On the origins and evolution of the Attention Network Tests

Test-retest reliability of the attention network test from the perspective of intrinsic network organization

The attention network test (ANT), developed based on the triple-network taxonomy by Posner and colleagues, has been widely used to examine the efficacy of alerting, orienting and executive control in clinical and developmental neuroscience studies. Recent research suggests the imperfect reliability of the behavioural ANT and its variants. However, the classical ANT fMRI task's test-retest reliability has received little attention. Moreover, it remains ambiguous whether the attention-related intrinsic network components, especially the dorsal attention, ventral attention and frontoparietal network, manifest acceptable reliability. The present study approaches these issues by utilizing an openly available ANT fMRI dataset for participants with Parkinson's disease and healthy elderly. The reproducibility of group-level activations across sessions and participant groups and the test-retest reliability at the individual level were examined at the voxel, region and network levels. The intrinsic network was defined using the Yeo-Schaefer atlas. Our results reveal three critical facets: (1) the overlapping of the group-level contrast map between sessions and between participant groups was unsatisfactory; (2) the reliability of alerting, orienting and executive, defined as a contrast between conditions, was worse than estimates of specific conditions. (3) Dorsal attention, ventral attention, visual and somatomotor networks showed acceptable reliability for the congruent and incongruent conditions. Our results suggest that specific condition estimates might be used instead of the contrast map for individual or group-difference studies.

Introducing the portable AttentionTrip: An engaging tool for measuring the networks of attention

BACKGROUND

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.

NEW METHOD

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.

NEWER METHOD

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) RESULTS: 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.

CONCLUSIONS

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.

Effects of age on the interactions of attentional and emotional processes: a prefrontal fNIRS study

The aging of attentional and emotional functions has been extensively studied but relatively independently. Therefore, the relationships between aging and the interactions of attentional and emotional processes remain elusive. This study aimed to determine how age affected the interactions between attentional and emotional processes during adulthood. One-hundred forty adults aged 18-79 performed the emotional variant of the Attention Network Test, which probed alerting, orienting, and executive control in the presence and absence of threatening faces. During this task, contexts with varying levels of task preparatory processes were created to modulate the effect of threatening faces on attention, and functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) was used to examine the neural underpinnings of the behavioural effects. The behavioural results showed that aging was associated with a significant decline in alerting efficiency, and there was a statistical trend for age-related deficits in executive control. Despite these age differences, age did not significantly moderate the interactions among attentional networks or between attention and emotion. Additionally, the fNIRS results showed that decreased frontal cortex functioning might underlie the age-related decline in executive control. Therefore, while aging has varying effects on different attentional networks, the interactions of attentional and emotional processes remain relatively unaffected by age.

Attentional impairment and altered brain activity in healthcare workers after mild COVID-19

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-COV-2) is highly transmissible and pathogenic. Patients with mild cases account for the majority of those infected with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Although there is evidence that many patients with COVID-19 have varying degrees of attentional impairment, little is known about how SARS-COV-2 affects attentional function. This study included a high-risk healthcare population divided into groups of healthcare workers (HCWs) with mild COVID-19 (patient group, n = 45) and matched healthy HCWs controls (HC group, n = 42), who completed general neuropsychological background tests and Attention Network Test (ANT), and underwent resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) using amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation (ALFF) to assess altered brain activity; Selective impairment occurred in orienting and executive control networks, but not in alert network, in the patient group, and widespread cognitive impairment encompassing general attention, memory, and executive dysfunction. Moreover, the patient group had significantly lower ALFF values in the left superior and left middle frontal gyri than the HC group. SARS-COV-2 infection may have led to reduced brain activity in the left superior and left middle frontal gyri, thus impairing attentional orienting and executive control networks, which may explain the development of attentional deficits after COVID-19.

From functional neuroimaging to neurostimulation: fNIRS devices as cognitive enhancers

Functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) relies on near-infrared (NIR) light for changes in tissue oxygenation. For decades, this technique has been used in neuroscience to measure cortical activity. However, recent research suggests that NIR light directed to neural populations can modulate their activity through "photobiomodulation" (PBM). Yet, fNIRS is being used exclusively as a measurement tool. By adopting cognitive tests sensitive to prefrontal functioning, we show that a 'classical' fNIRS device, placed in correspondence of the prefrontal cortices of healthy participants, induces faster RTs and better accuracy in some of the indexes considered. A well-matched control group, wearing the same but inactive device, did not show any improvement. Hence, our findings indicate that the 'standard' use of fNIRS devices generates PBM impacting cognition. The neuromodulatory power intrinsic in that technique has been so far completely overlooked, and future studies will need to take this into account.

