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DiNuzzo M, Mascali D, Bussu G, Moraschi M, Guidi M, Macaluso E, Mangia S, Giove F. Hemispheric functional segregation facilitates target detection during sustained visuospatial attention. Hum Brain Mapp 2022; 43:4529-4539. [PMID: 35695003 PMCID: PMC9491284 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.25970] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/27/2022] [Revised: 05/05/2022] [Accepted: 05/22/2022] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
Visuospatial attention is strongly lateralized, with the right hemisphere commonly exhibiting stronger activation and connectivity patterns than the left hemisphere during attentive processes. However, whether such asymmetry influences inter‐hemispheric information transfer and behavioral performance is not known. Here we used a region of interest (ROI) and network‐based approach to determine steady‐state fMRI functional connectivity (FC) in the whole cerebral cortex during a leftward/rightward covert visuospatial attention task. We found that the global FC topology between either ROIs or networks was independent on the attended side. The side of attention significantly modulated FC strength between brain networks, with leftward attention primarily involving the connections of the right visual network with dorsal and ventral attention networks in both the left and right hemisphere. High hemispheric functional segregation significantly correlated with faster target detection response times (i.e., better performance). Our findings suggest that the dominance of the right hemisphere in visuospatial attention is associated with an hemispheric functional segregation that is beneficial for behavioral performance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mauro DiNuzzo
- Museo Storico della Fisica e Centro Studi e Ricerche Enrico Fermi, Rome, Italy
| | - Daniele Mascali
- Dipartimento di Neuroscienze, Imaging e Scienze Cliniche, Università Gabriele D'Annunzio, Chieti, Italy
| | - Giorgia Bussu
- Donders Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging, Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Marta Moraschi
- Unità Operativa di Radioterapia Oncologica, Università Campus Bio-Medico, Rome, Italy
| | - Maria Guidi
- Museo Storico della Fisica e Centro Studi e Ricerche Enrico Fermi, Rome, Italy
| | | | - Silvia Mangia
- Center for Magnetic Resonance Research, Department of Radiology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
| | - Federico Giove
- Museo Storico della Fisica e Centro Studi e Ricerche Enrico Fermi, Rome, Italy.,Fondazione Santa Lucia IRCCS, Rome, Italy
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Yano K, Shin J, Yasumura A. Brain activity in the prefrontal cortex during cancelation tasks: Effects of the stimulus array. Behav Brain Res 2022; 422:113744. [PMID: 35031385 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2022.113744] [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: 09/26/2021] [Revised: 01/08/2022] [Accepted: 01/08/2022] [Indexed: 11/02/2022]
Abstract
Cancelation tasks have been widely used to neurologically assess selective attention and visual search in various clinical and research settings. However, there is still a lack of evidence regarding the effect of differences in array conditions on brain activity in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) and its association with developmental characteristics. This study employed cancelation tasks to investigate the effects of varying array conditions on oxygenated hemoglobin (oxy-Hb) concentrations. Data from 24 healthy adults were analyzed based on performance during two-block-design type of cancelation tasks with different array conditions (i.e., structured array vs. random array). Performance was assessed based on the number of correct responses, incorrect responses, hit ratios, and performance scores (PS); while PFC activity was examined using near-infrared spectroscopy. In addition, characteristics of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) were assessed using the ADHD-Rating Scale-IV (ADHD-RS-IV). Results revealed that the numbers of correct responses and PS were higher in the random array, but there was no difference in the incorrect responses and hit ratio. Similarly, we observed that the oxy-Hb concentration in the PFC significantly increased during the task. Additionally, in the structured array, a significant relationship between task performance and characteristics of ADHD was found but not in the random array. Our results regarding the above-mentioned changes in oxy-Hb concentration suggest that the PFC region is involved in selective attention. We also found that cancelation tasks in a structured array may be useful in evaluating the characteristics of ADHD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Koji Yano
- Child Development Support Office Lapöale, 9-2-15 Idenakama Minami-ku, Kumamoto City, Kumamoto 862-0963, Japan; Graduate School of Social and Cultural Sciences, Kumamoto University, 2-40-1 Kurokami Chuo-ku, Kumamoto City, Kumamoto 860-8555, Japan.
