1
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Thielen H, Welkenhuyzen L, Tuts N, Vangkilde S, Lemmens R, Wibail A, Lafosse C, Huenges Wajer IMC, Gillebert CR. Why am I overwhelmed by bright lights? The behavioural mechanisms of post-stroke visual hypersensitivity. Neuropsychologia 2024; 198:108879. [PMID: 38570111 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2024.108879] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/23/2023] [Revised: 02/15/2024] [Accepted: 03/26/2024] [Indexed: 04/05/2024]
Abstract
After stroke, patients can experience visual hypersensitivity, an increase in their sensitivity for visual stimuli as compared to their state prior to the stroke. Candidate behavioural mechanisms for these subjective symptoms are atypical bottom-up sensory processing and impaired selective attention, but empirical evidence is currently lacking. In the current study, we aimed to investigate the relationship between post-stroke visual hypersensitivity and sensory thresholds, sensory processing speed, and selective attention using computational modelling of behavioural data. During a whole/partial report task, participants (51 stroke patients, 76 orthopedic patients, and 77 neurotypical adults) had to correctly identify a single target letter that was presented alone (for 17-100 ms) or along a distractor (for 83ms). Performance on this task was used to estimate the sensory threshold, sensory processing speed, and selective attention abilities of each participant. In the stroke population, both on a group and individual level, there was evidence for impaired selective attention and -to a lesser extent- lower sensory thresholds in patients with post-stroke visual hypersensitivity as compared to neurotypical adults, orthopedic patients, or stroke patients without post-stroke sensory hypersensitivity. These results provide a significant advancement in our comprehension of post-stroke visual hypersensitivity and can serve as a catalyst for further investigations into the underlying mechanisms of sensory hypersensitivity after other types of acquired brain injury as well as post-injury hypersensitivity for other sensory modalities.
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Affiliation(s)
- H Thielen
- Department Brain & Cognition, Leuven Brain Institute, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - L Welkenhuyzen
- Department Brain & Cognition, Leuven Brain Institute, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium; Department Psychology, Hospital East-Limbourgh, Genk, Belgium; TRACE, Centre for Translational Psychological Research (TRACE), KU Leuven - Hospital East-Limbourgh, Genk, Belgium
| | - N Tuts
- Department Brain & Cognition, Leuven Brain Institute, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - S Vangkilde
- Department of Psychology, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark; Child and Adolescent Mental Health Center, Copenhagen University Hospital, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - R Lemmens
- Experimental Neurology, Department of Neurosciences, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium; Department of Neurology, University Hospitals Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - A Wibail
- Neurology, Hospital East-Limbourgh, Genk, Belgium
| | - C Lafosse
- Paramedical and Scientific Director, RevArte Rehabilitation Hospital, Edegem, Belgium
| | - I M C Huenges Wajer
- Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery, University Medical Center Utrecht, the Netherlands; Experimental Psychology, Utrecht University, the Netherlands
| | - C R Gillebert
- Department Brain & Cognition, Leuven Brain Institute, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium; TRACE, Centre for Translational Psychological Research (TRACE), KU Leuven - Hospital East-Limbourgh, Genk, Belgium.
