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Sengupta A, Banerjee S, Ganesh S, Grover S, Sridharan D. The right posterior parietal cortex mediates spatial reorienting of attentional choice bias. Nat Commun 2024; 15:6938. [PMID: 39138185 PMCID: PMC11322534 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-51283-z] [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: 09/20/2022] [Accepted: 08/02/2024] [Indexed: 08/15/2024] Open
Abstract
Attention facilitates behavior by enhancing perceptual sensitivity (sensory processing) and choice bias (decisional weighting) for attended information. Whether distinct neural substrates mediate these distinct components of attention remains unknown. We investigate the causal role of key nodes of the right posterior parietal cortex (rPPC) in the forebrain attention network in sensitivity versus bias control. Two groups of participants performed a cued attention task while we applied either inhibitory, repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (n = 28) or 40 Hz transcranial alternating current stimulation (n = 26) to the dorsal rPPC. We show that rPPC stimulation - with either modality - impairs task performance by selectively altering attentional modulation of bias but not sensitivity. Specifically, participants' bias toward the uncued, but not the cued, location reduced significantly following rPPC stimulation - an effect that was consistent across both neurostimulation cohorts. In sum, the dorsal rPPC causally mediates the reorienting of choice bias, one particular component of visual spatial attention.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ankita Sengupta
- Centre for Neuroscience, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, 560012, India
| | - Sanjna Banerjee
- Centre for Neuroscience, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, 560012, India
- Foundation of Art and Health India, Bangalore, 560066, India
| | - Suhas Ganesh
- Centre for Neuroscience, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, 560012, India
- Verily Life Sciences, San Francisco, CA, 94080, USA
| | - Shrey Grover
- Centre for Neuroscience, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, 560012, India
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Boston University, Boston, MA, 02215, USA
| | - Devarajan Sridharan
- Centre for Neuroscience, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, 560012, India.
- Department of Computer Science and Automation, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, 560012, India.
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Chen A, Wang M, Dong B. No effect of autistic traits on social attention: evidence based on single-cue and conflicting-cues scenarios. BMC Psychol 2024; 12:295. [PMID: 38802974 PMCID: PMC11129424 DOI: 10.1186/s40359-024-01777-8] [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: 01/17/2024] [Accepted: 05/08/2024] [Indexed: 05/29/2024] Open
Abstract
Individuals often use others' gaze and head directions to direct their attention. To investigate the influence of autistic traits on social attention, we conducted two experiments comparing groups with high and low autistic traits in single-cue (Experiment 1) and conflicting-cue (Experiment 2) scenarios. Our findings indicate that individuals responded more rapidly to the direction of a single social cue or the consensus of multiple cues. However, we did not observe significant differences in social attention between individuals with high and low autistic traits. Notably, as the stimulus onset asynchrony (SOA) increased, individuals with low autistic traits exhibited greater improvements in reaction speed compared to those with high autistic traits. This suggests that individuals with low autistic traits excel at leveraging temporal information to optimize their behavioral readiness over time, hinting at potential variations in cognitive flexibility related to autistic traits.
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Affiliation(s)
- Airui Chen
- Department of Psychology, Suzhou University of Science and Technology, Xuefu Road 99, Suzhou, 215009, China
| | - Meiyi Wang
- Department of Psychology, Suzhou University of Science and Technology, Xuefu Road 99, Suzhou, 215009, China
| | - Bo Dong
- Department of Psychology, Suzhou University of Science and Technology, Xuefu Road 99, Suzhou, 215009, China.
