficits in selective attention in patients with early forms of NS. Brain MRI scans revealed abnormalities in the frontal and/or parietal lobes, as well as the temporoparietal junction, suggesting potential neuropathological correlates of these attentional deficits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mental fatigue is a variation in the psychophysiological state that subjects encounter during or after prolonged cognitive activity periods, affecting top-down attention and cognitive control. The present study aimed to investigate the effects of mental fatigue on attention in the context of the three attention networks according to the Posnerian model (alerting, orienting, and executive networks) by combining the Attentional Network Test (ANT) and event-related potentials technique. Thirty healthy subjects were enrolled in the study. A continuous arithmetic task lasting one hour induced mental fatigue, and EEG recordings were conducted before and after the task while subjects were performing the ANT. The efficiencies of three networks were comparable between groups, while RTs shortened only in the control group and the accuracy related to the alerting and conflict networks declined only after mental effort. Mental fatigue reduced N1 amplitude during alerting network engagement and p3 amplitude during orienting. It also reduced N2 and P3 amplitude during the conflict, particularly the incongruent target-locked response. These findings underscore the covert effects of mental fatigue on attention, suggesting that even in healthy young subjects, compensatory mechanisms may maintain adequate overt performances, but fatigue still has a detrimental effect on top-down attentional mechanisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The attention network test (ANT) is a tool for assessing the executive, alerting, and orienting components of attention. However, conflicting findings exist regarding the nature and correlation between attention networks. This study aims to investigate the influence of eye movement time on the assessment of attention network efficiency. Forty male students, with an average age of 20.8 ± 1.3 years, participated in the study. The revised attention network test was conducted concurrently with the recording of the electrooculogram signal. The electrooculogram signal was used to estimate eye placement time on target stimuli. Considering eye movement time for calculating the score of each network was proposed as a novel method. The study explored the nature of attention networks and their relationships, and revealed significant effects for attention networks with and without considering the eye movement time. Additionally, a significant correlation is observed between the alerting and orienting networks. However, no significant correlation is found between attention networks using the proposed method. Considering eye movement time alters the assessment of attention network efficiency and modifies the correlation among attention networks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Background The attentional network test (ANT) is widely used to evaluate the performance of three attentional networks: alerting, orienting and executive attention networks. This study aimed to investigate the characteristics of attention functions in HIV-negative patients with early forms of neurosyphilis (NS) and their correlation with abnormalities in brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Methods Thirty patients with early forms of NS, 31 patients with syphilis but without NS (Non-NS) and 35 healthy controls were recruited from an HIV-negative cohort between September 2020 and November 2022. The participants were evaluated with the ANT and the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE). Brain MRI was performed in NS and Non-NS patients. Results No significant differences were observed in the MMSE scores among the three groups. However, patients with early forms of NS showed poorer performance in orienting and alerting functions than Non-NS group (F = 6.952, P = 0.011 and F = 8.794, P = 0.004, respectively); No significant difference was observed in executive function between the two groups (F = 0.001, P = 0.980). Multivariate analysis of variance using the Bonferroni post hoc test indicated that patients with NS exhibited less efficient orienting function (P = 0.023), and alerting function (P = 0.003) but not executive function (P = 0.99), compared to Non-NS patients. Additionally, a significant difference was found in orienting function between patients with NS and healthy controls (P

The impact of deafness on visual attention has been widely discussed in previous research. It has been noted that deficiencies and strengths of previous research can be attributed to temporal or spatial aspects of attention, as well as variations in development and clinical characteristics. Visual attention is categorized into three networks: orienting (exogenous and endogenous), alerting (phasic and tonic), and executive control. This study aims to contribute new neuroscientific evidence supporting this hypothesis. This paper presents a systematic review of the international literature from the past 15 years focused on visual attention in the deaf population. The final review included 24 articles. The function of the orienting network is found to be enhanced in deaf adults and children, primarily observed in native signers without cochlear implants, while endogenous orienting is observed only in the context of gaze cues in children, with no differences found in adults. Results regarding alerting and executive function vary depending on clinical characteristics and paradigms used. Implications for future research on visual attention in the deaf population are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Seemingly simple behaviors such as swatting a mosquito or glancing at a signpost involve the precise coordination of multiple body parts. Neural control of coordinated movements is widely thought to entail transforming a desired overall displacement into displacements for each body part. Here we reveal a different logic implemented in the mouse gaze system. Stimulating superior colliculus (SC) elicits head movements with stereotyped displacements but eye movements with stereotyped endpoints. This is achieved by individual SC neurons whose branched axons innervate modules in medulla and pons that drive head movements with stereotyped displacements and eye movements with stereotyped endpoints, respectively. Thus, single neurons specify a mixture of endpoints and displacements for different body parts, not overall displacement, with displacements for different body parts computed at distinct anatomical stages. Our study establishes an approach for unraveling motor hierarchies and identifies a logic for coordinating movements and the resulting pose.

Attention network theory proposes three distinct types of attention—alerting, orienting, and control—that are supported by separate brain networks and modulated by different neurotransmitters, that is, norepinephrine, acetylcholine, and dopamine. Here, we explore the extent of cortical, genetic, and molecular dissociation of these three attention systems using multimodal neuroimaging. We evaluated the spatial overlap between fMRI activation maps from the attention network test (ANT) and cortex‐wide gene expression data from the Allen Human Brain Atlas. The goal was to identify genes associated with each of the attention networks in order to determine whether specific groups of genes were co‐expressed with the corresponding attention networks. Furthermore, we analyzed publicly available PET‐maps of neurotransmitter receptors and transporters to investigate their spatial overlap with the attention networks. Our analyses revealed a substantial number of genes (3871 for alerting, 6905 for orienting, 2556 for control) whose cortex‐wide expression co‐varied with the activation maps, prioritizing several molecular functions such as the regulation of protein biosynthesis, phosphorylation, and receptor binding. Contrary to the hypothesized associations, the ANT activation maps neither aligned with the distribution of norepinephrine, acetylcholine, and dopamine receptor and transporter molecules, nor with transcriptomic profiles that would suggest clearly separable networks. Independence of the attention networks appeared additionally constrained by a high level of spatial dependency between the network maps. Future work may need to reconceptualize the attention networks in terms of their segregation and reevaluate the presumed independence at the neural and neurochemical level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: The role of cardiovascular risk factors in the occurrence and progression of cognitive impairment is relevant in aging studies. In this condition, attention is one of the processes less studied, but preliminary evidence suggests an association between cardiometabolic alterations and attentional decline. Attention is not a unitary process but a set of independent systems (Alerting, Orienting, Executive), which can interact in certain conditions to ensure maximum behavioral efficiency. Methods: We investigated attentive networks and their interactions in patients with Takostubo syndrome (TTS). In all, 20 participants with TTS and 20 individuals without cardiovascular pathologies performed an Attention-Network Task for Interaction, which assesses attentional networks and their interactions. Results: Patients