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2
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Sperber C, Wiesen D, Karnath H, de Haan B. The neuroanatomy of visual extinction following right hemisphere brain damage: Insights from multivariate and Bayesian lesion analyses in acute stroke. Hum Brain Mapp 2024; 45:e26639. [PMID: 38433712 PMCID: PMC10910281 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.26639] [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: 07/14/2023] [Revised: 01/08/2024] [Accepted: 02/06/2024] [Indexed: 03/05/2024] Open
Abstract
Multi-target attention, that is, the ability to attend and respond to multiple visual targets presented simultaneously on the horizontal meridian across both visual fields, is essential for everyday real-world behaviour. Given the close link between the neuropsychological deficit of extinction and attentional limits in healthy subjects, investigating the anatomy that underlies extinction is uniquely capable of providing important insights concerning the anatomy critical for normal multi-target attention. Previous studies into the brain areas critical for multi-target attention and its failure in extinction patients have, however, produced heterogeneous results. In the current study, we used multivariate and Bayesian lesion analysis approaches to investigate the anatomical substrate of visual extinction in a large sample of 108 acute right hemisphere stroke patients. The use of acute stroke patient data and multivariate/Bayesian lesion analysis approaches allowed us to address limitations associated with previous studies and so obtain a more complete picture of the functional network associated with visual extinction. Our results demonstrate that the right temporo-parietal junction (TPJ) is critically associated with visual extinction. The Bayesian lesion analysis additionally implicated the right intraparietal sulcus (IPS), in line with the results of studies in neurologically healthy participants that highlighted the IPS as the area critical for multi-target attention. Our findings resolve the seemingly conflicting previous findings, and emphasise the urgent need for further research to clarify the precise cognitive role of the right TPJ in multi-target attention and its failure in extinction patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christoph Sperber
- Center of Neurology, Division of NeuropsychologyHertie‐Institute for Clinical Brain Research, University of TübingenTübingenGermany
- Department of NeurologyInselspital, University Hospital BernBernSwitzerland
| | - Daniel Wiesen
- Center of Neurology, Division of NeuropsychologyHertie‐Institute for Clinical Brain Research, University of TübingenTübingenGermany
| | - Hans‐Otto Karnath
- Center of Neurology, Division of NeuropsychologyHertie‐Institute for Clinical Brain Research, University of TübingenTübingenGermany
- Department of PsychologyUniversity of South CarolinaColumbiaSouth CarolinaUSA
| | - Bianca de Haan
- Centre for Cognitive Neuroscience, College of Health and Life Sciences, Brunel University LondonUxbridgeUK
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3
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Peers PV, Punton SF, Murphy FC, Watson P, Bateman A, Duncan J, Astle DE, Hampshire A, Manly T. A randomized control trial of the effects of home-based online attention training and working memory training on cognition and everyday function in a community stroke sample. Neuropsychol Rehabil 2022; 32:2603-2627. [PMID: 34505555 PMCID: PMC7615301 DOI: 10.1080/09602011.2021.1972817] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/30/2021] [Accepted: 08/20/2021] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
Cognitive difficulties are common following stroke and can have widespread impacts on everyday functioning. Technological advances offer the possibility of individualized cognitive training for patients at home, potentially providing a low-cost, low-intensity adjunct to rehabilitation services. Using this approach, we have previously demonstrated post-training improvements in attention and everyday functioning in fronto-parietal stroke patients. Here we examine whether these benefits are observed more broadly in a community stroke sample. Eighty patients were randomized to either 4 weeks of online adaptive attention training (SAT), working memory training (WMT) or waitlist (WL). Cognitive and everyday function measures were collected before and after the intervention, and after 3 months. During training, weekly measures of patients' subjective functioning were collected. The training was well received and compliance good. No differences in our primary end-point, spatial bias, or other cognitive functions were observed. However, on patient-reported outcomes, SAT participants showed greater levels of improvement in everyday functioning than WMT or WL participants. In line with our previous work, everyday functioning improvements were greatest for patients with spatial impairments and those who received SAT training. Whether attention training can be recommended for stroke survivors depends on whether cognitive test performance or everyday functioning is considered more relevant.
