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Ciupińska K, Orłowska W, Zębrowski A, Łępa L, Koculak M, Bola M, Wierzchoń M. The influence of spatial and temporal attention on visual awareness-a behavioral and ERP study. Cereb Cortex 2024; 34:bhae241. [PMID: 38850216 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhae241] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/05/2024] [Revised: 05/14/2024] [Accepted: 05/22/2024] [Indexed: 06/10/2024] Open
Abstract
Whether attention is a prerequisite of perceptual awareness or an independent and dissociable process remains a matter of debate. Importantly, understanding the relation between attention and awareness is probably not possible without taking into account the fact that both are heterogeneous and multifaceted mechanisms. Therefore, the present study tested the impact on visual awareness of two attentional mechanisms proposed by the Posner model: temporal alerting and spatio-temporal orienting. Specifically, we evaluated the effects of attention on the perceptual level, by measuring objective and subjective awareness of a threshold-level stimulus; and on the neural level, by investigating how attention affects two postulated event-related potential correlates of awareness. We found that alerting and orienting mechanisms additively facilitate perceptual consciousness, with activation of the latter resulting in the most vivid awareness. Furthermore, we found that late positivity is unlikely to constitute a neural correlate of consciousness as its amplitude was modulated by both attentional mechanisms, but early visual awareness negativity was independent of the alerting and orienting mechanisms. In conclusion, our study reveals a nuanced relationship between attention and awareness; moreover, by investigating the effect of the alerting mechanism, this study provides insights into the role of temporal attention in perceptual consciousness.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kinga Ciupińska
- Consciousness Lab, Institute of Psychology, Jagiellonian University, 6 Ingardena Street, 30-060 Krakow, Poland
- Social Cognition in Human-Robot Interaction (S4HRI), Italian Institute of Technology, via Enrico Melen 83, 16152 Genova, Italy
| | - Wiktoria Orłowska
- Consciousness Lab, Institute of Psychology, Jagiellonian University, 6 Ingardena Street, 30-060 Krakow, Poland
- Doctoral School in the Social Sciences, Jagiellonian University, 34 Rynek Główny, 31-010 Krakow, Poland
| | - Aleksander Zębrowski
- Doctoral School in the Social Sciences, Jagiellonian University, 34 Rynek Główny, 31-010 Krakow, Poland
- Centre for Brain Research, Jagiellonian University, 50 Kopernika Street, 31-501 Krakow, Poland
| | - Laura Łępa
- Consciousness Lab, Institute of Psychology, Jagiellonian University, 6 Ingardena Street, 30-060 Krakow, Poland
| | - Marcin Koculak
- Consciousness Lab, Institute of Psychology, Jagiellonian University, 6 Ingardena Street, 30-060 Krakow, Poland
| | - Michał Bola
- Centre for Brain Research, Jagiellonian University, 50 Kopernika Street, 31-501 Krakow, Poland
| | - Michał Wierzchoń
- Consciousness Lab, Institute of Psychology, Jagiellonian University, 6 Ingardena Street, 30-060 Krakow, Poland
- Centre for Brain Research, Jagiellonian University, 50 Kopernika Street, 31-501 Krakow, Poland
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Liu J, Bayle DJ, Spagna A, Sitt JD, Bourgeois A, Lehongre K, Fernandez-Vidal S, Adam C, Lambrecq V, Navarro V, Seidel Malkinson T, Bartolomeo P. Fronto-parietal networks shape human conscious report through attention gain and reorienting. Commun Biol 2023; 6:730. [PMID: 37454150 PMCID: PMC10349830 DOI: 10.1038/s42003-023-05108-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/28/2023] [Accepted: 07/06/2023] [Indexed: 07/18/2023] Open
Abstract
How do attention and consciousness interact in the human brain? Rival theories of consciousness disagree on the role of fronto-parietal attentional networks in conscious perception. We recorded neural activity from 727 intracerebral contacts in 13 epileptic patients, while they detected near-threshold targets preceded by attentional cues. Clustering revealed three neural patterns: first, attention-enhanced conscious report accompanied sustained right-hemisphere fronto-temporal activity in networks connected by the superior longitudinal fasciculus (SLF) II-III, and late accumulation of activity (>300 ms post-target) in bilateral dorso-prefrontal and right-hemisphere orbitofrontal cortex (SLF I-III). Second, attentional reorienting affected conscious report through early, sustained activity in a right-hemisphere network (SLF III). Third, conscious report accompanied left-hemisphere dorsolateral-prefrontal activity. Task modeling with recurrent neural networks revealed multiple clusters matching the identified brain clusters, elucidating the causal relationship between clusters in conscious perception of near-threshold targets. Thus, distinct, hemisphere-asymmetric fronto-parietal networks support attentional gain and reorienting in shaping human conscious experience.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jianghao Liu
- Sorbonne Université, Inserm, CNRS, Paris Brain Institute, ICM, Hôpital de la Pitié-Salpêtrière, 75013, Paris, France.