Changes in the Networks of Attention across the Lifespan: A Graphical Meta-Analysis

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.

Breathing shifts visuo-spatial attention

Considering recent findings that breathing influences cognitive processes, two experiments explored the relationship between breathing and visuo-spatial attention. In Experiment 1, a lateralized probe detection task was inserted into the breathing cycles of 21 healthy adults to probe effects of breathing on the distribution of spatial attention. In Experiment 2 (N = 26), the Posner cueing task measured breathing-contingent detection speed for lateralized probes after endogenous or exogenous cueing. We consistently found faster responses for left probes after exhalation and for right probes after inhalation in both experiments. Breathing also affected the speed of re-alignment of spatial attention after invalid cueing in Experiment 2. This novel breathing bias shows that our ability to encode visuo-spatial information systematically fluctuates during breathing.

The effect of considering eye movement time in evaluating the efficiency of attentional networks

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.

Implementation of an online spacing flanker task and evaluation of its test-retest reliability using measures of inhibitory control and the distribution of spatial attention

The flanker task (Eriksen & Eriksen, Perception & Psychophysics, 16(1), 143-149, 1974) has been highly influential and widely used in studies of visual attention. Its simplicity has made it popular to include it in experimental software packages and online platforms. The spacing flanker task (SFT), in which the distance between the target and flankers varies, is useful for studying the distribution of attention across space as well as inhibitory control. Use of the SFT requires that the viewing environment (e.g., stimulus size and viewing distance) be controlled, which is a challenge for online delivery. We implement and evaluate an online version of the SFT that includes two calibration pretests to provide the necessary control. Test-retest and split-half reliability of the online version was compared with a laboratory version on measures of inhibitory control and measures of the distribution of attention across space. Analyses show that the online SFT is comparable to laboratory testing on all measures. Results also identify two measures with good test-retest reliability that hold promise for studying performance in the SFT: the mean flanker effect (ICC = 0.745) and RTs on incongruent trials across distances (ICC = 0.65-0.71).

The Impact of Interpreting Training Experience on the Attentional Networks and Their Dynamics

Interpreting, a complicated and demanding bilingual task, depends heavily on attentional control. However, few studies have focused on the interpreters' advantages in attention, and the findings so far have been inconsistent. Meanwhile, the connection between attentional networks and other cognitive abilities, such as working memory (WM), has rarely been explored in interpreters. The present study investigated whether interpreting experience (IE) contributed to the attentional networks of bilinguals and explored the link between interpreters' attention and WM. Three groups of Chinese-English bilinguals, differing only in their duration of interpreting training (the More-IE group, the Less-IE group, and the No-IE group), completed the Attention Network Test (ANT). Results showed that only the alerting network was more efficient in the More-IE group than in the Less-IE and No-IE groups; moreover, the dynamics between the alerting and executive networks were significant only in the More-IE group. Furthermore, we found a negative correlation between the executive effect and the working memory capacity (WMC) in the More-IE group. Our study validated and provided empirical support for the Attentional Control Model, stimulating further research into neurocognitive mechanisms of advanced second language learning.

The ANTI-Vea-UGR Platform: A Free Online Resource to Measure Attentional Networks (Alertness, Orienting, and Executive Control) Functioning and Executive/Arousal Vigilance

The Attentional Networks Test for Interactions and Vigilance-executive and arousal components (ANTI-Vea) is a computerized task of 32 min duration in the standard format. The task simultaneously assesses the main effects and interactions of the three attentional networks (i.e., phasic alertness, orienting, and executive control) and two dissociated components of vigilance with reasonable reliability (executive and arousal vigilance). We present this free and publicly accessible resource (ANTI-Vea-UGR; https://anti-vea.ugr.es/) developed to easily run, collect, and analyze data with the ANTI-Vea (or its subtasks measuring some attentional and/or vigilance components embedded in the ANTI-Vea). Available in six different languages, the platform allows for the adaptation of stimulus timing and procedure to facilitate data collection from different populations (e.g., clinical patients, children). Collected data can be freely downloaded and easily analyzed with the provided scripts and tools, including a Shiny app. We discuss previous evidence supporting that attention and vigilance components can be assessed in typical lab conditions as well as online and outside the laboratory. We hope this tutorial will help researchers interested in measuring attention and vigilance with a tool useful to collect data from large sample sizes and easy to use in applied contexts.