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Social, affective, and non-motoric bodily cues to the Sense of Agency: A systematic review of the experience of control. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2022; 142:104900. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2022.104900] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/01/2022] [Revised: 09/15/2022] [Accepted: 09/29/2022] [Indexed: 10/31/2022]
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Irie S, Watanabe Y, Tachibana A, Sakata N. Mental arithmetic modulates temporal variabilities of finger-tapping tasks in a tempo-dependent manner. PeerJ 2022; 10:e13944. [PMID: 36042862 PMCID: PMC9420403 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.13944] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/21/2021] [Accepted: 08/03/2022] [Indexed: 01/19/2023] Open
Abstract
Background Several psychiatric diseases impair temporal processing. Temporal processing is thought to be based on two domains: supra-second intervals and sub-second intervals. Studies show that temporal processing in sub-second intervals is mainly an automated process. However, the brain functions involved in temporal processing at each time scale remain unclear. We hypothesized that temporal processing in supra-second intervals requires several brain areas, such as the ventrolateral prefrontal cortex, intraparietal sulcus (IPS), and inferior parietal lobe, corresponding to various cognitions in a time scale-dependent manner. We focused on a dual-task paradigm (DTP) involving simultaneous performance of cognitive and motor tasks, which is an effective method for screening psychomotor functions; we then designed a DTP comprising finger tapping at various tempi as the temporal processing task and two cognitive tasks (mental arithmetic and reading) that might affect temporal processing. We hoped to determine whether task-dependent interferences on temporal processing in supra-second intervals differed depending on the cognitive tasks involved. Methods The study included 30 participants with no history of neuromuscular disorders. Participants were asked to perform a DTP involving right index finger tapping at varying tempi (0.33, 0.5, 1, 2, 3, and 4 s inter-tapping intervals). Cognitive tasks comprised mental arithmetic (MA) involving three-digit addition, mental reading (MR) of three- to four-digit numbers, and a control (CTL) task without any cognitive loading. For comparison between tasks, we calculated the SDs of the inter-tapping intervals. Participants' MA abilities in the three-digit addition task were evaluated. Results The MA and MR tasks significantly increased the SDs of the inter-tapping intervals compared to those of the CTL task in 2-3 s and 3-4 s for the MA and MR tasks, respectively. Furthermore, SD peaks in the finger-tapping tasks involving MA were normalized by those in the CTL task, which were moderately correlated with the participants' MA ability (r = 0.462, P = 0.010). Discussion Our results established that DTP involving the temporal coordination of finger-tapping and cognitive tasks increased temporal variability in a task- and tempo-dependent manner. Based on the behavioral aspects, we believe that these modulations of temporal variability might result from the interaction between finger function, arithmetic processing, and temporal processing, especially during the "pre-semantic period". Our findings may help in understanding the temporal processing deficits in various disorders such as dementia, Parkinson's disease, and autism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shun Irie
- Division for Smart Healthcare Research, Dokkyo Medical University, Mibu-machi, Tochigi, Japan
| | - Yoshiteru Watanabe
- Major of Physical Therapy, Department of Rehabilitation, School of Health Sciences, Tokyo University of Technology, Ota-ku, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Atsumichi Tachibana
- Department of Anatomy, Dokkyo Medical University, Mibu-machi, Tochigi, Japan
| | - Nobuhiro Sakata
- Division for Smart Healthcare Research, Dokkyo Medical University, Mibu-machi, Tochigi, Japan,Center for Information & Communication Technology, Dokkyo Medical University, Mibu-machi, Tochigi, Japan
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Betti S, Castiello U, Guerra S, Granziol U, Zani G, Sartori L. Gaze and body cues interplay during interactive requests. PLoS One 2019; 14:e0223591. [PMID: 31634344 PMCID: PMC6802846 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0223591] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/16/2019] [Accepted: 09/24/2019] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Although observing other's gaze and body movements provides a crucial source of information to successfully interact with other people, it remains unclear whether observers weigh differently these cues and whether the convergence of gaze and body's directions determines facilitation effects. Here we aim to shed more light on this issue by testing the reliance upon these cues from both a behavioral and a neurophysiological perspective in a social interactive context. In Experiment 1, we manipulated the convergence between the direction of an actor's upper limb movement and gaze direction while he attempts to socially interact with the participants observing the scene. We determined the direction of gaze as well as the duration of participants' ocular fixations during the observation of the scene. In Experiment 2, we measured and correlated the effect of the body/gaze manipulation on corticospinal excitability and on the readiness to interact-a disposition to engage in social situations. Eye-tracking data revealed that participants fixated chiefly the actor's head when his hand and gaze directions were divergent. Possibly a strategy to disambiguate the scene. Whereas participants mainly fixated the actor's hand when he performed an interactive request toward the participants. From a neurophysiological point of view, the more participants felt involved in the interaction, the lower was motor preparation in the muscle potentially needed to fulfill the actor's request. We contend that social contexts are more likely to elicit motor preparation compared to non-social ones, and that muscular inhibition is a necessary mechanism in order to prevent unwanted overt reactions during action observation tasks.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sonia Betti
- Department of General Psychology, University of Padua, Padua, Italy
| | | | - Silvia Guerra
- Department of General Psychology, University of Padua, Padua, Italy
| | - Umberto Granziol
- Department of General Psychology, University of Padua, Padua, Italy
| | - Giovanni Zani
- Department of General Psychology, University of Padua, Padua, Italy
| | - Luisa Sartori
- Department of General Psychology, University of Padua, Padua, Italy
- Padova Neuroscience Center, University of Padua, Padua, Italy
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Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation reveals a causal role of the human precuneus in spatial updating. Sci Rep 2018; 8:10171. [PMID: 29977007 PMCID: PMC6033850 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-28487-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/11/2018] [Accepted: 06/08/2018] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
As we move through an environment, the positions of surrounding objects relative to our body constantly change, with some objects even leaving our field of view. As a consequence, maintaining orientation requires spatial updating, the continuous monitoring of self-motion cues to update external locations within an egocentric frame of reference. While previous research using functional magnetic resonance imaging has implicated the precuneus in spatial updating, direct evidence for this claim is missing. To address this important question, we applied theta burst repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) over the precuneus to induce a “virtual lesion”. Following stimulation, participants were tested in a large-scale virtual environment in which they had to use visual self-motion information to keep track of the position of virtual objects. Compared to sham stimulation, rTMS affected working memory traces for object locations. Critically, rTMS further impaired the ability to update these locations whenever participants experienced simulated movement. As this effect could not be explained by working memory deficits alone, we conclude that visual spatial updating relies on the construction of updated representations of egocentric object locations within the precuneus. Together, these findings establish the precuneus as performing key computations for the formation of cognitive maps.