- Dassault Systèmes, Vélizy-Villacoublay, France.
| | | | - Alfredo Spagna
- Sorbonne Université, Inserm, CNRS, Paris Brain Institute, ICM, Hôpital de la Pitié-Salpêtrière, 75013, Paris, France
- Department of Psychology, Columbia University in the City of New York, New York, NY, 10027, USA
| | - Jacobo D Sitt
- Sorbonne Université, Inserm, CNRS, Paris Brain Institute, ICM, Hôpital de la Pitié-Salpêtrière, 75013, Paris, 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
| | - Claude Adam
- Epilepsy Unit, AP-HP, Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital, 75013, Paris, France
| | - Virginie Lambrecq
- Sorbonne Université, Inserm, CNRS, Paris Brain Institute, ICM, Hôpital de la Pitié-Salpêtrière, 75013, Paris, France
- Epilepsy Unit, AP-HP, Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital, 75013, Paris, France
- Clinical Neurophysiology Department, AP-HP, Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital, 75013, Paris, France
| | - Vincent Navarro
- Sorbonne Université, Inserm, CNRS, Paris Brain Institute, ICM, Hôpital de la Pitié-Salpêtrière, 75013, Paris, France
- Epilepsy Unit, AP-HP, Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital, 75013, Paris, France
- Clinical Neurophysiology Department, AP-HP, Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital, 75013, Paris, France
| | - Tal Seidel Malkinson
- Sorbonne Université, Inserm, CNRS, Paris Brain Institute, ICM, Hôpital de la Pitié-Salpêtrière, 75013, Paris, France.
- CNRS, CRAN, Université de Lorraine, F-54000, Nancy, France.
| | - Paolo Bartolomeo
- Sorbonne Université, Inserm, CNRS, Paris Brain Institute, ICM, Hôpital de la Pitié-Salpêtrière, 75013, Paris, France.
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Spagna A, Bayle DJ, Romeo Z, Seidel-Malkinson T, Liu J, Yahia-Cherif L, Chica AB, Bartolomeo P. The cost of attentional reorienting on conscious visual perception: an MEG study. Cereb Cortex 2023; 33:2048-2060. [PMID: 35609335 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhac192] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/27/2022] [Revised: 04/18/2022] [Accepted: 04/20/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
How do attentional networks influence conscious perception? To answer this question, we used magnetoencephalography in human participants and assessed the effects of spatially nonpredictive or predictive supra-threshold peripheral cues on the conscious perception of near-threshold Gabors. Three main results emerged. (i) As compared with invalid cues, both nonpredictive and predictive valid cues increased conscious detection. Yet, only predictive cues shifted the response criterion toward a more liberal decision (i.e. willingness to report the presence of a target under conditions of greater perceptual uncertainty) and affected target contrast leading to 50% detections. (ii) Conscious perception following valid predictive cues was associated to enhanced activity in frontoparietal networks. These responses were lateralized to the left hemisphere during attentional orienting and to the right hemisphere during target processing. The involvement of frontoparietal networks occurred earlier in valid than in invalid trials, a possible neural marker of the cost of re-orienting attention. (iii) When detected targets were preceded by invalid predictive cues, and thus reorienting to the target was required, neural responses occurred in left hemisphere temporo-occipital regions during attentional orienting, and in right hemisphere anterior insular and temporo-occipital regions during target processing. These results confirm and specify the role of frontoparietal networks in modulating conscious processing and detail how invalid orienting of spatial attention disrupts conscious processing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alfredo Spagna
- Department of Psychology, Columbia University in the City of New York, New York, NY 10027, USA.,Sorbonne Université, Inserm U 1127, CNRS UMR 7225, Paris Brain Institute, ICM, Hôpital de la Pitié-Salpêtrière, 75013 Paris, France
| | - Dimitri J Bayle
- Licae Lab, Université Paris Nanterre, 92001 Nanterre, France
