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Green I, Amo R, Watabe-Uchida M. Shifting attention to orient or avoid: a unifying account of the tail of the striatum and its dopaminergic inputs. Curr Opin Behav Sci 2024; 59:101441. [PMID: 39247613 PMCID: PMC11376218 DOI: 10.1016/j.cobeha.2024.101441] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 09/10/2024]
Abstract
The tail of the striatum (TS) is increasingly recognized as a unique subdivision of the striatum, characterized by its dense sensory inputs and projections received from a distinct group of dopamine neurons. Separate lines of research have characterized the functional role of TS, and TS-projecting dopamine neurons, in three realms: saccadic eye movement towards valuable visual stimuli; tone-guided choice between two options; and defensive responses to threatening stimuli. We propose a framework for reconciling these diverse roles as varied implementations of a conserved response to salient stimuli, with dopamine in TS providing a teaching signal to promote quick attentional shifts that facilitate stimulus-driven orientation and/or avoidance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Isobel Green
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Center for Brain Science, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
| | - Ryunosuke Amo
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Center for Brain Science, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
| | - Mitsuko Watabe-Uchida
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Center for Brain Science, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
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2
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Ramamurthy DL, Rodriguez L, Cen C, Li S, Chen A, Feldman DE. Reward history guides focal attention in whisker somatosensory cortex. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.07.17.603927. [PMID: 39131281 PMCID: PMC11312476 DOI: 10.1101/2024.07.17.603927] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 08/13/2024]
Abstract
Prior reward is a potent cue for attentional capture, but the underlying neurobiology is largely unknown. In a novel whisker touch detection task, we show that mice flexibly shift attention between specific whiskers on a trial-by-trial timescale, guided by the recent history of stimulus-reward association. Two-photon calcium imaging and spike recordings revealed a robust neurobiological correlate of attention in the somatosensory cortex (S1), boosting sensory responses to the attended whisker in L2/3 and L5, but not L4. Attentional boosting in L2/3 pyramidal cells was topographically precise and whisker-specific, and shifted receptive fields toward the attended whisker. L2/3 VIP interneurons were broadly activated by whisker stimuli, motion, and arousal but did not carry a whisker-specific attentional signal, and thus did not mediate spatially focused tactile attention. Together, these findings establish a new model of focal attention in the mouse whisker tactile system, showing that the history of stimuli and rewards in the recent past can dynamically engage local modulation in cortical sensory maps to guide flexible shifts in ongoing behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Deepa L Ramamurthy
- Department of Neuroscience and Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, UC Berkeley
| | - Lucia Rodriguez
- Department of Neuroscience and Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, UC Berkeley
- Neuroscience PhD Program, UC Berkeley
| | - Celine Cen
- Department of Neuroscience and Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, UC Berkeley
| | - Siqian Li
- Department of Neuroscience and Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, UC Berkeley
| | - Andrew Chen
- Department of Neuroscience and Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, UC Berkeley
| | - Daniel E Feldman
- Department of Neuroscience and Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, UC Berkeley
- Lead Contact
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3
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Wu W. We know what attention is! Trends Cogn Sci 2024; 28:304-318. [PMID: 38103983 DOI: 10.1016/j.tics.2023.11.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/15/2023] [Revised: 11/20/2023] [Accepted: 11/21/2023] [Indexed: 12/19/2023]
Abstract
Attention is one of the most thoroughly investigated psychological phenomena, yet skepticism about attention is widespread: we do not know what it is, it is too many things, there is no such thing. The deficiencies highlighted are not about experimental work but the adequacy of the scientific theory of attention. Combining common scientific claims about attention into a single theory leads to internal inconsistency. This paper demonstrates that a specific functional conception of attention is incorporated into the tasks used in standard experimental paradigms. In accepting these paradigms as valid probes of attention, we commit to this common conception. The conception unifies work at multiple levels of analysis into a coherent scientific explanation of attention. Thus, we all know what attention is.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wayne Wu
- Italian Academy for Advanced Studies in America, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA; Department of Philosophy and Neuroscience Institute, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
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4
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Seidel Malkinson T, Bayle DJ, Kaufmann BC, Liu J, Bourgeois A, Lehongre K, Fernandez-Vidal S, Navarro V, Lambrecq V, Adam C, Margulies DS, Sitt JD, Bartolomeo P. Intracortical recordings reveal vision-to-action cortical gradients driving human exogenous attention. Nat Commun 2024; 15:2586. [PMID: 38531880 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-46013-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/15/2022] [Accepted: 02/09/2024] [Indexed: 03/28/2024] Open
Abstract
Exogenous attention, the process that makes external salient stimuli pop-out of a visual scene, is essential for survival. How attention-capturing events modulate human brain processing remains unclear. Here we show how the psychological construct of exogenous attention gradually emerges over large-scale gradients in the human cortex, by analyzing activity from 1,403 intracortical contacts implanted in 28 individuals, while they performed an exogenous attention task. The timing, location and task-relevance of attentional events defined a spatiotemporal gradient of three neural clusters, which mapped onto cortical gradients and presented a hierarchy of timescales. Visual attributes modulated neural activity at one end of the gradient, while at the other end it reflected the upcoming response timing, with attentional effects occurring at the intersection of visual and response signals. These findings challenge multi-step models of attention, and suggest that frontoparietal networks, which process sequential stimuli as separate events sharing the same location, drive exogenous attention phenomena such as inhibition of return.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tal Seidel Malkinson
- Sorbonne Université, Inserm UMRS 1127, CNRS UMR 7225, Paris Brain Institute, ICM, Hôpital de la Pitié-Salpêtrière, 75013, Paris, France.