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Panasiti MS, Porciello G, Aglioti SM. The bright and the dark sides of motor simulation. Neuropsychologia 2017; 105:92-100. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2017.05.020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/03/2017] [Revised: 04/14/2017] [Accepted: 05/18/2017] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
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Porciello G, Minio-Paluello I, Bufalari I. Commentary: Attentional control and the self: The Self Attention Network (SAN). Front Psychol 2016; 7:1701. [PMID: 27857699 PMCID: PMC5093136 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2016.01701] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/06/2016] [Accepted: 10/14/2016] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Giuseppina Porciello
- Department of Psychology, "Sapienza," University of RomeRome, Italy; Social and Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, IRCCS Fondazione Santa LuciaRome, Italy
| | - Ilaria Minio-Paluello
- Department of Psychology, "Sapienza," University of RomeRome, Italy; Social and Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, IRCCS Fondazione Santa LuciaRome, Italy
| | - Ilaria Bufalari
- Social and Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, IRCCS Fondazione Santa LuciaRome, Italy; Department of Psychology of Developmental and Socialization Processes, "Sapienza," University of RomeRome, Italy
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Following human pointing: Where do dogs (Canis familiaris) look at to find food? Behav Processes 2016; 128:37-40. [DOI: 10.1016/j.beproc.2016.04.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/24/2015] [Revised: 03/24/2016] [Accepted: 04/05/2016] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
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Porciello G, Liuzza MT, Minio-Paluello I, Caprara GV, Aglioti SM. Fortunes and misfortunes of political leaders reflected in the eyes of their electors. Exp Brain Res 2015; 234:733-40. [PMID: 26608513 DOI: 10.1007/s00221-015-4496-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/04/2015] [Accepted: 11/03/2015] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Gaze-following is a pivotal social behaviour that, although largely automatic, is permeable to high-order variables like political affiliation. A few years ago we reported that the gaze of Italian right-wing voters was selectively captured by the gaze of their leader Silvio Berlusconi. This effect was particularly evident in voters who saw themselves as similar to Berlusconi. Two years later, we were able to run the present follow-up study because Berlusconi's popularity had drastically dropped due to sex and political scandals, and he resigned from office. In a representative subsample of our original group, we investigated whether perceived similarity and gaze-following reflected Berlusconi's loss in popularity. We were also able to test the same hypothesis in an independent group of right-wing voters when their leader, Renata Polverini, resigned as Governor of 'Regione Lazio' due to political scandals. Our results show that the leaders' fall in popularity paralleled the reduction of their gaze's attracting power, as well as the decrease in similarity perceived by their voters. The less similar right-wing voters felt to their leader, the less they followed his/her gaze. Thus, the present experimental findings suggest that gaze-following can be modulated by complex situational and dispositional factors such as leader's popularity and voter-leader perceived similarity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Giuseppina Porciello
- Department of Psychology, Sapienza, University of Rome, Via dei Marsi, 78, 00185, Rome, Italy. .,Social and Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, IRCCS, Santa Lucia Foundation, Rome, Italy.
| | - Marco Tullio Liuzza
- Department of Psychology, Sapienza, University of Rome, Via dei Marsi, 78, 00185, Rome, Italy.,Social and Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, IRCCS, Santa Lucia Foundation, Rome, Italy
| | - Ilaria Minio-Paluello
- Department of Psychology, Sapienza, University of Rome, Via dei Marsi, 78, 00185, Rome, Italy.,Social and Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, IRCCS, Santa Lucia Foundation, Rome, Italy
| | - Gian Vittorio Caprara
- Department of Psychology, Sapienza, University of Rome, Via dei Marsi, 78, 00185, Rome, Italy
| | - Salvatore Maria Aglioti
- Department of Psychology, Sapienza, University of Rome, Via dei Marsi, 78, 00185, Rome, Italy. .,Social and Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, IRCCS, Santa Lucia Foundation, Rome, Italy.