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Affiliation(s)
- Polly V. Peers
- MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Sarah F. Punton
- MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Fionnuala C. Murphy
- MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Peter Watson
- MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Andrew Bateman
- Oliver Zangwill Centre, Cambridge Community Services NHS Trust, Ely, UK
- School of Health and Social Care, University of Essex, Colchester, UK
| | - John Duncan
- MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Duncan E. Astle
- MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Adam Hampshire
- Division of Brain Sciences, Department of Medicine, Imperial College London, London, UK
| | - Tom Manly
- MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
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4
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Olgiati E, Malhotra PA. Using non-invasive transcranial direct current stimulation for neglect and associated attentional deficits following stroke. Neuropsychol Rehabil 2022; 32:732-763. [PMID: 32892712 DOI: 10.1080/09602011.2020.1805335] [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: 10/23/2022]
Abstract
Neglect is a disabling neuropsychological syndrome that is frequently observed following right-hemispheric stroke. Affected individuals often present with multiple attentional deficits, ranging from reduced orienting towards contralesional space to a generalized impairment in maintaining attention over time. Although a degree of spontaneous recovery occurs in most patients, in some individuals this condition can be treatment-resistant with prominent ongoing non-spatial deficits. Further, there is a large inter-individual variability in response to different therapeutic approaches. Given its potential to alter neuronal excitability and affect neuroplasticity, non-invasive brain stimulation is a promising tool that could potentially be utilized to facilitate recovery. However, there are many outstanding questions regarding its implementation in this heterogeneous patient group. Here we provide a critical overview of the available evidence on the use of non-invasive electrical brain stimulation, focussing on transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), to improve neglect and associated attentional deficits after right-hemispheric stroke. At present, there is insufficient robust evidence supporting the clinical use of tDCS to alleviate symptoms of neglect. Future research would benefit from careful study design, enhanced precision of electrical montages, multi-modal approaches exploring predictors of response, tailored dose-control applications and increased efforts to evaluate standalone tDCS versus its incorporation into combination therapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elena Olgiati
- Department of Brain Sciences, Imperial College London, London, UK.,Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, London, UK
| | - Paresh A Malhotra
- Department of Brain Sciences, Imperial College London, London, UK.,Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, London, UK.,UK Dementia Research Institute, Care Research & Technology Centre, Imperial College London and University of Surrey, London, UK
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5
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Tünnermann J, Kristjánsson Á, Petersen A, Schubö A, Scharlau I. Advances in the application of a computational Theory of Visual Attention (TVA): Moving towards more naturalistic stimuli and game-like tasks. OPEN PSYCHOLOGY 2022. [DOI: 10.1515/psych-2022-0002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Abstract
The theory of visual attention, “TVA”, is an influential and formal theory of attentional selection. It is widely applied in clinical assessment of attention and fundamental attention research. However, most TVA-based research is based on accuracy data from letter report experiments performed in controlled laboratory environments. While such basic approaches to questions regarding attentional selection are undoubtedly useful, recent technological advances have enabled the use of increasingly sophisticated experimental paradigms involving more realistic scenarios. Notably, these studies have in many cases resulted in different estimates of capacity limits than those found in studies using traditional TVA-based assessment. Here we review recent developments in TVA-based assessment of attention that goes beyond the use of letter report experiments and experiments performed in controlled laboratory environments. We show that TVA can be used with other tasks and new stimuli, that TVA-based parameter estimation can be embedded into complex scenarios, such as games that can be used to investigate particular problems regarding visual attention, and how TVA-based simulations of “visual foraging” can elucidate attentional control in more naturalistic tasks. We also discuss how these developments may inform future advances of TVA.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jan Tünnermann
- Philipps-University Marburg , Department of Psychology , Marburg , Germany
| | - Árni Kristjánsson
- Icelandic Vision Laboratory , School of Health Sciences , University of Iceland, Reykjavík, Iceland; National Research University Higher School of Economics , Moscow , Russian Federation
| | - Anders Petersen
- Center for Visual Cognition , Department of Psychology , University of Copenhagen , Copenhagen , Denmark
| | - Anna Schubö
- Philipps-University Marburg , Department of Psychology , Marburg , Germany
| | - Ingrid Scharlau
- Department of Arts and Humanities , Paderborn University , Paderborn , Germany
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6
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Concurrent frontal and parietal network TMS for modulating attention. iScience 2022; 25:103962. [PMID: 35295814 PMCID: PMC8919227 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2022.103962] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/04/2020] [Revised: 06/17/2021] [Accepted: 02/17/2022] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) has been applied to frontal eye field (FEF) and intraparietal sulcus (IPS) in isolation, to study their role in attention. However, these nodes closely interact in a "dorsal attention network". Here, we compared effects of inhibitory TMS applied to individually fMRI-localized FEF or IPS (single-node TMS), to effects of simultaneously inhibiting both regions ("network TMS"), and sham. We assessed attention performance using the lateralized attention network test, which captures multiple facets of attention: spatial orienting, alerting, and executive control. TMS showed no effects on alerting and executive control. For spatial orienting, only network TMS showed a reduction of the orienting effect in the right hemifield compared to the left hemifield, irrespective of the order of TMS application (IPS→FEF or FEF→IPS). Network TMS might prevent compensatory mechanisms within a brain network, which is promising for both research and clinical applications to achieve superior neuromodulation effects.