- Université de Lorraine, CNRS, IMoPA, F-54000, Nancy, France.
| | - Dimitri J Bayle
- Licae Lab, Université Paris Ouest-La Défense, 92000, Nanterre, France
| | - Brigitte C Kaufmann
- Sorbonne Université, Inserm UMRS 1127, CNRS UMR 7225, Paris Brain Institute, ICM, Hôpital de la Pitié-Salpêtrière, 75013, Paris, France
| | - Jianghao Liu
- Sorbonne Université, Inserm UMRS 1127, CNRS UMR 7225, Paris Brain Institute, ICM, Hôpital de la Pitié-Salpêtrière, 75013, Paris, France
- Dassault Systèmes, Vélizy-Villacoublay, France
| | - Alexia Bourgeois
- Laboratory of Cognitive Neurorehabilitation, Faculty of Medicine, University of Geneva, 1206, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Katia Lehongre
- CENIR - Centre de Neuro-Imagerie de Recherche, Paris Brain Institute, ICM, Hôpital de la Pitié-Salpêtrière, 75013, Paris, France
| | - Sara Fernandez-Vidal
- CENIR - Centre de Neuro-Imagerie de Recherche, Paris Brain Institute, ICM, Hôpital de la Pitié-Salpêtrière, 75013, Paris, France
| | - Vincent Navarro
- Sorbonne Université, Inserm UMRS 1127, CNRS UMR 7225, Paris Brain Institute, ICM, Hôpital de la Pitié-Salpêtrière, 75013, Paris, France
- AP-HP, Epilepsy and EEG Units, Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital, 75013, Paris, France
- Reference center of rare epilepsies, EpiCare, Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital, 75013, Paris, France
| | - Virginie Lambrecq
- Sorbonne Université, Inserm UMRS 1127, CNRS UMR 7225, Paris Brain Institute, ICM, Hôpital de la Pitié-Salpêtrière, 75013, Paris, France
- AP-HP, Epilepsy and EEG Units, Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital, 75013, Paris, France
- Reference center of rare epilepsies, EpiCare, Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital, 75013, Paris, France
| | - Claude Adam
- Sorbonne Université, Inserm UMRS 1127, CNRS UMR 7225, Paris Brain Institute, ICM, Hôpital de la Pitié-Salpêtrière, 75013, Paris, France
- AP-HP, Epilepsy and EEG Units, Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital, 75013, Paris, France
- Reference center of rare epilepsies, EpiCare, Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital, 75013, Paris, France
| | - Daniel S Margulies
- Laboratoire INCC, équipe Perception, Action, Cognition, Université de Paris, 75005, Paris, France
| | - Jacobo D Sitt
- Sorbonne Université, Inserm UMRS 1127, CNRS UMR 7225, Paris Brain Institute, ICM, Hôpital de la Pitié-Salpêtrière, 75013, Paris, France
| | - Paolo Bartolomeo
- Sorbonne Université, Inserm UMRS 1127, CNRS UMR 7225, Paris Brain Institute, ICM, Hôpital de la Pitié-Salpêtrière, 75013, Paris, France
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Bruner E. Cognitive Archeology and the Attentional System: An Evolutionary Mismatch for the Genus Homo. J Intell 2023; 11:183. [PMID: 37754912 PMCID: PMC10532831 DOI: 10.3390/jintelligence11090183] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/29/2023] [Revised: 09/04/2023] [Accepted: 09/11/2023] [Indexed: 09/28/2023] Open
Abstract
Brain evolution is a key topic in evolutionary anthropology. Unfortunately, in this sense the fossil record can usually support limited anatomical and behavioral inferences. Nonetheless, information from fossil species is, in any case, particularly valuable, because it represents the only direct proof of cerebral and behavioral changes throughout the human phylogeny. Recently, archeology and psychology have been integrated in the field of cognitive archeology, which aims to interpret current cognitive models according to the evidence we have on extinct human species. In this article, such evidence is reviewed in order to consider whether and to what extent the archeological record can supply information regarding changes of the attentional system in different taxa of the human genus. In particular, behavioral correlates associated with the fronto-parietal system and working memory are employed to consider recent changes in our species, Homo sapiens, and a mismatch between attentional and visuospatial ability is hypothesized. These two functional systems support present-moment awareness and mind-wandering, respectively, and their evolutionary unbalance can explain a structural sensitivity to psychological distress in our species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emiliano Bruner
- Centro Nacional de Investigación sobre la Evolución Humana, Paseo Sierra de Atapuerca 3, 09002 Burgos, Spain
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Savidge LE, Bales KL. Possible effects of pair bonds on general cognition: Evidence from shared roles of dopamine. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2023; 152:105317. [PMID: 37442497 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2023.105317] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/18/2023] [Revised: 07/06/2023] [Accepted: 07/10/2023] [Indexed: 07/15/2023]
Abstract
Pair bonding builds on preexisting dopamine connectivity to help form and maintain the bond. The involvement of dopaminergic pathways in pair bonding has stimulated research linking pair bonds to other dopamine-dependent processes, like addiction and social cognition (Burkett & Young, 2012; Yetnikoff, Lavezzi, Reichard, & Zahm, 2014). Less studied is the relationship of pair bonding to non-social cognitive processes. The first half of this review will provide an overview of pair bonding and the role of dopamine within social processes. With a thorough review of the literature, the current study will identify the ways the dopaminergic pathways critical for pair bonding also overlap with cognitive processes. Highlighting dopamine as a key player in pair bonds and non-social cognition will provide evidence that pair bonding can alter general cognitive processes like attention, working memory, cognitive flexibility, and impulse control.