with TTS showed an atypical orienting effect when compared to the control group. Moreover, only the control group exhibited an interaction between orienting and alerting. Conclusion: These findings establish the relevance of brain–heart interaction in identifying attentional impairment as a prodrome of progressively severe cognitive impairment in TTS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Three Posnerian networks of attention (alerting, orienting, and executive control) have been distinguished on the bases of behavioural, neuropsychological, and neuroscientific evidence. Here, we examined the trajectories of these networks throughout the human lifespan using the various Attention Network Tests (ANTs), which were specifically developed to measure the efficacy of these networks. The ANT Database was used to identify relevant research, resulting in the inclusion of 36 publications. We conducted a graphical meta-analysis using network scores from each study, based on reaction time plotted as a function of age group. Evaluation of attentional networks from childhood to early adulthood suggests that the alerting network develops relatively quickly, and reaches near-adult level by the age of 12. The developmental pattern of the orienting network seems to depend on the information value of the spatial cues. Executive control network scores show a consistent decrease (improvement) with age in childhood. During adulthood (ages 19–75), changes in alerting depend on the modality of the warning signal, while a moderate increase in orienting scores was seen with increasing age. Whereas executive control scores, as measured in reaction time, increase (deterioration) from young adulthood into later adulthood an opposite trend is seen when scores are based on error rates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The cognitive aging process is not necessarily linear. Central task-evoked pupillary responses, representing a brainstem-pupil relationship, may vary across the lifespan. Thus we examined, in 75 adults ranging in age from 19 to 86, whether task-evoked pupillary responses to an attention task may serve in as an index of cognitive aging. This is because the locus coeruleus (LC), located in the brainstem, is not only among the earliest sites of degeneration in pathological aging, but also supports both attentional and pupillary behaviors. We assessed brief, task-evoked phasic attentional orienting to behaviorally relevant and irrelevant auditory tones, stimuli known specifically to recruit the LC in the brainstem and evoke pupillary responses. Due to potential nonlinear changes across the lifespan, we used a novel data-driven analysis on 6 dynamic pupillary behaviors on 10% of the data to reveal cut off points that best characterized the three age bands: young (19–41 years old), middle aged (42–68 years old), and older adults (69 + years old). Follow-up analyses on independent data, the remaining 90%, revealed age-related changes such as monotonic decreases in tonic pupillary diameter and dynamic range, along with curvilinear phasic pupillary responses to the behaviorally relevant target events, increasing in the middle-aged group and then decreasing in the older group. Additionally, the older group showed decreased differentiation of pupillary responses between target and distractor events. This pattern is consistent with potential compensatory LC activity in midlife that is diminished in old age, resulting in decreased adaptive gain. Beyond regulating responses to light, pupillary dynamics reveal a nonlinear capacity for neurally mediated gain across the lifespan, thus providing evidence in support of the LC adaptive gain hypothesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The impact of deafness on visual attention has been widely discussed in previous research. It has been noted that deficiencies and strengths of previous research can be attributed to temporal or spatial aspects of attention, as well as variations in development and clinical characteristics. Visual attention is categorized into three networks: orienting (exogenous and endogenous), alerting (phasic and tonic), and executive control. This study aims to contribute new neuroscientific evidence supporting this hypothesis. This paper presents a systematic review of the international literature from the past 15 years focused on visual attention in the deaf population. The final review included 24 articles. The function of the orienting network is found to be enhanced in deaf adults and children, primarily observed in native signers without cochlear implants, while endogenous orienting is observed only in the context of gaze cues in children, with no differences found in adults. Results regarding alerting and executive function vary depending on clinical characteristics and paradigms used. Implications for future research on visual attention in the deaf population are discussed.

Mental fatigue is a variation in the psychophysiological state that subjects encounter during or after prolonged cognitive activity periods, affecting top-down attention and cognitive control. The present study aimed to investigate the effects of mental fatigue on attention in the context of the three attention networks according to the Posnerian model (alerting, orienting, and executive networks) by combining the Attentional Network Test (ANT) and event-related potentials technique. Thirty healthy subjects were enrolled in the study. A continuous arithmetic task lasting one hour induced mental fatigue, and EEG recordings were conducted before and after the task while subjects were performing the ANT. The efficiencies of three networks were comparable between groups, while RTs shortened only in the control group and the accuracy related to the alerting and conflict networks declined only after mental effort. Mental fatigue reduced N1 amplitude during alerting network engagement and p3 amplitude during orienting. It also reduced N2 and P3 amplitude during the conflict, particularly the incongruent target-locked response. These findings underscore the covert effects of mental fatigue on attention, suggesting that even in healthy young subjects, compensatory mechanisms may maintain adequate overt performances, but fatigue still has a detrimental effect on top-down attentional mechanisms.

The attention networks test (ANT) is frequently utilized to evaluate executive, alerting, and orienting attentional components. Additionally, it serves as an activation task in neuroimaging studies. This study aimed to examine the relationship between attention networks and brain electrophysiology. The study enrolled 40 right-handed male students (age = 20.8 ± 1.3 years) who underwent the revised attention network test, while their electroencephalogram signals were recorded. The study aimed to explore the effects of attention networks and their efficiencies on brain electrophysiology. The results indicated that the P3 amplitude was modulated by the conflict effect in the central (p-value = 0.014) and parietal (p-value = 0.002) regions. The orienting component significantly influenced P1 and N1 latencies in the parietal and parieto-occipital regions (p-values < 0.006), as well as P1 and N1 amplitude in the parieto-occipital region (p-values = 0.017 and 0.011). The alerting component significantly affected P1 latency and amplitude in the parietal and parieto-occipital regions, respectively (p-value = 0.02). Furthermore, N1 amplitude and the time interval between P1 and N1 were significantly correlated with the efficiency of alerting and orienting networks. In terms of connectivity, the coherence of theta and alpha bands significantly decreased in the incongruent condition compared to the congruent condition. Additionally, the effects of attention networks on event-related spectral perturbation were observed. The study revealed the influence of attention networks on various aspects of brain electrophysiology. Specifically, the alerting score correlated with the amplitude of the N1 component in the double-cue and no-cue conditions in the parieto-occipital region, while the orienting score in the same region correlated with the N1 amplitude in the valid cue condition and the difference in N1 amplitude between the valid cue and double-cue conditions. Overall, empirical evidence suggests that attention networks not only impact the amplitudes of electrophysiological activities but also influence their time course. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A rapid detection and processing of relevant information in our environment is crucial for survival. The human eyes are drawn to social or threatening stimuli as they may carry essential information on how to behave appropriately in a given context. Recent studies further showed a centralization of gaze that reminded of freezing behaviors in rodents. Probably constituting a component of an adaptive defense mode, centralized eye movements predicted the speed of motor actions. Here we conducted two experiments to examine if and how these presumably survival‐relevant gaze patterns interact. Subjects viewed images including social, that is, faces (Experiment 1, N = 50) or threatening stimuli, that is, snakes or spiders (Experiment 2, N = 50) while awaiting an inevitable (shock), no (safety), or an avoidable shock (flight) they could escape from by a fast button press. The social and threatening cues within the scenes differed in their distance from the image center and we acquired eye‐tracking and autonomic physiological data. Although we observed an initial orienting toward social and threatening stimulus aspects, this exploration pattern vanished towards the end of flight trials when a pronounced centralization of gaze emerged. Replicating previous findings, the amount of this center bias predicted the speed of motor reactions, and we observed a concurrent activation of the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system. Taken together, the exploration of potentially relevant cues seems to be part of a reflexive‐orienting response regardless of contextual valence. However, centralization of gaze may be a threat‐specific action‐preparatory response that occurs across a wide range of stimulus contexts. This study provides evidence for two sequential oculomotor effects indicating orienting and action preparation upon approaching threat. Relevant visual features such as social or threatening stimulus elements initially capture attention, but visual exploration sharply decreases as a function of action preparation under threat. This adaptive response is associated with a co‐activation of the sympathetic and parasympathetic autonomic system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Exploratory behaviors are central to the study of curiosity, since they allow us to infer an otherwise hidden state of being curious from quantitative, experimental observations. Reactive orienting behaviors reflect a fundamental form of curiosity and are driven by the immediate novelty and/or surprise of stimuli. Operant tasks probe curiosity by offering experimental subjects explicit action choices to collect information, in a manner that is either neutral or costly/useful with regards to overall gains/losses. Recently developed computational models of curiosity, based on intrinsically motivated reinforcement learning, describe different expressions of curiosity in a unified theoretical framework. Curiosity refers to the intrinsic desire of humans and animals to explore the unknown, even when there is no apparent reason to do so. Thus far, no single, widely accepted definition or framework for curiosity has emerged, but there is growing consensus that curious behavior is not goal-directed but related to seeking or reacting to information. In this review, we take a phenomenological approach and group behavioral and neurophysiological studies which meet these criteria into three categories according to the type of information seeking observed. We then review recent computational models of curiosity from the field of machine learning and discuss how they enable integrating different types of information seeking into one theoretical framework. Combinations of behavioral and neurophysiological studies along with computational modeling will be instrumental in demystifying the notion of curiosity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Background Optimizing rectal suction biopsy (RSB) diagnostics in Hirschsprung’s disease (HD) may shorten diagnostic time and prevent need for repeated biopsies. Aim To explore whether systematic orientation of fresh RSB specimens increased biopsy quality, diagnostic times, diagnostic efficacy, and histopathologic workload, and to explore these outcome measures for aganglionic specimens. Materials/Methods This was an observational case-control study conducted at a national referral center for HD on data collected from the local HD-diagnostic register. From 2019 each fresh RSB was oriented by the collector in a notch in a foam cushion, placed in a separate cassette, and sent in formalin for pathological analysis. Outcome measures of oriented RSB samples collected 2019–2021 were compared to those of non-oriented RSB samples collected 2015–2018. Staining/immunohistochemistry consisted of hematoxylin eosin, S-100 and calretinin. Results 78 children with 81 RSBs and 242 biopsy analyzes were included. The frequency of high-quality RSB specimens was higher in oriented: 40% (42/106) versus non-oriented 25% (34/136) (p = 0.018), the diagnostic turnaround time was shorter: 2 days (1–5) versus 3 days (2–8) (p = 0.015), and the number of additional sectioning/leveling/re-orientation per biopsy was lower: 7 (3–26) versus 16 (7–72) (p = 0.011). Specifically for aganglionic specimens, the frequency of high-quality biopsies was generally higher in oriented than in non-oriented RSB specimens: 47% (28/59) versus 14% (7/50) (p

Neuroimaging studies conducted in the last three decades have distinguished two frontoparietal networks responsible for the control of visuospatial attention. The present review summarizes recent findings on the neurophysiological mechanisms implemented in both networks and describes the evolution from a model centered on the distinction between top-down and bottom-up attention to a model that emphasizes the dynamic interplay between the two networks based on attentional demands. The role of the dorsal attention network (DAN) in attentional orienting, by boosting behavioral performance, has been investigated with multiple experimental approaches. This research effort allowed us to trace a distinction between DAN regions involved in shifting vs. maintenance of attention, gather evidence for the modulatory influence exerted by the DAN over sensory cortices, and identify the electrophysiological correlates of the orienting function. Simultaneously, other studies have contributed to reframing our understanding of the functions of the ventral attention network (VAN) and its relevance for behavior. The VAN is not simply involved in bottom-up attentional capture but interacts with the DAN during reorienting to behaviorally relevant targets, exhibiting a general resetting function. Further studies have confirmed the selective rightward asymmetry of the VAN, proposed a functional dissociation along the anteroposterior axis, and suggested hypotheses about its emergence during the evolution of the primate brain. Finally, novel models of network interactions explain the expression of complex attentional functions and the emergence and restorations of symptoms characterizing unilateral spatial neglect. These latter studies emphasize the importance of considering patterns of network interactions for understanding the consequences of brain lesions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The role of the heart in the experience of time has been long theorized but empirical evidence is scarce. Here, we examined the interaction between fine‐grained cardiac dynamics and the momentary experience of subsecond intervals. Participants performed a temporal bisection task for brief tones (80–188 ms) synchronized with the heart. We developed a cardiac Drift‐Diffusion Model (cDDM) that embedded contemporaneous heart rate dynamics into the temporal decision model. Results revealed the existence of temporal wrinkles—dilation or contraction of short intervals—in synchrony with cardiac dynamics. A lower prestimulus heart rate was associated with an initial bias in encoding the millisecond‐level stimulus duration as longer, consistent with facilitation of sensory intake. Concurrently, a higher prestimulus heart rate aided more consistent and faster temporal judgments through more efficient evidence accumulation. Additionally, a higher speed of poststimulus cardiac deceleration, a bodily marker of attention, was associated with a greater accumulation of sensory temporal evidence in the cDDM. These findings suggest a unique role of cardiac dynamics in the momentary experience of time. Our cDDM framework opens a new methodological avenue for investigating the role of the heart in time perception and perceptual judgment. With the novel consideration of cardiac dynamics in the Drift‐Diffusion Model of temporal decision making, we found a close relationship between heart rate and the perception of millisecond durations. Heart rate before a brief stimulus and the subsequent cardiac orienting response explained components of the perceptual evidence accumulation process to determine the stimulus duration. These findings suggest a unique role for bioenergetics in subsecond time perception. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Three Posnerian networks of attention (alerting, orienting, and executive control) have been distinguished on the bases of behavioural, neuropsychological, and neuroscientific evidence. Here, we examined the trajectories of these networks throughout the human lifespan using the various Attention Network Tests (ANTs), which were specifically developed to measure the efficacy of these networks. The ANT Database was used to identify relevant research, resulting in the inclusion of 36 publications. We conducted a graphical meta-analysis using network scores from each study, based on reaction time plotted as a function of age group. Evaluation of attentional networks from childhood to early adulthood suggests that the alerting network develops relatively quickly, and reaches near-adult level by the age of 12. The developmental pattern of the orienting network seems to depend on the information value of the spatial cues. Executive control network scores show a consistent decrease (improvement) with age in childhood. During adulthood (ages 19–75), changes in alerting depend on the modality of the warning signal, while a moderate increase in orienting scores was seen with increasing age. Whereas executive control scores, as measured in reaction time, increase (deterioration) from young adulthood into later adulthood an opposite trend is seen when scores are based on error rates.