| | - Zaira Romeo
- Department of General Psychology, University of Padova, 35131 Padova, Italy
| | - Tal Seidel-Malkinson
- Sorbonne Université, Inserm U 1127, CNRS UMR 7225, Paris Brain Institute, ICM, Hôpital de la Pitié-Salpêtrière, 75013 Paris, France
| | - Jianghao Liu
- Sorbonne Université, Inserm U 1127, CNRS UMR 7225, Paris Brain Institute, ICM, Hôpital de la Pitié-Salpêtrière, 75013 Paris, France
| | - Lydia Yahia-Cherif
- Sorbonne Université, Inserm U 1127, CNRS UMR 7225, Paris Brain Institute, ICM, Hôpital de la Pitié-Salpêtrière, 75013 Paris, France
| | - Ana B Chica
- Department of Experimental Psychology; Mind, Brain, and Behavior Research Center (CIMCYC), University of Granada, 18071 Granada, Spain
| | - Paolo Bartolomeo
- Sorbonne Université, Inserm U 1127, CNRS UMR 7225, Paris Brain Institute, ICM, Hôpital de la Pitié-Salpêtrière, 75013 Paris, France
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Botta F, Arévalo EM, Bartolomeo P, Lupiáñez J. Attentional distraction affects maintenance of information in visual sensory memory. Conscious Cogn 2023; 107:103453. [PMID: 36584440 DOI: 10.1016/j.concog.2022.103453] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/19/2022] [Revised: 12/05/2022] [Accepted: 12/05/2022] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
Classical theoretical models suggest that visual short-term memory can be divided in two main memory systems: sensory memory, a short-lasting but high-capacity memory storage and working memory, a long-lasting but low-capacity memory store. Whilst, previous research has systematically shown a strong interplay between attentional mechanisms and working memory, less clear is the role of attention in sensory memory. In the present study we approach this issue by asking whether withdrawing attentional resources by a dual task (Experiment 1) or by presenting task irrelevant information during memory maintenance (Experiment 2 and 3) similarly or differently affect sensory and working memory. Overall, results showed that sensory memory content was undermined not only by a simultaneous high-demanding cognitive task but even when purely task-irrelevant and non-masking visual distractors were presented during maintenance. Our data provide support against theories that consider sensory memories as a case of visual awareness free of attention.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fabiano Botta
- Department of Experimental Psychology, and Brain, Mind, and Behavior Research Center (CIMCYC), University of Granada, Spain.
| | - Elisa Martín Arévalo
- Department of Experimental Psychology, and Brain, Mind, and Behavior Research Center (CIMCYC), University of Granada, Spain
| | - Paolo Bartolomeo
- INSERM U 1127, CNRS UMR 7225, Sorbonne Université, Institut du Cerveau et de la Moelle épinière (ICM), Paris, France
| | - Juan Lupiáñez
- Department of Experimental Psychology, and Brain, Mind, and Behavior Research Center (CIMCYC), University of Granada, Spain
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Cobos MI, Guerra PM, Vila J, Chica AB. Heart-rate modulations reveal attention and consciousness interactions. Psychophysiology 2018; 56:e13295. [DOI: 10.1111/psyp.13295] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/04/2018] [Revised: 08/03/2018] [Accepted: 09/16/2018] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- María I. Cobos
- Brain, Mind, and Behavior Research Center (CIMCYC); University of Granada; Granada Spain
- Department of Experimental Psychology; University of Granada; Granada Spain
| | - Pedro M. Guerra
- Brain, Mind, and Behavior Research Center (CIMCYC); University of Granada; Granada Spain
- Department of Clinical Psychology; University of Granada; Granada Spain
| | - Jaime Vila
- Brain, Mind, and Behavior Research Center (CIMCYC); University of Granada; Granada Spain
- Department of Clinical Psychology; University of Granada; Granada Spain
| | - Ana B. Chica
- Brain, Mind, and Behavior Research Center (CIMCYC); University of Granada; Granada Spain
- Department of Experimental Psychology; University of Granada; Granada Spain
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