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7
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Wang T, Thielen H, De Preter E, Vangkilde S, Gillebert CR. Encouraging Digital Technology in Neuropsychology: The Theory of Visual Attention on Tablet Devices. Arch Clin Neuropsychol 2021; 36:1450–1464. [PMID: 33621327 DOI: 10.1093/arclin/acab007] [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] [Accepted: 01/28/2021] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Visual attention helps us to selectively process relevant information and is crucial in our everyday interactions with the environment. Not surprisingly, it is one of the cognitive domains that is most frequently affected by acquired brain injury. Reliable assessment of attention deficits is pivotal to neuropsychological examination and helps to optimize individual rehabilitation plans. Compared with conventional pen-and-paper tests, computerized tasks borrowed from the field of experimental psychology bring many benefits, but lab-based experimental setups cannot be easily incorporated in clinical practice. Light-weight and portable mobile tablet devices may facilitate the translation of computerized tasks to clinical settings. One such task is based on the Theory of Visual Attention (TVA), a mathematical model of visual attention. TVA-based paradigms have been widely used to investigate several aspects of visual attention in both fundamental and clinical research, and include measures for general processing capacity as well as stimulus-specific attentional parameters. METHODS This article discusses the benefits of TVA-based assessments compared with frequently used neuropsychological tests of visual attention, and examines the reliability of a tablet-based TVA-based assessment in 59 neurologically healthy participants. RESULTS Pearson's correlations indicate that the tablet-based TVA assessment and the conventional lab-based TVA assessment have a comparable parallel-form (range: .67-.93), test-retest (range: .61-.78), and internal reliability (range: .56-.97). CONCLUSION Our results suggest that tablet-based TVA assessment may be a promising tool to acquire clinical measures of visual attention at low cost at the bedside of the patient.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tianlu Wang
- Department of Brain and Cognition, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Hella Thielen
- Department of Brain and Cognition, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Erik De Preter
- Department of Brain and Cognition, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Signe Vangkilde
- Department of Psychology, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
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8
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Kreyenmeier P, Deubel H, Hanning NM. Theory of visual attention (TVA) in action: Assessing premotor attention in simultaneous eye-hand movements. Cortex 2020; 133:133-148. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2020.09.020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/06/2020] [Revised: 09/10/2020] [Accepted: 09/11/2020] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
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9
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Parental internalizing disorder and the developmental trajectory of infant self-regulation: The moderating role of positive parental behaviors. Dev Psychopathol 2020; 34:1-17. [PMID: 32958086 DOI: 10.1017/s0954579420001042] [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] [Indexed: 11/05/2022]
Abstract
Child self-regulation (SR), a key indicator for later optimal developmental outcomes, may be compromised in the presence of parental mental disorders, especially those characterized by affective dysregulation. However, positive parental behaviors have been shown to buffer against such negative effects, especially during infancy when SR shows great plasticity to environmental inputs. The current study investigated the effect of maternal and paternal lifetime and current internalizing disorders on the developmental trajectory of infant SR from 3 to 24 months, and the potential moderating role of positive parental behaviors. A latent growth model revealed that SR increased overall from 3 to 24 months. Mothers' positive parental behaviors demonstrated significant moderation effects, such that maternal lifetime internalizing disorder was associated with higher SR intercept only among those with low levels of positive parental behavior. Mothers' lifetime internalizing disorder was also associated with a lower linear slope in SR development with a moderate effect size. Fathers' current internalizing disorder was significantly associated with a higher intercept and lower linear slope of the SR trajectory. The current study expands the infant SR literature by describing its early developmental trajectory as well as early risk and protective factors within the parent-infant environment, taking into consideration developmental inputs from both parents.