Measuring the attention networks and quantitative-electroencephalography correlates of attention in depression

Given the association between major depressive disorder (MDD) and cortical inefficiency related to executive control, specifically in the sense that individuals with MDD may recruit more cognitive resources to complete tasks at the same capacity as those without MDD, the current study was interested in examining the attention networks and executive functioning of those with MDD. Past research has used the Attention Network Test (ANT) to measure changes of attention in clinical vs. healthy populations; however, theoretical concerns have been raised regarding the task. The Combined Attention Systems Task (CAST) was developed to address these concerns and was used in our study in combination with quantitative-electroencephalography (QEEG) to assess both behavioural and neurophysiological changes in participants with MDD (n = 18) compared to healthy controls (HCs; n = 22). We found no behavioural differences between MDD and HC groups suggesting individuals with MDD in our sample were not experiencing the executive functioning deficits previously reported in the literature. Neurophysiological measures of attention revealed that MDD participants had greater theta and alpha₁ activity relative to HCs, suggesting that although individuals with MDD do not show deficits in behavioural attention, they exhibit altered neural processing which underlies cognitive function.

Event-related potentials associated with attentional networks evidence changes in executive and arousal vigilance

Attention is regulated by three independent but interacting networks, that is, alerting, comprising phasic alertness and vigilance, orienting, and executive control. Previous studies analyzing event-related potentials (ERPs) associated with attentional networks have focused on phasic alertness, orienting, and executive control, without an independent measure of vigilance. ERPs associated with vigilance have been instead measured in separate studies and via different tasks. The present study aimed to differentiate ERPs associated with attentional networks by simultaneously measuring vigilance along with phasic alertness, orienting, and executive control. Forty participants (34 women, age: M = 25.96; SD = 4.96) completed two sessions wherein the electroencephalogram was recorded while they completed the Attentional Networks Test for Interactions and Vigilance-executive and arousal components, a task that measures phasic alertness, orienting, and executive control along with executive (i.e., detection of infrequent critical signals) and arousal (i.e., sustaining a fast reaction to environmental stimuli) vigilance. ERPs previously associated with attentional networks were replicated here: (a) N1, P2, and contingent negative variation for phasic alertness; (b) P1, N1, and P3 for orienting; and (c) N2 and slow positivity for executive control. Importantly, different ERPs were associated with vigilance: while the executive vigilance decrement was associated with an increase in P3 and slow positivity across time-on-task, arousal vigilance loss was associated with reduced N1 and P2 amplitude. The present study shows that attentional networks can be described by different ERPs simultaneously observed in a single session, including independent measures of executive and arousal vigilance on its assessment.

A pilot study on improvements in attention function in major depressive disorder after 12 weeks of escitalopram monotherapy or combined treatment with agomelatine

Objective

This study aimed to explore both impairments in attention function in patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) and the efficacy of escitalopram monotherapy or combination therapy with agomelatine.

Methods

A total of 54 patients with MDD and 46 healthy controls (HCs) were included. Patients were treated with escitalopram for 12 weeks; those who presented with severe sleep impairments were also given agomelatine. Participants were evaluated using the Attention Network Test (ANT), which included tests of alerting, orienting, and executive control networks. Concentration, instantaneous memory, and resistance to information interference were tested using the digit span test, and the logical memory test (LMT) was used to evaluate abstract logical thinking. The Hamilton Depression Rating Scale-17 items, Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale, and Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index were used to assess depression, anxiety, and sleep quality, respectively. Patients with MDD were assessed at the end of weeks 0, 4, 8, and 12. HCs were assessed once at baseline.

Results

Compared with HCs, patients with MDD showed significantly different alerting, orienting, and executive control functions of attention networks. Treatment with escitalopram alone or combined with agomelatine significantly improved LMT scores at the end of weeks 4, 8, and 12 and restored scores to the level of HCs at the end of week 8. Total Toronto Hospital Test of Alertness scores in patients with MDD increased significantly after 4 weeks of treatment. The ANT executive control reaction time in patients with MDD decreased significantly after 4 weeks of treatment, with this decrease lasting until the end of week 12, but scores did not return to the levels of HCs. Combined treatment with escitalopram and agomelatine led to more improvement in ANT orienting reaction time and was accompanied by a greater reduction of total scores on the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale-17 items and Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale compared with escitalopram monotherapy.