| | - Jungpil Shin
- Pattern Processing Lab, School of Computer Science and Engineering, The University of Aizu, Tsuruga Ikki-machi, Aizu-Wakamatsu City, Fukushima 965-8580, Japan
| | - Akira Yasumura
- Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Kumamoto University, 2-40-1 Kurokami Chuo-ku, Kumamoto City, Kumamoto 860-8555, Japan
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Brain activity in the prefrontal cortex during a cancellation task: effects of the target-to-distractor ratio. Exp Brain Res 2021; 239:2851-2858. [PMID: 34291314 DOI: 10.1007/s00221-021-06177-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/14/2021] [Accepted: 07/10/2021] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Abstract
Cancellation tasks have been widely used to neurologically assess selective attention and visual search in various clinical and research settings. However, there is still a lack of evidence regarding the effect of the level of task difficulty on brain activity in the prefrontal cortex (PFC). This study implemented cancellation tasks to investigate the effects of varying task difficulty on oxygenated hemoglobin (oxy-Hb) concentrations. Data from 21 healthy adults were analyzed based on performance during three-block-design types of cancellation tasks with different T/D ratios (i.e., 1/9, 2/8, and 3/7). Performance was assessed via the number of correct responses, incorrect responses, hit ratios, achievement ratios, and performance scores (PS), while PFC activity was examined using near-infrared spectroscopy. Both the numbers of correct responses and PS were the lowest for the smallest T/D ratio. Similarly, we observed that the oxy-Hb concentration in the PFC was significantly increased during the task. Our results support the findings of previous studies that used conventional cancellation tasks, thus suggesting that block design types are suitable for examinations in the same contexts. Regarding the above-mentioned changes in the oxy-Hb concentration, the findings suggest that the PFC region is involved in selective attention.
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Hamaoui J, Maumy-Bertrand M, Segond H. Laterality and visuospatial strategies among young children: A novel 3D-2D transcription task. Laterality 2021; 26:645-679. [PMID: 33634737 DOI: 10.1080/1357650x.2021.1892715] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
Abstract
Recent findings showed that children, like adults, exhibit directional biases leading to asymmetrical drawings. This appears to be the result of a complex interaction between several biological, motoric, and cultural factors. We created a drawing task designed to investigate the influence of laterality (i.e., hemispherical functional specialization and handedness) and sex on children's graphical asymmetries. This task consists of transcribing a symmetrical three-dimensional landscape model to a two-dimensional representation. Sixty-six French pre-school children, aged between 5 and 6 years, were asked to undertake the 3D-2D transcription task, as well as the classical Alter's directionality task. The novel task exhibited higher sensitivity than the Alter's directionality test when examining the spatial biases resulting from handedness, and sex. Specific drawing patterns related to these variables were identified. These results suggest that, in addition to the influence of biomechanical factors and handedness, sex plays a role in children's early graphomotor development. They also support the influence of laterality as a key factor underlying early directional biases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jad Hamaoui
- Laboratoire de Psychologie des Cognitions (UR 4440), Université de Strasbourg, Strasbourg, France
| | | | - Hervé Segond
- Laboratoire de Psychologie des Cognitions (UR 4440), Université de Strasbourg, Strasbourg, France
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de Hevia MD. How the Human Mind Grounds Numerical Quantities on Space. CHILD DEVELOPMENT PERSPECTIVES 2021. [DOI: 10.1111/cdep.12398] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