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10
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Van Vleet T, Bonato P, Fabara E, Dabit S, Kim S, Chiu C, Bisogno AL, Merzenich M, Corbetta M, DeGutis J. Alertness Training Improves Spatial Bias and Functional Ability in Spatial Neglect. Ann Neurol 2020; 88:747-758. [DOI: 10.1002/ana.25862] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/29/2019] [Revised: 07/21/2020] [Accepted: 07/26/2020] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Thomas Van Vleet
- Department of Research and Development Posit Science Inc San Francisco CA USA
| | - Paolo Bonato
- Department of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, Harvard Medical School Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital Boston MA USA
- Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering, Harvard University Boston MA USA
| | - Eric Fabara
- Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering, Harvard University Boston MA USA
| | - Sawsan Dabit
- Department of Research and Development Posit Science Inc San Francisco CA USA
| | - Sarah‐Jane Kim
- Department of Research and Development Posit Science Inc San Francisco CA USA
| | - Christopher Chiu
- Department of Psychology University of Massachusetts Boston MA USA
| | - Antonio Luigi Bisogno
- Clinica Neurologica, Department of Neuroscience, and Padova Neuroscience Center (PNC) University of Padova Italy
| | - Michael Merzenich
- Department of Research and Development Posit Science Inc San Francisco CA USA
- School of Medicine University of California San Francisco CA USA
| | - Maurizio Corbetta
- Clinica Neurologica, Department of Neuroscience, and Padova Neuroscience Center (PNC) University of Padova Italy
- Department of Neurology, Radiology Neuroscience Washington University School of Medicine St. Louis MO USA
- Venetian Institute of Molecular Medicine, VIMM Padova Italy
| | - Joseph DeGutis
- Boston Attention and Learning Laboratory, VA Boston Healthcare System Boston MA USA
- Department of Psychiatry Harvard Medical School Boston MA USA
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11
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Peers PV, Astle DE, Duncan J, Murphy FC, Hampshire A, Das T, Manly T. Dissociable effects of attention vs working memory training on cognitive performance and everyday functioning following fronto-parietal strokes. Neuropsychol Rehabil 2020; 30:1092-1114. [PMID: 30569816 PMCID: PMC7266670 DOI: 10.1080/09602011.2018.1554534] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/12/2018] [Accepted: 11/22/2018] [Indexed: 10/29/2022]
Abstract
Difficulties with attention are common following stroke, particularly in patients with frontal and parietal damage, and are associated with poor outcome. Home-based online cognitive training may have the potential to provide an efficient and effective way to improve attentional functions in such patients. Little work has been carried out to assess the efficacy of this approach in stroke patients, and the lack of studies with active control conditions and rigorous evaluations of cognitive functioning pre and post-training means understanding is limited as to whether and how such interventions may be effective. Here, in a feasibility pilot study, we compare the effects of 20 days of cognitive training using either novel Selective Attention Training (SAT) or commercial Working Memory Training (WMT) programme, versus a waitlist control on a range of attentional and working memory tasks. We demonstrate separable effects of each training condition, with SAT leading to improvements in spatial and non-spatial aspects of attention and WMT leading to improvements on closely related working memory tasks. In addition, both training groups reported improvements in everyday functioning, which were associated with improvements in attention, suggesting that improving attention may be of particular importance in maximising functional improvements in this patient group.