Neuroimaging studies conducted in the last three decades have distinguished two frontoparietal networks responsible for the control of visuospatial attention. The present review summarizes recent findings on the neurophysiological mechanisms implemented in both networks and describes the evolution from a model centered on the distinction between top-down and bottom-up attention to a model that emphasizes the dynamic interplay between the two networks based on attentional demands. The role of the dorsal attention network (DAN) in attentional orienting, by boosting behavioral performance, has been investigated with multiple experimental approaches. This research effort allowed us to trace a distinction between DAN regions involved in shifting vs. maintenance of attention, gather evidence for the modulatory influence exerted by the DAN over sensory cortices, and identify the electrophysiological correlates of the orienting function. Simultaneously, other studies have contributed to reframing our understanding of the functions of the ventral attention network (VAN) and its relevance for behavior. The VAN is not simply involved in bottom-up attentional capture but interacts with the DAN during reorienting to behaviorally relevant targets, exhibiting a general resetting function. Further studies have confirmed the selective rightward asymmetry of the VAN, proposed a functional dissociation along the anteroposterior axis, and suggested hypotheses about its emergence during the evolution of the primate brain. Finally, novel models of network interactions explain the expression of complex attentional functions and the emergence and restorations of symptoms characterizing unilateral spatial neglect. These latter studies emphasize the importance of considering patterns of network interactions for understanding the consequences of brain lesions.

Growing evidence indicates that culture and education can influence cognitive constructs. Studies targeting Western and Asian populations have shown a positive relationship between aerobic fitness and cognitive control in children; however, this association has yet to be explored in the Arab world. The current study aimed to investigate the relationship between aerobic fitness and attentional networks in Egyptian preadolescent children. In total, 103 preadolescent children (9.76 ± 0.11) completed an assessment of aerobic fitness using a 6-min running test and a computerized attention network test that allowed for assessing alerting, orienting, and executive networks. The results revealed that higher aerobic fitness was associated with shorter response time and higher response accuracy in a more cognitively demanding task condition (i.e., incongruent trials). Furthermore, higher aerobic fitness was associated with a more efficient executive network. No associations were observed for alerting and orienting networks. These findings corroborate growing evidence indicating the importance of aerobic fitness for cognitive development and extend the literature by suggesting that the positive association between aerobic fitness and cognitive control might be generalized to the Arab population and not significantly change across cultures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The goal of this paper is to examine how the development of attention networks has left many important issues unsolved and to propose possible directions for solving them by combining human and animal studies. The paper starts with evidence from citation mapping that indicates attention has played a central role in integrating cognitive and neural studies into Cognitive Neuroscience. The integration of the fields depends in part upon similarities and differences in performance over a wide variety of animals. In the case of exogenous orienting of attention primates, rodents and humans are quite similar, but this is not so with executive control. In humans, attention networks continue to develop at different rates during infancy and childhood and into adulthood. From age four on, the Attention Network Test (ANT) allows measurement of individual differences in the alerting, orienting and executive networks. Overt and covert orienting do overlap in their anatomy, but there is evidence of some degree of functional independence at the cellular level. The attention networks frequently work together with sensory, memory and other networks. Integration of animal and human studies may be advanced by examining common genes involved in individual attention networks or their integration with other brain networks. Attention networks involve widely scattered computation nodes in different brain areas, both cortical and subcortical. Future studies need to attend to the white matter that connects them and the direction of information flow during task performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Only a fraction of sensory input is selected and recognized. In primate vision, selecting and recognizing are looking and seeing, specialities of peripheral and central vision. In primates, feedforward inputs drive seeing both foveally and peripherally; feedback processes sculpt seeing foveally. Selection and recognition are extended across multiple senses. Across animal species, selection can also involve orienting, for example, head, limb, whiskers, tentacles, snout, and/or ear, instead of gaze; central recognition can also involve, for example, microvibrissae (mice), nose (dogs, mice), lips and tongues (human infants), and/or acoustic fovea (bats). Species with larger prefrontal cortices should have better endogenous control over orienting and feedback for recognition; these feedback controls facilitate decision-making for survival, learning, and creativity. Attentional bottlenecks force animals to deeply process only a selected fraction of sensory inputs. This motivates a unifying central-peripheral dichotomy (CPD), which separates multisensory processing into functionally defined central and peripheral senses. Peripheral senses (e.g., human audition and peripheral vision) select a fraction of the sensory inputs by orienting animals' attention; central senses (e.g., human foveal vision) allow animals to recognize the selected inputs. Originally used to understand human vision, CPD can be applied to multisensory processes across species. I first describe key characteristics of central and peripheral senses, such as the degree of top-down feedback and density of sensory receptors, and then show CPD as a framework to link ecological, behavioral, neurophysiological, and anatomical data and produce falsifiable predictions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous research has shown that attention can be biased to targets appearing near the hand that require action responses, arguing that attention to the hand facilitates upcoming action. It is unclear whether attention orients to non-targets near the hand not requiring responses. Using electroencephalography/event-related potentials (EEG/ERP), this study investigated whether hand position affected visual orienting to non-targets under conditions that manipulated the distribution of attention. We modified an attention paradigm in which stimuli were presented briefly and rapidly on either side of fixation; participants responded to infrequent targets (15%) but not standard non-targets and either a hand or a block was placed next to one stimulus location. In Experiment 1, attention was distributed across left and right stimulus locations to determine whether P1 or N1 ERP amplitudes to non-target standards were differentially influenced by hand location. In Experiment 2, attention was narrowed to only one stimulus location to determine whether attentional focus affected orienting to nontarget locations near the hand. When attention was distributed across both stimulus locations, the hand increased overall N1 amplitudes relative to the block but not selectively to stimuli appearing near the hand. However, when attention was focused on one location, amplitudes were affected by the location of attentional focus and the stimulus, but not by hand or block location. Thus, hand position appears to contribute only a non-locationspecific input to standards during visual orienting, but only in cases when attention is distributed across stimulus locations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: This study aimed to investigate the effect of posterior circulation ischemia (PCI) on attention network function and to determine whether PCI is holistic or selective attention network deficit and which attention network is affected. Methods: Thirty-six PCI patients aged 30 to 75 were assessed using the Attention Network Test and the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE). There were no significant differences in age, sex, and education between PCI group and the control group (n = 32). All data were statistically analyzed by SPSS 23.0 software. Result: There were no significant difference in the MMSE scores between the two groups. Compared with the control group, the PCI group had significantly shorter response time for alerting and orienting network. The executive control network response time was significantly longer in PCI group than in the control group. The overall mean response time was also significantly longer in PCI group than in normal control group. There was no significant difference in mean accuracy between the two groups. Conclusion: The alerting, orienting, and executive control networks were