Conclusions

Patients with MDD showed overall impairments in three domains of attention networks as well as the LMT and a test of subjective alertness. Escitalopram monotherapy significantly improved the LMT scores and the executive control function scores in the ANT at the end of the fourth week of treatment, and the improvement was more extensive with combined escitalopram and agomelatine treatment.

Association Between the Attention Network Test, Neuropsychological Measures, and Disability in Post-Acute Traumatic Brain Injury

Cognitive impairment after traumatic brain injury (TBI) is persistent and disabling. Assessing cognitive function in a reliable and valid manner, using measures that are sensitive to the integrity of underlying neural substrates, is crucial in clinical research. The Attention Network Test (ANT) is one such assessment measure that has demonstrated associations with neural regions involved in attention; however, clinical utility of the ANT is limited because its relationship with neuropsychological measures of cognitive function (i.e., its construct validity) has not yet been established in TBI. We evaluated the association between the ANT and 1) a neuropsychological battery assessing executive function and memory and 2) global function assessed by the Glasgow Outcome Scale-Extended (GOSE). Forty-eight adults with complicated mild-severe TBI were evaluated ∼5 months post-injury. Using principal component analysis and multi-variate linear regression adjusted for age, gender, education, and cause of injury, we found that ANT reaction time and executive network scores predicted a principal component assessing processing speed and executive function. Conversely, the ANT did not predict a principal component assessing memory. The ANT was weakly associated with the GOSE. Among persons with TBI during the post-acute phase of recovery, the ANT has good construct validity as evidenced by its associations with neuropsychological measures of processing speed and executive function, but not memory. Given that ANT networks are known to relate to specific neuroanatomical regions, the ANT may be a useful outcome measure for evaluating novel therapeutics targeting attention and executive functions after TBI.

Fifty Years Integrating Neurobiology and Psychology to Study Attention

At the time of the start of Biological Psychology cognitive studies had developed approaches to measuring cognitive processes. However, linking these to the underlying biology in the typical human brain had hardly begun. A critical step came in 1988 when methods for imaging the human brain in cognitive tasks began. By 1990 it was possible to describe three brain networks that carried out the hypothesized cognitive functions outlined 20 years before. Their development was traced in infancy, first using age-appropriate tasks and later through resting state imaging. Imaging was applied to both voluntary and involuntary cued shifts of visual orienting in humans and primates, and a summary was presented in 2002. By 2008 these new imaging findings were used to test hypotheses about the genes involved in each network. Recently, studies of mice using optogenetics to control populations of neurons have brought us closer to a synthesis of how attention and memory networks operate together in human learning. Perhaps the coming years will bring us to an integrated theory of aspects of attention using data from all the levels that can illuminate these issues, thus fulfilling a key goal of the Journal.

Context-specific effects of threatening faces on alerting, orienting, and executive control: A fNIRS study

Real-world threatening faces possess both useful and irrelevant attributes with respect to the current goal. How these attributes interact and affect attention, which comprises at least three processes hypothesized to engage the frontal lobes (alerting, orienting, and executive control), remains poorly understood. Here, the neurocognitive effects of threatening facial expressions on the three processes of attention were examined through the emotional Attention Network Test (ANT) and functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS). Forty-seven (20M, 27F) young adults performed a blocked version of the arrow flanker task with neutral and angry facial cues applied in three cue conditions (no, center, and spatial). Hemodynamic changes occurring in participants' frontal cortices during task performance were recorded by multichannel fNIRS. Behavioral results indicated that alerting, orienting, and executive control processes existed in both the neutral and angry conditions. However, depending on the context, angry facial cues affected these processes differently compared with neutral facial cues. Specifically, the angry face disrupted the classical decrease in reaction time from the no-cue to center-cue condition specifically during the congruent condition. Additionally, fNIRS results revealed significant frontal cortical activation during the incongruent vs. congruent task; neither cue nor emotion significantly affected frontal activation. Thus, the findings suggest that the angry face affects all three attentional processes while exerting context-specific effects on attention. They also imply that during the ANT, the frontal cortex is most involved in executive control. The present study offers essential insights into how various attributes of threatening faces interact and alter attention.