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Affiliation(s)
- Polly V Peers
- MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Duncan E Astle
- MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - John Duncan
- MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Fionnuala C Murphy
- MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Adam Hampshire
- Division of Brain Sciences, Department of Medicine, Imperial College London, London, UK
| | - Tilak Das
- Department of Radiology, Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Trust, Cambridge, UK
| | - Tom Manly
- MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
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12
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Göttler J, Kaczmarz S, Nuttall R, Griese V, Napiórkowski N, Kallmayer M, Wustrow I, Eckstein HH, Zimmer C, Preibisch C, Finke K, Sorg C. The stronger one-sided relative hypoperfusion, the more pronounced ipsilateral spatial attentional bias in patients with asymptomatic carotid stenosis. J Cereb Blood Flow Metab 2020; 40:314-327. [PMID: 30480463 PMCID: PMC7370612 DOI: 10.1177/0271678x18815790] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/29/2018] [Revised: 10/05/2018] [Accepted: 10/23/2018] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Patients with asymptomatic, high-grade internal carotid artery stenosis often suffer from subtle cognitive impairments with unclear underlying neuro-cognitive mechanisms. Thus, we hypothesized that stenosis-related unilateral cerebral hypoperfusion leads to an ipsilateral attentional bias; 22 patients with asymptomatic, one-sided high-grade carotid stenosis and 24 age-matched healthy controls underwent pseudo-continuous arterial spin labeling to assess brain perfusion in the territory of the carotid arteries. Furthermore, a parametric assessment of attention functions was carried out on the basis of the computational Theory of Visual Attention. Both patients' perfusion and spatial attention were significantly more lateralized than those of healthy controls. Critically, both asymmetry indices were significantly correlated in patients, i.e. the stronger one-sided relative hypoperfusion, the stronger ipsilateral bias of attention. This association was specifically pronounced in parietal cortices and independent of white matter hyperintensities as a surrogate for cerebrovascular brain damage. Results provide evidence for a link between lateralized hypoperfusion and lateralized attentional weighting in asymptomatic, high-grade carotid stenosis. Data suggest that lateralized hypoperfusion with simultaneous spatial attentional bias might serve as a potential therapeutic target in one-sided carotid stenosis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jens Göttler
- Department of Diagnostic and
Interventional Neuroradiology, Klinikum rechts der Isar, Technische Universität
München, Munich, Germany
- TUM Neuroimaging Center (TUM-NIC),
Klinikum rechts der Isar, Technische Universität München, Munich, Germany
- Department of Diagnostic and
Interventional Radiology, Klinikum rechts der Isar, Technische Universität München,
Munich, Germany
- Magnetic Resonance Research Center, Yale
University, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Stephan Kaczmarz
- Department of Diagnostic and
Interventional Neuroradiology, Klinikum rechts der Isar, Technische Universität
München, Munich, Germany
- TUM Neuroimaging Center (TUM-NIC),
Klinikum rechts der Isar, Technische Universität München, Munich, Germany
- Magnetic Resonance Research Center, Yale
University, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Rachel Nuttall
- Department of Diagnostic and
Interventional Neuroradiology, Klinikum rechts der Isar, Technische Universität
München, Munich, Germany
- TUM Neuroimaging Center (TUM-NIC),
Klinikum rechts der Isar, Technische Universität München, Munich, Germany
| | - Vanessa Griese
- Department of Diagnostic and
Interventional Neuroradiology, Klinikum rechts der Isar, Technische Universität
München, Munich, Germany
- TUM Neuroimaging Center (TUM-NIC),
Klinikum rechts der Isar, Technische Universität München, Munich, Germany
| | - Natan Napiórkowski
- Department of Psychology,
Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Munich, Germany
- Graduate School of Systemic
Neurosciences, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Munich, Germany
| | - Michael Kallmayer
- Department of Vascular and Endovascular
Surgery, Klinikum rechts der Isar, Technische Universität München, Munich,
Germany
| | - Isabel Wustrow
- I. Medizinische Klinik und Poliklinik,
Klinikum rechts der Isar, Technische Universität München, Munich, Germany
| | - Hans-Henning Eckstein
- Department of Vascular and Endovascular
Surgery, Klinikum rechts der Isar, Technische Universität München, Munich,
Germany
| | - Claus Zimmer
- Department of Diagnostic and
Interventional Neuroradiology, Klinikum rechts der Isar, Technische Universität
München, Munich, Germany
| | - Christine Preibisch
- Department of Diagnostic and
Interventional Neuroradiology, Klinikum rechts der Isar, Technische Universität
München, Munich, Germany
- TUM Neuroimaging Center (TUM-NIC),
Klinikum rechts der Isar, Technische Universität München, Munich, Germany
- Clinic for Neurology, Klinikum rechts
der Isar, Technische Universität München, Munich, Germany
| | - Kathrin Finke
- Department of Psychology,
Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Munich, Germany
- Hans-Berger-Department of Neurology,
Jena University Hospital, Jena, Germany
| | - Christian Sorg
- Department of Diagnostic and
Interventional Neuroradiology, Klinikum rechts der Isar, Technische Universität