significantly less efficient in PCI group than in the control group (P < 0.01). This indicates impaired attention network in PCI patients. Since transient nerve seizures caused by vertebrobasilar ischemia may precede posterior circulation stroke, early assessment of cognitive function in patients with PCI is particularly important, and ANT is an excellent tool for this assessment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Emerging evidence has been reported of attentional dysfunction in pituitary adenoma patients. However, the effect of pituitary adenomas on lateralized attention network efficiency remained to be clear. Thus, the present study aimed to investigate the impairment of lateralized attention networks in patients with pituitary adenoma. Methods: Eighteen pituitary adenoma patients (PA group) and 20 healthy controls (HCs) were included in this study. Both behavioral results and eventrelated potentials (ERPs) were acquired while subjects performed the Lateralized Attention Network Test (LANT). Results: Behavioral performances indicated the PA group had a slower reaction time and a similar error rate relative to the HCs group. Meanwhile, significantly increased executive control network efficiency suggested the dysfunction of inhibition control in PA patients. Regarding ERP results, there were no group differences in the alerting and orienting networks. The target-related P3 was significantly reduced in the PA group, suggesting an impairment of executive control function and attentional resources allocation. Moreover, the mean amplitude of P3 was significantly lateralized to the right hemisphere, and interacted with the visual field, exhibiting that the right hemisphere dominated the bilateral visual field, whereas the left hemisphere dominated the left visual field. In the specific high-conflict condition, the pattern of hemispheric asymmetry in the PA group was altered due to a mixed effect resulting from the compensatory recruitment of attentional resources in the left central parietal area and the destructive effects of hyperprolactinemia. Conclusion: These findings suggested that, in the lateralized condition, the decreased P3 in the right central parietal area and the diminished hemispheric asymmetry under high conflict load, may serve as the potential biomarkers of attentional dysfunction in patients with pituitary adenoma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Optimizing rectal suction biopsy (RSB) diagnostics in Hirschsprung's disease (HD) may shorten diagnostic time and prevent need for repeated biopsies. Aim: To explore whether systematic orientation of fresh RSB specimens increased biopsy quality, diagnostic times, diagnostic efficacy, and histopathologic workload, and to explore these outcome measures for aganglionic specimens. Materials/Methods: This was an observational case-control study conducted at a national referral center for HD on data collected from the local HD-diagnostic register. From 2019 each fresh RSB was oriented by the collector in a notch in a foam cushion, placed in a separate cassette, and sent in formalin for pathological analysis. Outcome measures of oriented RSB samples collected 2019–2021 were compared to those of non-oriented RSB samples collected 2015–2018. Staining/immunohistochemistry consisted of hematoxylin eosin, S-100 and calretinin. Results: 78 children with 81 RSBs and 242 biopsy analyzes were included. The frequency of high-quality RSB specimens was higher in oriented: 40% (42/106) versus non-oriented 25% (34/136) (p = 0.018), the diagnostic turnaround time was shorter: 2 days (1–5) versus 3 days (2–8) (p = 0.015), and the number of additional sectioning/leveling/re-orientation per biopsy was lower: 7 (3–26) versus 16 (7–72) (p = 0.011). Specifically for aganglionic specimens, the frequency of high-quality biopsies was generally higher in oriented than in non-oriented RSB specimens: 47% (28/59) versus 14% (7/50) (p < 0.001); the diagnostic efficacy was higher 95% (19/20) versus 60% (9/15) (p = 0.027) and the diagnostic turnaround time shorter: 2 days (2–3) versus 3 days (2–8) (p = 0.036). Conclusions: Systematic orientation of fresh RSB specimens improves HD diagnostics. Improvement was consistent in aganglionic specimens. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lower executive attention is expected to be associated with higher social anxiety. However, previous studies have reported inconsistent results. This study examines how the interaction of intrinsic alertness, orienting, and executive attention are associated with social anxiety. A total of 100 participants completed the Attention Network Test and Japanese version of the Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale. The results of hierarchical multiple regression analyses showed the three-way interaction effect of intrinsic alertness, orienting, and executive attention on social anxiety. Lower executive attention was associated with higher social anxiety when intrinsic alertness was at a high level and orienting was at a low level. These results indicate that when examining the relationship between executive attention and social anxiety, we need to consider intrinsic alertness and orienting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Relational frame theory and verbal behavior development theory are two behavior‐analytic perspectives on human language and cognition. Despite sharing reliance on Skinner's analysis of verbal behavior, relational frame theory and verbal behavior development theory have largely been developed independently, with initial applications in clinical psychology and education/development, respectively. The overarching goal of the current paper is to provide an overview of both theories and explore points of contact that have been highlighted by conceptual developments in both fields. Verbal behavior development theory research has identified how behavioral developmental cusps make it possible for children to learn language incidentally. Recent developments in relational frame theory have outlined the dynamic variables involved across the levels and dimensions of arbitrarily applicable relational responding, and we argue for the concept of mutually entailed orienting as an act of human cooperation that drives arbitrarily applicable relational responding. Together these theories address early language development and children's incidental learning of names. We present broad similarities between the two approaches in the types of functional analyses they generate and discuss areas for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Selective attention comprises essential infrastructural functions supporting cognition—anticipating, prioritizing, selecting, routing, integrating, and preparing signals to guide adaptive behavior. Most studies have examined its consequences, systems, and mechanisms in a static way, but attention is at the confluence of multiple sources of flux. The world advances, we operate within it, our minds change, and all resulting signals progress through multiple pathways within the dynamic networks of our brains. Our aim in this review is to raise awareness of and interest in three important facets of how timing impacts our understanding of attention. These include the challenges posed to attention by the timing of neural processing and psychological functions, the opportunities conferred to attention by various temporal structures in the environment, and how tracking the time courses of neural and behavioral modulations with continuous measures yields surprising insights into the workings and principles of attention. Nobre and van Ede review attention in time, considering in turn the challenges to attention posed by the time dimension, the opportunities conferred by predictable temporal structures, and the insights gained by tracking attention through time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Attention and executive function (EF) are vulnerable to aging. However, whether all these functions generally decline with aging is not known. Furthermore, most evidence is based on cross-sectional data and fewer follow-up data are available in the literature. Longitudinal follow-up studies are necessary to characterize individualized and precise changes in cognitive function. Additionally, relatively few aging studies have included middle-aged adults to examine age-related differences in attention and EF. Therefore, this study aims to examine whether general or specific attention and EF decline with aging from adulthood to old age by combining cross-sectional and longitudinal follow-up approaches. Methods: This study recruited 253 participants aged 20 to 78 years. passing a prescreening procedure (see main text for detail) for the baseline session, and 123 of them were invited to return 1-2 years after their first visit to participate in the follow-up session. The participants completed a series of attention and EF tasks at both the baseline and follow-up sessions, which measured alerting, orienting, conflict control, stopping, memory updating, and switching abilities. We applied linear and nonlinear regression models to evaluate the cross-sectional age effect on attention and EF and employed a modified Brinley plot to inspect follow-up performance against baseline in attention and EF. Results: The results of cross-sectional data showed that older adults exhibited decreased efficiency in alerting, stopping, and memory updating but paradoxically increased efficiency in