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Dalmaso M, Castelli L, Bernardini C, Galfano G. Can masked gaze and arrow stimuli elicit overt orienting of attention? A registered report. Conscious Cogn 2023; 109:103476. [PMID: 36774882 DOI: 10.1016/j.concog.2023.103476] [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: 01/27/2022] [Revised: 01/19/2023] [Accepted: 01/21/2023] [Indexed: 02/12/2023]
Abstract
Viewing an averted gaze can elicit saccades towards the corresponding location. Here, the automaticity of this gaze-following behaviour phenomenon was further tested by exploring whether such an effect can be detected in response to briefly-presented masked averted gazes. Participants completed an oculomotor interference task consisting of making leftward/rightward saccades according to a symbolic instruction cue. Crucially, either a task-irrelevant averted-gaze face or an arrow (i.e., a non-social control stimulus) was also presented in different blocks of trials. Faces and arrows were presented for either 1000 ms, or 8 ms and then backward-masked, to reduce the likelihood of conscious processing. Worse oculomotor performance emerged when the saccade direction did not match (vs match) that suggested by the task-irrelevant gaze/arrow stimuli in the unmasked condition. However, in the masked condition, no oculomotor interference occurred for any task-irrelevant stimulus. Results enrich knowledge about boundary conditions for gaze/arrow-driven orienting using ecological attention measures.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mario Dalmaso
- Department of Developmental and Social Psychology, University of Padova, Italy.
| | - Luigi Castelli
- Department of Developmental and Social Psychology, University of Padova, Italy
| | - Chiara Bernardini
- Department of Developmental and Social Psychology, University of Padova, Italy
| | - Giovanni Galfano
- Department of Developmental and Social Psychology, University of Padova, Italy
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Arif Y, Spooner RK, Wiesman AI, Embury CM, Proskovec AL, Wilson TW. Modulation of attention networks serving reorientation in healthy aging. Aging (Albany NY) 2020; 12:12582-12597. [PMID: 32584264 PMCID: PMC7377885 DOI: 10.18632/aging.103515] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/19/2020] [Accepted: 06/04/2020] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
Orienting attention to behaviorally relevant stimuli is essential for everyday functioning and mainly involves activity in the dorsal and ventral frontoparietal networks. Many studies have shown declines in the speed and accuracy of attentional reallocation with advancing age, but the underlying neural dynamics remain less understood. We investigated this age-related decline using magnetoencephalography (MEG) and a Posner task in 94 healthy adults (22-72 years old). MEG data were examined in the time-frequency domain, and significant oscillatory responses were imaged using a beamformer. We found that participants responded slower when attention reallocation was needed (i.e., the validity effect) and that this effect was positively correlated with age. We also found age-related validity effects on alpha activity in the left parietal and beta in the left frontal-eye fields from 350-950 ms. Overall, stronger alpha and beta responses were observed in younger participants during attention reallocation trials, but this pattern was reversed in the older participants. Interestingly, this alpha validity effect fully mediated the relationship between age and behavioral performance. In conclusion, older adults were slower in reorienting attention and exhibited age-related alterations in alpha and beta responses within parietal and frontal regions, which may reflect increased task demands depleting their compensatory resources.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yasra Arif
- Department of Neurological Sciences, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE 68198, USA.,Center for Magnetoencephalography, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE 68198, USA.,Cognitive Neuroscience of Development and Aging (CoNDA) Center, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE 68198, USA
| | - Rachel K Spooner
- Department of Neurological Sciences, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE 68198, USA.,Center for Magnetoencephalography, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE 68198, USA.,Cognitive Neuroscience of Development and Aging (CoNDA) Center, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE 68198, USA
| | - Alex I Wiesman
- Department of Neurological Sciences, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE 68198, USA.,Center for Magnetoencephalography, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE 68198, USA.,Cognitive Neuroscience of Development and Aging (CoNDA) Center, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE 68198, USA
| | - Christine M Embury
- Center for Magnetoencephalography, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE 68198, USA.,Cognitive Neuroscience of Development and Aging (CoNDA) Center, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE 68198, USA.,Department of Psychology, University of Nebraska, Omaha, NE 68198, USA
| | - Amy L Proskovec
- Center for Magnetoencephalography, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE 68198, USA.,Cognitive Neuroscience of Development and Aging (CoNDA) Center, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE 68198, USA.,Department of Psychology, University of Nebraska, Omaha, NE 68198, USA
| | - Tony W Wilson
- Department of Neurological Sciences, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE 68198, USA.,Center for Magnetoencephalography, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE 68198, USA.,Cognitive Neuroscience of Development and Aging (CoNDA) Center, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE 68198, USA.,Department of Psychology, University of Nebraska, Omaha, NE 68198, USA
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