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Dalmaso M, Castelli L, Franchetti L, Carli L, Todisco P, Palomba D, Galfano G. Altered orienting of attention in anorexia nervosa. Psychiatry Res 2015; 229:318-25. [PMID: 26184992 DOI: 10.1016/j.psychres.2015.06.044] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/18/2014] [Revised: 06/05/2015] [Accepted: 06/27/2015] [Indexed: 01/11/2023]
Abstract
The study of cognitive processes in anorexia nervosa (AN) is largely unexplored, although recent evidence suggests the presence of impairments in both social cognition and attention processing. Here we investigated AN patients' ability to orient attention in response to social and symbolic visual stimuli. AN patients and matched controls performed a task in which gaze and pointing gestures acted as social directional cues for spatial attention. Arrows were also included as symbolic cue. On each trial, a centrally-placed cue appeared oriented rightwards or leftwards. After either 200 or 700ms, a lateralized neutral target (a letter) requiring a discrimination response appeared in a location either spatially congruent or incongruent with the directional cue. Controls showed a reliable orienting irrespective of both temporal interval and cue type. AN patients showed a reliable orienting at both temporal intervals only in response to pointing gestures. Both gaze and arrow cues failed to orient attention at the short temporal interval, that is when attention is under reflexive control, whereas a reliable orienting emerged at the long temporal interval. These results provide preliminary evidence of altered reflexive orienting of attention in AN patients that does not extend to body-related cues such as pointing gestures.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mario Dalmaso
- Dipartimento di Psicologia dello Sviluppo e della Socializzazione, Università di Padova, Via Venezia 8, 35131 Padova, Italy.
| | - Luigi Castelli
- Dipartimento di Psicologia dello Sviluppo e della Socializzazione, Università di Padova, Via Venezia 8, 35131 Padova, Italy; Centro di Neuroscienze Cognitive, Università di Padova, Padova, Italy
| | - Lorena Franchetti
- Dipartimento di Psicologia dello Sviluppo e della Socializzazione, Università di Padova, Via Venezia 8, 35131 Padova, Italy
| | - Lorenza Carli
- Centro per i Disturbi del Comportamento Alimentare, Casa di Cura Villa Margherita, Arcugnano, Vicenza, Italy
| | - Patrizia Todisco
- Centro per i Disturbi del Comportamento Alimentare, Casa di Cura Villa Margherita, Arcugnano, Vicenza, Italy
| | - Daniela Palomba
- Centro di Neuroscienze Cognitive, Università di Padova, Padova, Italy; Dipartimento di Psicologia Generale, Università di Padova, Padova, Italy
| | - Giovanni Galfano
- Dipartimento di Psicologia dello Sviluppo e della Socializzazione, Università di Padova, Via Venezia 8, 35131 Padova, Italy; Centro di Neuroscienze Cognitive, Università di Padova, Padova, Italy
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Dalmaso M, Castelli L, Priftis K, Buccheri M, Primon D, Tronco S, Galfano G. Space-based and object-centered gaze cuing of attention in right hemisphere-damaged patients. Front Psychol 2015; 6:1119. [PMID: 26300815 PMCID: PMC4523703 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2015.01119] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/22/2015] [Accepted: 07/20/2015] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Gaze cuing of attention is a well established phenomenon consisting of the tendency to shift attention to the location signaled by the averted gaze of other individuals. Evidence suggests that such phenomenon might follow intrinsic object-centered features of the head containing the gaze cue. In the present exploratory study, we aimed to investigate whether such object-centered component is present in neuropsychological patients with a lesion involving the right hemisphere, which is known to play a critical role both in orienting of attention and in face processing. To this purpose, we used a modified gaze-cuing paradigm in which a centrally placed head with averted gaze was presented either in the standard upright position or rotated 90° clockwise or anti-clockwise. Afterward, a to-be-detected target was presented either in the right or in the left hemifield. The results showed that gaze cuing of attention was present only when the target appeared in the left visual hemifield and was not modulated by head orientation. This suggests that gaze cuing of attention in right hemisphere-damaged patients can operate within different frames of reference.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mario Dalmaso
- Department of Developmental and Social Psychology, University of Padova Padova, Italy
| | - Luigi Castelli
- Department of Developmental and Social Psychology, University of Padova Padova, Italy ; Center for Cognitive Neuroscience, University of Padova Padova, Italy
| | - Konstantinos Priftis
- Department of General Psychology, University of Padova Padova, Italy ; Human Inspired Technologies Research Center, University of Padova Padova, Italy
| | - Marta Buccheri
- Department of Developmental and Social Psychology, University of Padova Padova, Italy
| | - Daniela Primon
- Department of Rehabilitation, Unità Locale Socio Sanitaria 15, Cittadella Italy
| | - Silvia Tronco
- Department of Rehabilitation, Unità Locale Socio Sanitaria 15, Cittadella Italy
| | - Giovanni Galfano
- Department of Developmental and Social Psychology, University of Padova Padova, Italy ; Center for Cognitive Neuroscience, University of Padova Padova, Italy
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