conflict control and switching abilities and no changes in orienting efficiency with age. However, the results of longitudinal data showed that only alerting and memory updating continued to show decreased efficiency. Furthermore, conflict control and switching showed increased efficiency with aging, whereas the orienting network, and stopping no longer showed decreased efficiency. Conclusion: Thus, converging the cross-sectional and longitudinal data showed that the alerting and memory updating function exhibited the most robust deficit with age (cross-sectional) and aging (longitudinal). Alerting and memory updating abilities are crucial survival skills for human beings. Therefore, developing methods to prevent and improve an individual's alertness and working memory ability is an important practical issue in aging research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sensory stimuli can trigger an orienting reflex (response) by which animals move the head to position their sensors (e.g., eyes, pinna, whiskers). Orienting responses may be important to evaluate stimuli that call for action (e.g., approach, escape, ignore), but little is known about the dynamics of orienting responses in the context of goal-directed actions. Using mice of either sex, we found that, during a signaled avoidance action, the orienting response evoked by the conditioned stimulus (CS) consisted of a fast head movement containing rotational and translational components that varied substantially as a function of the behavioral and underlying brain states of the animal set by different task contingencies. Larger CS-evoked orienting responses were associated with high-intensity auditory stimuli, failures to produce the appropriate signaled action, and behavioral states resulting from uncertain or demanding situations and the animal's ability to cope with them. As a prototypical orienting neural circuit, we confirmed that the superior colliculus controls and codes the direction of spontaneous exploratory orienting movements. In addition, superior colliculus activity correlated with CS-evoked orienting responses, and either its optogenetic inhibition or excitation potentiated CS-evoked orienting responses, which are likely generated downstream in the medulla. CS-evoked orienting responses may be a useful probe to assess behavioral and related brain states, and state-dependent modulation of orienting responses may involve the superior colliculus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Growing evidence indicates that culture and education can influence cognitive constructs. Studies targeting Western and Asian populations have shown a positive relationship between aerobic fitness and cognitive control in children; however, this association has yet to be explored in the Arab world. The current study aimed to investigate the relationship between aerobic fitness and attentional networks in Egyptian preadolescent children. In total, 103 preadolescent children (9.76 ± 0.11) completed an assessment of aerobic fitness using a 6-min running test and a computerized attention network test that allowed for assessing alerting, orienting, and executive networks. The results revealed that higher aerobic fitness was associated with shorter response time and higher response accuracy in a more cognitively demanding task condition (i.e., incongruent trials). Furthermore, higher aerobic fitness was associated with a more efficient executive network. No associations were observed for alerting and orienting networks. These findings corroborate growing evidence indicating the importance of aerobic fitness for cognitive development and extend the literature by suggesting that the positive association between aerobic fitness and cognitive control might be generalized to the Arab population and not significantly change across cultures.

Abstract Attention ability is one of the most important cognitive functions. It develops mainly during school age. However, the neural basis for the typical development of attentional functions has not been fully investigated. To clarify the development of the aforementioned function and its neural basis, this study examined brain function in children and adolescents during the performance of an attention network test (ANT) using functional magnetic resonance imaging. One hundred and sixty‐three volunteers (8‐23 years, 80 female) participated in this study. Using a modified version of ANT, we assessed the efficiency of two attentional functions—orienting and executive attention—by measuring how reaction time is affected by spatial cue location and flanker congruency and examined the functional brain areas—attentional networks—associated with two attentional functions. Consistent with the findings of previous studies, the superior parietal lobule, visual association cortex, left precentral gyrus, and supplementary motor area were activated during the orienting attention, while the anterior cingulate cortex, visual association cortex, lateral prefrontal cortex, thalamus, and caudate were activated during the executive attention. Moreover, negative correlations with age were found for activations in the inferior frontal gyrus, dorsomedial prefrontal cortex, and caudate nucleus in the orienting attention, while no correlations with age related to executive attention were found. In conclusion, this study revealed common and distinct features in the neural basis of the attentional functions in children and adolescents compared with that of adults and their developmental changes with age.

Of the three subtypes of attention outlined by the attentional subsystems model, alerting (vigilance or arousal needed for task completion) and executive control (the ability to inhibit distracting information while completing a goal) are susceptible to age-related decline, while orienting remains relatively stable. Yet, few studies have investigated strategies that may acutely maintain or promote attention in typically aging older adults. Music listening may be one potential strategy for attentional maintenance as past research shows that listening to happy music characterized by a fast tempo and major mode increases cognitive task performance, likely by increasing cognitive arousal. The present study sought to investigate whether listening to happy music (fast tempo, major mode) impacts alerting, orienting, and executive control attention in 57 middle and older-aged adults (M = 61.09 years, SD = 7.16). Participants completed the Attention Network Test (ANT) before and after listening to music rated as happy or sad (slow tempo, minor mode), or no music (i.e., silence) for 10 min. Our results demonstrate that happy music increased alerting attention, particularly when relevant and irrelevant information conflicted within a trial. Contrary to what was predicted, sad music modulated executive control performance. Overall, our findings indicate that music written in the major mode with a fast tempo (happy) and minor mode with a slow tempo (sad) modulate different aspects of attention in the short term. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous research consistently reported that subjects that were exclusively breastfed (eBF) vs. not-exclusively breastfed (neBF) during infancy (0–6 months) showed increased scores of general intelligence measures (e.g., the intelligence quotient). However, the existent literature largely neglected whether breastfeeding also affects specific cognitive processes, such as attention and working memory (WM) capacity. We tested whether eBF vs. neBF subjects showed performance differences in relation to these two core cognitive functions. The Attention Network Test (ANT), to measure alerting, orienting, and conflict, and the Change Colour Task (CCT), to measure visuospatial WM capacity, were administered to 144 participants divided according to age (6-, 10-, and 18-year-old participants) and breastfeeding (eBF or neBF during 0–6 months of life). Importantly, the sub-groups were homogenous in terms of maternal education, a factor potentially affecting the relation between breastfeeding and cognition. While we found increased performance as a function of participants' age in both tasks, we failed to observe effects related to breastfeeding, as evidenced by Bayesian analyses. These findings highlight for the first time that the pattern of nutrition provided during early infancy does not appear to affect the development of attention and WM capacity, at least starting from the age considered in the present study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Selective attention and visuospatial orienting attention are important cognitive functions for children's development. Testing based on touch-based mobile technology platforms is becoming increasingly widespread in psychological assessment. Objective: The aim of the study was to investigate the reliability and validity of the newly developed touchscreen tablet-based test of selective and orienting attention (t-SOA test) in typical developing children aged 7-10 years. Methods: Two age groups of children, the group7-8 (7-8 years, 9 girls, 10 boys) and the group9-10 (9-10 years, 9 girls, 9 boys), performed the t-SOA test on a tablet (Android operating system) and a stylus, as well as the Reaction test of selective attention of the Vienna Test System (RT4-VTS). The criterion validity of the t-SOA test was verified by the RT4-VTS, and the construct validity via an analysis of the effect of age on the results of the