Chronic Stress Is Associated with Reduced Mindful Acceptance Skills but Not with Mindful Attention Monitoring: A Cross-Sectional Study

Mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) are effective in reducing chronic stress, but their therapeutic mechanisms are unclear. One possibility is that MBIs act by re-training attention monitoring and acceptance skills that have been impaired by chronic stress exposure. However, little research has investigated the association between chronic stress, monitoring, and acceptance. In this cross-sectional study we hypothesised observing correlations between stress, and (impaired) monitoring and acceptance. Moreover, we exploratively compared the magnitude of the correlations between chronic stress and four acceptance measures. Finally, we explored whether the association between stress and monitoring is moderated by acceptance. Eighty-five adults participated in the study and completed self-reported chronic stress and acceptance questionnaires and a mindful attention behavioural task. The results revealed that chronic stress was associated with reduced acceptance (all ps < 0.01) but not with monitoring. Exploratory analyses revealed no differences in the magnitude of the correlations between stress and each acceptance measure, except for the combined facets of mindfulness acceptance subscales and nonreactivity subscale (p = 0.023). Further analyses revealed a significant negative association between stress and the interaction between acceptance and the target detection component of monitoring (p = 0.044). Surprisingly, these results show that stress is associated with reduced monitoring at higher levels of acceptance. Theory-driven intervention studies are warranted to complement our results.

Mapping correlated neurological deficits after stroke to distributed brain networks

Understanding the relationships between brain organization and behavior is a central goal of neuroscience. Traditional teaching emphasizes that the human cerebrum includes many distinct areas for which damage or dysfunction would lead to a unique and specific behavioral syndrome. This teaching implies that brain areas correspond to encapsulated modules that are specialized for specific cognitive operations. However, empirically, local damage from stroke more often produces one of a small number of clusters of deficits and disrupts brain-wide connectivity in a small number of predictable ways (relative to the vast complexity of behavior and brain connectivity). Behaviors that involve shared operations show correlated deficits following a stroke, consistent with a low-dimensional behavioral space. Because of the networked organization of the brain, local damage from a stroke can result in widespread functional abnormalities, matching the low dimensionality of behavioral deficit. In alignment with this, neurological disease, psychiatric disease, and altered brain states produce behavioral changes that are highly correlated across a range of behaviors. We discuss how known structural and functional network priors in addition to graph theoretical concepts such as modularity and entropy have provided inroads to understanding this more complex relationship between brain and behavior. This model for brain disease has important implications for normal brain-behavior relationships and the treatment of neurological and psychiatric diseases.

Phototherapy for Cognitive Function in Patients With Dementia: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Background

Dementia is a major health burden worldwide. As numerous pharmacological trials for dementia have failed, emerging phototherapy studies have evaluated the efficacy of alternative therapies for cognition.

Objective

The objective of this study was to evaluate the association between phototherapy and changes in cognitive deficits in patients with dementia.

Methods

PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, PsycINFO, CINAHL, and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials were searched from inception to 27 March 2022. Inclusion criteria were controlled clinical trials of phototherapy interventions reporting pre-post changes in global cognitive function and subdomains in patients with dementia. Data were extracted by two independent reviewers and pooled in random-effects models. Subgroup and meta-regression analyses were conducted to investigate the sources of heterogeneity.

Results

Our analyses included 13 studies enrolling a total of 608 participants. Phototherapy showed significant associations with improvements of global cognitive function (standardized mean difference [SMD], 0.63; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.33-0.94; P < 0.001) and subdomains, especially with respect to attention, executive function, and working memory. Near-infrared (NIR) light-emitting diodes (LEDs) photobiomodulation (SMD, 0.91; 95% CI, 0.46-1.36; P < 0.001) and lasers (SMD, 0.99; 95% CI, 0.56-1.43; P < 0.001) showed more significant associations with improved cognitive functions when compared with normal visible light. In addition, the effect sizes of short-term effects (SMD, 0.63; 95% CI, 0.33-0.94; P < 0.001) were larger than effects assessed in long-term follow-up (SMD, 0.49; 95% CI, -0.24-1.21; P = 0.189).

Conclusion

In this meta-analysis, phototherapy interventions were associated with cognitive improvement in patients with dementia. NIR LEDs and lasers had advantages over normal visible light. Domain-specific effects were indicated for attention, executive function, and working memory. Short-term improvement after phototherapy was supported, while evidence for long-term benefits was lacking. Stronger evidence for individualized parameters, such as optimal dosing, is needed in the future.

Systematic Review Registration

[https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/display_record.php?RecordID=267596], identifier [CRD42021267596].