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Affiliation(s)
- Logan E Savidge
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Davis, United States; California National Primate Research Center, United States.
| | - Karen L Bales
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Davis, United States; California National Primate Research Center, United States; Department of Neurobiology, Physiology, and Behavior, University of California, Davis, United States.
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Simani L, Roozbeh M, Shojaei M, Rostami M, Roozbeh M, Sahraian MA. Cognitive deficits in multiple sclerosis: Auditory and visual attention and inhibitory control. APPLIED NEUROPSYCHOLOGY. ADULT 2023:1-8. [PMID: 36972606 DOI: 10.1080/23279095.2023.2192408] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/29/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND A growing body of evidence has been paid to the cognitive impairment in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS). However, studies concerning cognitive functions in MS have also yielded conflicting results. This study investigates the attention and inhibitory control functions in patients with MS and their relationship with other clinical features, such as depression and fatigue in these patients. METHODS Participants included 80 patients with MS and 60 healthy controls. The attention and inhibitory control, fatigue, and psychiatric screening in all subjects were studied, respectively with the Integrated Visual and Auditory Continuous Performance Test (IVA-CPT), Fatigue Severity Scale (FSS), and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). RESULTS Patients with MS performed the IVA-CPT task more poorly than the healthy control group (p < 0.001). However, multiple regression analysis did not show any significant relationship between disease duration, FSS, and HADS on attention and inhibitory control. CONCLUSION Inhibitory control and attention are significantly impaired in patients with MS. Finding the basics of cognitive deficits in MS have potentially important clinical implications for developing better cognitive rehabilitation strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Leila Simani
- Skull Base Research Center, Loghman Hakim Hospital, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
- College of Pharmacy, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, USA
| | - Mahrooz Roozbeh
- Department of Cognitive Neuroscience, Institute for Cognitive Sciences Studies, Tehran, Iran
| | - Maziyar Shojaei
- School of Medicine, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| | - Mohammad Rostami
- Cognitive Sciences Lab, Allameh Tabataba'i University, Tehran, Iran
| | - Mehrdad Roozbeh
- School of Medicine, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| | - Mohammad Ali Sahraian
- Multiple Sclerosis Research Center, Neuroscience Institute, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
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Boujelbane MA, Trabelsi K, Jahrami HA, Masmoudi L, Ammar A, Khacharem A, Boukhris O, Puce L, Garbarino S, Scoditti E, Khanfir S, Msaad A, Msaad A, Akrout S, Hakim A, Bragazzi NL, Bryk K, Glenn JM, Chtourou H. Time-restricted feeding and cognitive function in sedentary and physically active elderly individuals: Ramadan diurnal intermittent fasting as a model. Front Nutr 2022; 9:1041216. [DOI: 10.3389/fnut.2022.1041216] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/10/2022] [Accepted: 10/13/2022] [Indexed: 11/11/2022] Open
Abstract
ObjectivesThis study aimed to investigate the effects of Ramadan diurnal intermittent fasting (RDIF) on cognitive performance, sleep quality, daytime sleepiness, and insomnia in physically active and sedentary elderly individuals.MethodsA total of 58 participants (62.93 ± 3.99 years) were assigned to one of the following two groups: a sedentary group (control group) who observed Ramadan (n = 32) and a physically active group (n = 26) who continued to train while observing Ramadan. Participants were assessed 2 weeks before Ramadan and during the fourth week of Ramadan. On each occasion, participants completed a digital assessment of their cognitive performance and responded to the Pittsburgh sleep quality index (PSQI), the insomnia severity index (ISI) and the Epworth sleepiness scale (ESS) questionnaires to assess sleep parameters.ResultsCompared to before Ramadan, performance in executive function (p = 0.035), attention (p = 0.005), inhibition (p = 0.02), associative memory (p = 0.041), and recognition memory (p = 0.025) increased significantly during Ramadan in the physically active group. For the sedentary group, associative learning performance decreased (p = 0.041), whilst performances in the remaining domains remained unchanged during Ramadan. Global PSQI, ISI, and ESS scores indicated both groups suffered from poor sleep quality and excessive daytime sleepiness, with significantly higher negative effects of RDIF observed in the sedentary group.ConclusionOlder adults who continue to train at least three times per week during Ramadan may improve their cognitive performance, despite the impairment of sleep quality. Future studies in older adults during Ramadan including objective measures of sleep (e.g., polysomnography, actigraphy) and brain function (e.g., functional magnetic resonance imaging) are warranted.