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Gerrits R, Verhelst H, Vingerhoets G. Hemispheric dominance for visuospatial attention does not predict the direction of pseudoneglect. Neuropsychologia 2020; 148:107634. [PMID: 32998020 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2020.107634] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/13/2020] [Revised: 09/11/2020] [Accepted: 09/14/2020] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Pseudoneglect refers to a tendency of neurologically healthy individuals to produce leftward perceptual biases during spatial tasks, which is traditionally measured using line bisection tasks. This behavioral asymmetry is often explained as a consequence of right hemispheric dominance for visuospatial attention. The present study directly tested this notion by comparing line bisection performance between left-handers with either right hemispheric dominance (RVSD, N = 40) or "atypical" left hemispheric dominance (LVSD, N = 23) for visuospatial attention as determined by fMRI. Although we expected a reversal of pseudoneglect in participants with LVSD, our results show that they equally often err to the left of the true center compared to RVSD controls (74% of LVSD participants and 80% of RVSD participants). However, the magnitude of misbisections was found to be slightly, but significantly, smaller in the LVSD subgroup.We conclude that hemispheric asymmetry for visuospatial attention is not the main determinant of pseudoneglect as is commonly thought, but rather only constitutes one of the multiple factors which (subtly) contributes to its direction and magnitude.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robin Gerrits
- Department of Experimental Psychology, Ghent University, Henri Dunantlaan 2, Ghent, Belgium.
| | - Helena Verhelst
- Department of Experimental Psychology, Ghent University, Henri Dunantlaan 2, Ghent, Belgium
| | - Guy Vingerhoets
- Department of Experimental Psychology, Ghent University, Henri Dunantlaan 2, Ghent, Belgium; Ghent Institute for Functional and Metabolic Imaging (GIfMI), Ghent University, Belgium
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Rinaldi L, Ciricugno A, Merabet LB, Vecchi T, Cattaneo Z. The Effect of Blindness on Spatial Asymmetries. Brain Sci 2020; 10:brainsci10100662. [PMID: 32977398 PMCID: PMC7597958 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci10100662] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/02/2020] [Revised: 09/11/2020] [Accepted: 09/18/2020] [Indexed: 11/27/2022] Open
Abstract
The human cerebral cortex is asymmetrically organized with hemispheric lateralization pervading nearly all neural systems of the brain. Whether the lack of normal visual development affects hemispheric specialization subserving the deployment of visuospatial attention asymmetries is controversial. In principle, indeed, the lack of early visual experience may affect the lateralization of spatial functions, and the blind may rely on a different sensory input compared to the sighted. In this review article, we thus present a current state-of-the-art synthesis of empirical evidence concerning the effects of visual deprivation on the lateralization of various spatial processes (i.e., including line bisection, mirror symmetry, and localization tasks). Overall, the evidence reviewed indicates that spatial processes are supported by a right hemispheric network in the blind, hence, analogously to the sighted. Such a right-hemisphere dominance, however, seems more accentuated in the blind as compared to the sighted as indexed by the greater leftward bias shown in different spatial tasks. This is possibly the result of the more pronounced involvement of the right parietal cortex during spatial tasks in blind individuals compared to the sighted, as well as of the additional recruitment of the right occipital cortex, which would reflect the cross-modal plastic phenomena that largely characterize the blind brain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luca Rinaldi
- Department of Brain and Behavioural Science, University of Pavia, Piazza Botta 6, 27100 Pavia, Italy;
- Correspondence:
| | | | - Lotfi B. Merabet
- The Laboratory for Visual Neuroplasticity, Department of Ophthalmology, Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA;
| | - Tomaso Vecchi
- Department of Brain and Behavioural Science, University of Pavia, Piazza Botta 6, 27100 Pavia, Italy;
- IRCCS Mondino Foundation, 27100 Pavia, Italy; (A.C.); (Z.C.)
| | - Zaira Cattaneo
- IRCCS Mondino Foundation, 27100 Pavia, Italy; (A.C.); (Z.C.)
- Department of Psychology, University of Milano-Bicocca, 20126 Milano, Italy
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