Funcionamiento de las redes atencionales en la adultez joven y el nivel de educación

El objetivo del presente estudio fue observar el efecto de las variables nivel de estudios y adultez joven en la tarea de redes atencionales. Para ello, participaron 58 personas de población general separados en grupos de estudiantes y no estudiantes, y en adultez emergente y temprana, con los cuales se llevó a cabo un diseño experimental, utilizando como paradigma principal la tarea de redes atencionales. Los resultados mostraron que los grupos de estudiantes y no estudiantes no difirieron en rendimiento en ninguna de las condiciones de las redes, pero que, en cuanto a la variable adultez joven, hubo un efecto de interacción entre el tipo de adultez y la red de orientación, siendo el grupo adulto emergente más rápido que el grupo adulto temprano. Además, un análisis correlacional demostró que la edad correlacionó moderada y positivamente con el tiempo de reacción de todas las condiciones de la tarea atencional. Al final se discute la importancia del nivel de educación superior y la adultez joven sobre el funcionamiento de las redes atencionales en el campo de la psicología diferencial, y se mencionan las implicaciones de estos resultados en el ámbito clínico.

Thinking about attention: Successive approximations to a productive taxonomy

Attention, the recruitment of processing resources, is viewed as pivotal for understanding normal behaviour and thought as well as the disorganizations associated with brain damage and disease. A brief history foreshadows aspects of a proposed taxonomy of attention that builds upon Posner's tripartite taxonomy. Posner's influential taxonomy views attention as a set of isolable neural systems (alerting, orienting and executive control), often working together to organize behaviour. For measuring the efficacy of these three networks, Posner and colleagues created the Attention Network Test (ANT). The impact of the taxonomy and this model task for exploring it is illustrated by the facts that they have spawned numerous variants designed for different purposes and that one or another variant has been used in almost a thousand publications. We have previously built upon this conceptual framework by considering: two modes of control over resource allocation which we labelled exogenous and endogenous and three domains over which these modes of control are presumed to operate (space, time and task or activity). The Combined Attention Systems Test (or CAST) was developed to measure the efficacy of the six kinds of attention implied by revised taxonomy. Lastly, this taxonomic effort is further developed by incorporating the distinction between overt, observable behaviour in the "real" world and covert "behaviour" in the realm of thought and imagination.

Comparing saccadic and manual responses in the attention network test

Attention is proposed to be a system of multiple functional networks, including alertness, orienting and executive control. A popular experimental paradigm for testing these networks and their interactions within a single design is the Attentional Networks Test (ANT) (Fan et al., 2002). The role of the oculomotor system in these various networks, however, has not been tested despite the strong link between attention and eye movements. We modified the executive control component of the manual response ANT version (ANTm) that allows testing the networks' involvement with oculomotor responses. Specifically, we used a central target to signal pro or anti-saccades that allows us to match the saccadic response compatibility of the original ANTm. We conducted three experiments to compare interactions of the networks between the traditional ANTm that used a flanker task response, our new ANTs with saccadic responses signalled with a fixation arrow, and a manual response version with the response arrow at fixation (ANTf). Results for all three experiments showed typical main effects of all three attention networks, but we observed differences in their interactions. The ANTm showed only an interaction of alerting enhancing the orienting; ANTs showed a congruency by orienting interaction with the orienting effect only observed for pro-saccades. The ANTf showed both alerting by orienting, and orienting by congruency. Although the saccadic response did differ from the original ANTm, key differences were also highlighted by the switch from peripheral to central target. Overall the proposed ANTf is a valid tool to test main effects of attentional networks. Further investigation of interaction differences between manual and oculomotor systems is required.

Attentional networks, vigilance, and distraction as a function of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder symptoms in an adult community sample

Attentional difficulties are a core axis in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). However, establishing a consistent and detailed pattern of these neurocognitive alterations has not been an easy endeavour. Based on a dimensional approach to ADHD, the present study aims at comprehensively characterizing three key attentional domains: the three attentional networks (alerting, orienting, and executive attention), two components of vigilance (executive and arousal vigilance), and distraction. To do so, we modified a single, fine-grained task (the ANTI-Vea) by adding irrelevant distractors. One hundred and twenty undergraduates completed three self-reports of ADHD symptoms in childhood and adulthood and performed the ANTI-Vea. Despite the low reliability of some ANTI-Vea indexes, the task worked successfully. While ADHD symptoms in childhood were related to alerting network and arousal vigilance, symptoms in adulthood were linked to executive vigilance. No association between ADHD symptom severity and executive attention and distraction was found. In general, our hypotheses about the relationships between ADHD symptoms and attentional processes were partially supported. We discuss our findings according to ADHD theories and attention measurement.