t-SOA test. The reliability of the t-SOA test was assessed through internal consistency. Results: The internal consistency of the response time (RT) to the target stimulus was demonstrated to be excellent, Cronbach's a = .944. The mixed linear model with two factors - the central and the spatial (peripheral) cues, showed no significant effect on mean RT. Mean RT, median RT, and the coefficient of variation for RTs (CVRT) in the t-SOA test correlated significantly with analogous test scores of the RT4-VTS test, but not in the case of the number of correct responses, omissions, and commissions. A statistically significant effect of the age group was found for mean RT, median RTs, CVRT, and omission of the t-SOA test. Conclusions: The study demonstrated that the newly constructed t-SOA test may be a valid and reliable tool for assessing the level of visual selective attention of children during middle childhood. The study supported the current suggestion that the assessment of cognitive functions with a touchscreen tablet and a digital stylus is feasible and accepted by school-age children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The neural bases of attention, a set of neural processes that promote behavioral selection, is a subject of intense investigation. In humans, rewarded cues influence attention, even when those cues are irrelevant to the current task. Because the amygdala plays a role in reward processing, and the activity of amygdala neurons has been linked to spatial attention, we reasoned that the amygdala may be essential for attending to rewarded images. To test this possibility, we used an attentional capture task, which provides a quantitative measure of attentional bias. Specifically, we compared reaction times (RTs) of adult male rhesus monkeys with bilateral amygdala lesions and unoperated controls as they made a saccade away from a high- or low-value rewarded image to a peripheral target. We predicted that: (1) RTs will be longer for high- compared with low-value images, revealing attentional capture by rewarded stimuli; and (2) relative to controls, monkeys with amygdala lesions would exhibit shorter RT for high-value images. For comparison, we assessed the same groups of monkeys for attentional capture by images of predators and conspecifics, categories thought to have innate biological value. In performing the attentional capture task, all monkeys were slowed more by high-value relative to low-value rewarded images. Contrary to our prediction, amygdala lesions failed to disrupt this effect. When presented with images of predators and conspecifics, however, monkeys with amygdala lesions showed significantly diminished attentional capture relative to controls. Thus, separate neural pathways are responsible for allocating attention to stimuli with learned versus innate value. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to use Event-Related Potential (ERP) data to investigate how multiple attentional networks might contribute to vigilance decrement, based on Petersen and Posner's (2012) model of networks for executive control, alerting, and spatial orienting. The networks may differ in their sensitivity to effects of time on task. Based on the theory of attentional networks and previous findings, it was hypothesized that temporal decrements would be found in executive control and alerting networks. 102 participants (53 females) performed a version of the Attention Network Test (ANT) that was modified to require a prolonged period of continuous performance of approximately 70 min during electroencephalogram (EEG) recording. ERP amplitudes were measured in task conditions associated with executive control, alerting, and spatial orienting networks were measured across three consecutive task stages. N100 and P300 amplitudes were used to assess early selective attention and later target discrimination, respectively. Results largely replicated previous findings on ERP responses to the ANT. Amplitudes of the N100 wave and P300 declined over time in multiple conditions, consistent with increasing vulnerability to vigilance decrement. Evidence from cue × stage interactions suggested a temporal decrement in alerting processes, indicated by N100 amplitude, but behavioral data did not show any impairment specific to alerting. By contrast, there was a correspondence between a modest decline in frontal P300 amplitude seen in a no cue condition and slowing of response in this condition. A full explanation for vigilance decrement in terms of attention networks remains elusive. However, the current data suggest that parietal N100 and frontal P300 index two distinct processes that may contribute to loss of alertness and vigilance, depending on task demands. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social gaze has received much attention in social cognition research in both human and non-human animals. Gaze following appears to be a central skill for acquiring social information, such as the location of food and predators, but can also draw attention to important social interactions, which in turn promotes the evolution of more complex socio-cognitive processes such as theory of mind and social learning. In the past decades, a large number of studies has been conducted in this field introducing differing methodologies. Thereby, various factors influencing the results of gaze following experiments have been identified. This review provides an overview of the advances in the study of gaze following, but also highlights some limitations within the research area. The majority of gaze following studies on animals have focused on primates and canids, which limits evolutionary interpretations to only a few and closely related evolutionary lineages. This review incorporates new insights gained from previously understudied taxa, such as fishes, reptiles, and birds, but it will also provide a brief outline of mammal studies. We propose that the foundations of gaze following emerged early in evolutionary history. Basic, reflexive co-orienting responses might have already evolved in fishes, which would explain the ubiquity of gaze following seen in the amniotes. More complex skills, such as geometrical gaze following and the ability to form social predictions based on gaze, seem to have evolved separately at least two times and appear to be correlated with growing complexity in brain anatomy such as increased numbers of brain neurons. However, more studies on different taxa in key phylogenetic positions are needed to better understand the evolutionary history of this fundamental socio-cognitive skill. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Humans have the subjective impression of a rich perceptual experience, but this perception is riddled with errors that might be produced by top-down expectancies or failures in feature integration. The role of attention in feature integration is still unclear. Some studies support the importance of attention in feature integration, whereas others suggest that feature integration does not require attention. Understanding attention as a heterogeneous system, in this study, we explored the role of divided (as opposed to focused—Experiment 1) attention, and endogenous–exogenous spatial orienting (Experiments 2 and 3) in feature integration. We also explored the role of feature expectancy, by presenting stimulus features that were completely unexpected to the participants. Results demonstrated that both endogenous and exogenous orienting improved feature integration whereas divided attention did not. Moreover, a strong and consistent feature expectancy effect was observed, demonstrating perceptual completion when an unexpected perceptual feature was presented in the scene. These results support the feature confirmation account, which proposes that attention is important for top-down matching of stable representations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

INTRODUCTION: T he present study aimed to explore whether there are changes in the alerting, orienting, and executive network efficiencies of attention function between high altitude immigrants and low altitude residents. METHODS: E vent-related potentials (ERP) were acquired during an attention network test (ANT). The high-altitude (HA) group comprised 22 college student immigrants who were born and raised at low altitudes and had lived at a HA (11,975 ft/3650 m) for 26 mo (tests were conducted when they returned to HA for 3 mo). The low-altitude (LA) group comprised 23 college students who had never visited HA areas before. RESULTS: C ompared with the LA group, the HA group had a higher pulse rate, lower oxygen saturation level, and decreased alerting and orienting effects in the behavioral results. The ERP results of the HA group showed a smaller P1 in the occipital area, a larger N1 both in the parietal and occipital areas of the alerting network, and a smaller P1 and larger N1 in the orienting network than the LA group. In the executive control network, the N2 amplitude of the HA group was more negative and the P3 amplitude of the HA group decreased in incongruent conditions. DISCUSSION: T ogether, these findings suggest that high-altitude migrants are less effective at alerting and orienting than low-altitude residents. For executive control function, changes in the P3 amplitudes of incongruent conditions indicated a decrease in conflict inhibition underlying the executive-control network. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Attention is comprised of three independent and interacting attention networks: phasic alertness, orienting, and executive control. Previous studies have explored event-related potentials associated with these attention networks and executive vigilance, there is a lack of research on the relationship between executive vigilance and the three attention networks. However, there is a lack of research on the relationship between executive vigilance and the three attention networks. The present study aims to investigate this relationship. Based on the theory of cognitive resource control, two experimental blocks were designed with the vigilance task as the control variable. A total of 39 participants completed both ANTI and ANTI-V trials (two variants of the traditional attention network test ANT) in the same period. Through analysis of behavior measures (RT) and electrophysiological results related to phasic alertness (N1, P2, and contingent negative variation), orienting (P1, N1, and P3), and executive control (N2 and slow positive potential), we found that the reaction time of the ANTI block was lower than that of the ANTI-V block under all conditions, This suggests that adding a vigilance task may lead to reduced allocation of attention resources across all three attention networks. Furthermore, the orienting ability was weaker in the ANTI-V experimental block compared to that in the ANTI block due to effects on P1 and P3 regulation by the vigilance task. The N2 amplitude of the ANTI-V block was consistently reduced under similar conditions, indicating a weakening of executive control ability. The electrophysiological results revealed that executive vigilance inhibited the component of early attention perception related to the orienting network and was also related to the ability to detect conflict in the executive control network. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Measurement of the efficacy of the networks of attention is a frequent component of research in cognitive and clinical neuroscience. Developed in 2002, the Attention Network Test (ANT), has become the most widely used tool for this purpose. In 2017 a more engaging, game-like tool based on the ANT, called the AttentionTrip was described. The network scores from five studies which used AttentionTrip are shown to be robust. That version of AttentionTrip required a steering wheel and desk-top computer. Here we describe a new, portable version of the AttentionTrip that is administered using a hand-held tablet (iPad) Three samples of participants (total = 44) completed the portable version of AttentionTrip. The network scores generated using the portable AttentionTrip were also robust. Effect sizes compare favourably with those generated by the ANT and the desktop version. The findings support the use of the portable AttentionTrip as an alternative to the ANT when user engagement is important, such as when participants are prone to boredom, and when repeated administrations are required. • Measurement of the networks of attention is important in the clinic & the laboratory. • The AttentionTrip is more engaging than the ANT on which it is modelled. • A portable version of the AttentionTrip generates robust attention network scores. • The portable AttentionTrip is recommended when user engagement is important. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous research has shown that attention can be biased to targets appearing near the hand that require action responses, arguing that attention to the hand facilitates upcoming action. It is unclear whether attention orients to non-targets near the hand not requiring responses. Using electroencephalography/event-related potentials (EEG/ERP), this study investigated whether hand position affected visual orienting to non-targets under conditions that manipulated the distribution of attention. We modified an attention paradigm in which stimuli were presented briefly and rapidly on either side of fixation; participants responded to infrequent targets (15%) but not standard non-targets and either a hand or a block was placed next to one stimulus location. In Experiment 1, attention was distributed across left and right stimulus locations to determine whether P1 or N1 ERP amplitudes to non-target standards were differentially influenced by hand location. In Experiment 2, attention was narrowed to only one stimulus location to determine whether attentional focus affected orienting to non-target locations near the hand. When attention was distributed across both stimulus locations, the hand increased overall N1 amplitudes relative to the block but not selectively to stimuli appearing near the hand. However, when attention was focused on one location, amplitudes were affected by the location of attentional focus and the stimulus, but not by hand or block location. Thus, hand position appears to contribute only a non-location-specific input to standards during visual orienting, but only in cases when attention is distributed across stimulus locations.

The world view of rodents is largely determined by sensation on two length scales. One is within the animal's peri-personal space; sensorimotor control on this scale involves active movements of the nose, tongue, head, and vibrissa, along with sniffing to determine olfactory clues. The second scale involves the detection of more distant space through vision and audition; these detection processes also impact repositioning of the head, eyes, and ears. Here we focus on orofacial motor actions, primarily vibrissa-based touch but including nose twitching, head bobbing, and licking, that control sensation at short, peri-personal distances. The orofacial nuclei for control of the motor plants, as well as primary and secondary sensory nuclei associated with these motor actions, lie within the hindbrain. The current data support three themes: First, the position of the sensors is determined by the summation of two drive signals, i.e., a fast rhythmic component and an evolving orienting component. Second, the rhythmic component is coordinated across all orofacial motor actions and is phase-locked to sniffing as the animal explores. Reverse engineering reveals that the preBötzinger inspiratory complex provides the reset to the relevant premotor oscillators. Third, direct feedback from somatosensory trigeminal nuclei can rapidly alter motion of the sensors. This feedback is disynaptic and can be tuned by high-level inputs. A holistic model for the coordination of orofacial motor actions into behaviors will encompass feedback pathways through the midbrain and forebrain, as well as hindbrain areas.

Social gaze has received much attention in social cognition research in both human and non-human animals. Gaze following appears to be a central skill for acquiring social information, such as the location of food and predators, but can also draw attention to important social interactions, which in turn promotes the evolution of more complex socio-cognitive processes such as theory of mind and social learning. In the past decades, a large number of studies has been conducted in this field introducing differing methodologies. Thereby, various factors influencing the results of gaze following experiments have been identified. This review provides an overview of the advances in the study of gaze following, but also highlights some limitations within the research area. The majority of gaze following studies on animals have focused on primates and canids, which limits evolutionary interpretations to only a few and closely related evolutionary lineages. This review incorporates new insights gained from previously understudied taxa, such as fishes, reptiles, and birds, but it will also provide a brief outline of mammal studies. We propose that the foundations of gaze following emerged early in evolutionary history. Basic, reflexive co-orienting responses might have already evolved in fishes, which would explain the ubiquity of gaze following seen in the amniotes. More complex skills, such as geometrical gaze following and the ability to form social predictions based on gaze, seem to have evolved separately at least two times and appear to be correlated with growing complexity in brain anatomy such as increased numbers of brain neurons. However, more studies on different taxa in key phylogenetic positions are needed to better understand the evolutionary history of this fundamental socio-cognitive skill.

Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) experience a range of social and non-social attention deficits. To date, most studies assessed the neurological framework or discrete behavioral traits related to one attention network, leaving a gap in the understanding of the developmental cascade affecting the inter-relations among attention networks in ASD in a pervasive manner. We propose a theoretical framework that integrates the behavioral deficits and neurological manifestations through a cohesive developmental prism of attention networks' activations while assessing their impact on social deficits in children with ASD. Insights arising from the model suggest hyper-andhypoactivation of posterior attention networks leads to an altered prefrontal anterior attention network weight in ways that conjointly impact social performance in ASD. This perspective on how attention networks develop and interact in ASD may inform future research directions regarding ASD and attention development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]