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When We Study the Ability to Attend, What Exactly Are We Trying to Understand? J Imaging 2022; 8:jimaging8080212. [PMID: 36005455 PMCID: PMC9410045 DOI: 10.3390/jimaging8080212] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/03/2022] [Revised: 06/20/2022] [Accepted: 07/06/2022] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
When we study the human ability to attend, what exactly do we seek to understand? It is not clear what the answer might be to this question. There is still so much to know, while acknowledging the tremendous progress of past decades of research. It is as if each new study adds a tile to the mosaic that, when viewed from a distance, we hope will reveal the big picture of attention. However, there is no map as to how each tile might be placed nor any guide as to what the overall picture might be. It is like digging up bits of mosaic tile at an ancient archeological site with no key as to where to look and then not only having to decide which picture it belongs to but also where exactly in that puzzle it should be placed. I argue that, although the unearthing of puzzle pieces is very important, so is their placement, but this seems much less emphasized. We have mostly unearthed a treasure trove of puzzle pieces but they are all waiting for cleaning and reassembly. It is an activity that is scientifically far riskier, but with great risk comes a greater reward. Here, I will look into two areas of broad agreement, specifically regarding visual attention, and dig deeper into their more nuanced meanings, in the hope of sketching a starting point for the guide to the attention mosaic. The goal is to situate visual attention as a purely computational problem and not as a data explanation task; it may become easier to place the puzzle pieces once you understand why they exist in the first place.
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Lev-Ari T, Beeri H, Gutfreund Y. The Ecological View of Selective Attention. Front Integr Neurosci 2022; 16:856207. [PMID: 35391754 PMCID: PMC8979825 DOI: 10.3389/fnint.2022.856207] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/16/2022] [Accepted: 02/24/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Accumulating evidence is supporting the hypothesis that our selective attention is a manifestation of mechanisms that evolved early in evolution and are shared by many organisms from different taxa. This surge of new data calls for the re-examination of our notions about attention, which have been dominated mostly by human psychology. Here, we present an hypothesis that challenges, based on evolutionary grounds, a common view of attention as a means to manage limited brain resources. We begin by arguing that evolutionary considerations do not favor the basic proposition of the limited brain resources view of attention, namely, that the capacity of the sensory organs to provide information exceeds the capacity of the brain to process this information. Moreover, physiological studies in animals and humans show that mechanisms of selective attention are highly demanding of brain resources, making it paradoxical to see attention as a means to release brain resources. Next, we build on the above arguments to address the question why attention evolved in evolution. We hypothesize that, to a certain extent, limiting sensory processing is adaptive irrespective of brain capacity. We call this hypothesis the ecological view of attention (EVA) because it is centered on interactions of an animal with its environment rather than on internal brain resources. In its essence is the notion that inherently noisy and degraded sensory inputs serve the animal's adaptive, dynamic interactions with its environment. Attention primarily functions to resolve behavioral conflicts and false distractions. Hence, we evolved to focus on a particular target at the expense of others, not because of internal limitations, but to ensure that behavior is properly oriented and committed to its goals. Here, we expand on this notion and review evidence supporting it. We show how common results in human psychophysics and physiology can be reconciled with an EVA and discuss possible implications of the notion for interpreting current results and guiding future research.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Yoram Gutfreund
- The Ruth and Bruce Rappaport Faculty of Medicine and Research Institute, The Technion, Haifa, Israel
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