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Paladini RE, Müri RM, Meichtry J, Nef T, Mast FW, Mosimann UP, Nyffeler T, Cazzoli D. The Influence of Alertness on the Spatial Deployment of Visual Attention is Mediated by the Excitability of the Posterior Parietal Cortices. Cereb Cortex 2018; 27:233-243. [PMID: 28013233 PMCID: PMC5939216 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhw390] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/01/2016] [Accepted: 12/01/2016] [Indexed: 12/25/2022] Open
Abstract
With a reduced level of alertness, healthy individuals typically show a rightward shift when deploying visual attention in space. The impact of alertness on the neural networks governing visuospatial attention is, however, poorly understood. By using a transcranial magnetic stimulation twin-coil approach, the present study aimed at investigating the effects of an alertness manipulation on the excitability of the left and the right posterior parietal cortices (PPCs), crucial nodes of the visuospatial attentional network. Participants’ visuospatial attentional deployment was assessed with a free visual exploration task and concurrent eye tracking. Their alertness level was manipulated through the time of the day, that is, by testing chronotypically defined evening types both during their circadian on- and off-peak times. The results revealed an increased excitability of the left compared with the right PPC during low alertness. On the horizontal dimension, these results were accompanied by a significant rightward shift in the center and a bilateral narrowing in the periphery of the visual exploration field, as well as a central upward shift on the vertical dimension. The findings show that the manipulation of non-spatial attentional aspects (i.e., alertness) can affect visuospatial attentional deployment and modulate the excitability of areas subtending spatial attentional control.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rebecca E Paladini
- Gerontechnology and Rehabilitation Group, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
| | - René M Müri
- Gerontechnology and Rehabilitation Group, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland.,Perception and Eye Movement Laboratory, Departments of Neurology and Clinical Research, Inselspital, University Hospital Bern, and University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland.,Division of Cognitive and Restorative Neurology, Department of Neurology, Inselspital, University Hospital Bern, and University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland.,Center for Cognition, Learning and Memory, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Jurka Meichtry
- Perception and Eye Movement Laboratory, Departments of Neurology and Clinical Research, Inselspital, University Hospital Bern, and University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland.,Division of Cognitive and Restorative Neurology, Department of Neurology, Inselspital, University Hospital Bern, and University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Tobias Nef
- Gerontechnology and Rehabilitation Group, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland.,ARTORG Center for Biomedical Engineering Research, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Fred W Mast
- Center for Cognition, Learning and Memory, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland.,Department of Psychology, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Urs P Mosimann
- Gerontechnology and Rehabilitation Group, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland.,ARTORG Center for Biomedical Engineering Research, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland.,University Hospital of Old Age Psychiatry, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Thomas Nyffeler
- Gerontechnology and Rehabilitation Group, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland.,Perception and Eye Movement Laboratory, Departments of Neurology and Clinical Research, Inselspital, University Hospital Bern, and University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland.,Center of Neurology and Neurorehabilitation, Luzerner Kantonsspital, Lucerne, Switzerland
| | - Dario Cazzoli
- Gerontechnology and Rehabilitation Group, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland.,ARTORG Center for Biomedical Engineering Research, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
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Kulke LV, Atkinson J, Braddick O. Neural Differences between Covert and Overt Attention Studied using EEG with Simultaneous Remote Eye Tracking. Front Hum Neurosci 2016; 10:592. [PMID: 27932962 PMCID: PMC5120114 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2016.00592] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/10/2016] [Accepted: 11/07/2016] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Research on neural mechanisms of attention has generally instructed subjects to direct attention covertly while maintaining a fixed gaze. This study combined simultaneous eye tracking and electroencephalogram (EEG) to measure neural attention responses during exogenous cueing in overt attention shifts (with saccadic eye movements to a target) and compared these with covert attention shifts (responding manually while maintaining central fixation). EEG analysis of the period preceding the saccade latency showed similar occipital response amplitudes for overt and covert shifts, although response latencies differed. However, a frontal positivity was greater during covert attention shifts, possibly reflecting saccade inhibition to maintain fixation. The results show that combined EEG and eye tracking can be successfully used to study natural overt shifts of attention (applicable to non-verbal infants) and that requiring inhibition of saccades can lead to additional frontal responses. Such data can be used to refine current neural models of attention that have been mainly based on covert shifts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Louisa V Kulke
- Department of Cognitive Developmental Psychology, Georg-Elias-Müller-Institute for Psychology, Georg-August University GöttingenGöttingen, Germany; Division of Psychology and Language Sciences, Faculty of Brain Sciences, University College LondonLondon, UK
| | - Janette Atkinson
- Division of Psychology and Language Sciences, Faculty of Brain Sciences, University College LondonLondon, UK; Department of Experimental Psychology, University of OxfordOxford, UK
| | - Oliver Braddick
- Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford Oxford, UK
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