München, Munich, Germany
- TUM Neuroimaging Center (TUM-NIC),
Klinikum rechts der Isar, Technische Universität München, Munich, Germany
- Department of Psychiatry, Klinikum
rechts der Isar, Technische Universität München, Munich, Germany
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13
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Kaufmann BC, Knobel SEJ, Nef T, Müri RM, Cazzoli D, Nyffeler T. Visual Exploration Area in Neglect: A New Analysis Method for Video-Oculography Data Based on Foveal Vision. Front Neurosci 2020; 13:1412. [PMID: 32038129 PMCID: PMC6987148 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2019.01412] [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: 10/11/2019] [Accepted: 12/13/2019] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Video-oculography during free visual exploration (FVE) is a valuable tool to evaluate visual attention spatial allocation in neglect patients after right-hemispheric stroke. In conventional FVE analyses, the position of a visual fixation is conceived as a single point in space. Here, we describe a new complementary method to analyze FVE data based on foveal vision, leading to an accurate estimate of the portion of the picture that was effectively explored. In 15 neglect patients and 20 healthy controls, visual exploration areas (i.e., considering 1° visual angle around every single fixation) were computed. Furthermore, the proportion of single and overlapping fixations was analyzed. Overlapping fixations were further categorized into capture fixations (successive overlapping fixation, putatively reflecting problem of disengagement) and re-capture fixations (temporally distant overlapping fixations, putatively reflecting spatial working memory deficits). The results of this new analysis approach were compared to the ones of conventional approaches. Conventional analyses showed the typical visual attention deficits in neglect patients versus healthy controls: significantly less fixations and time spent within the left and significantly more fixations and time spent within the right screen half. According to the results of our new approach, patients showed a significantly smaller visual exploration area within the left screen half. However, the right visual exploration area did not differ between groups. Furthermore, in neglect patients, the proportion of overlapping fixations within the right screen half was significantly higher than within the left screen half, as well as significantly higher than in healthy controls within either screen halves. Whereas neglect patients showed significantly more capture fixations than healthy controls, the number of re-capture fixations did not differ between groups. These results suggest that, in neglect patients, the efficiency of visual exploration is also reduced within the right screen half and that impaired disengagement might be an important mechanism leading to overlapping fixations. Our new analysis of the visual exploration area, based on foveal vision, may be a promising additional approach in visual attention research. It allows to accurately measure the portion of the picture that was effectively explored, disentangle single from overlapping fixations, and distinguish between capture and re-capture fixations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brigitte Charlotte Kaufmann
- Perception and Eye Movement Laboratory, Departments of Neurology and BioMedical Research, Inselspital, Bern University Hospital, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland.,Neurocenter, Luzerner Kantonsspital, Lucerne, Switzerland
| | - Samuel Elia Johannes Knobel
- Gerontechnology and Rehabilitation Group, ARTORG Center for Biomedical Engineering Research, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Tobias Nef
- Gerontechnology and Rehabilitation Group, ARTORG Center for Biomedical Engineering Research, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
| | - René Martin Müri
- Perception and Eye Movement Laboratory, Departments of Neurology and BioMedical Research, Inselspital, Bern University Hospital, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland.,Gerontechnology and Rehabilitation Group, ARTORG Center for Biomedical Engineering Research, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Dario Cazzoli
- Perception and Eye Movement Laboratory, Departments of Neurology and BioMedical Research, Inselspital, Bern University Hospital, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland.,Gerontechnology and Rehabilitation Group, ARTORG Center for Biomedical Engineering Research, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Thomas Nyffeler
- Perception and Eye Movement Laboratory, Departments of Neurology and BioMedical Research, Inselspital, Bern University Hospital, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland.,Neurocenter, Luzerner Kantonsspital, Lucerne, Switzerland.,Gerontechnology and Rehabilitation Group, ARTORG Center for Biomedical Engineering Research, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
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14
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Valdois S, Roulin JL, Line Bosse M. Visual attention modulates reading acquisition. Vision Res 2019; 165:152-161. [DOI: 10.1016/j.visres.2019.10.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/15/2019] [Revised: 07/16/2019] [Accepted: 10/30/2019] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
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15
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Hemager N, Vangkilde S, Thorup A, Christiani C, Ellersgaard D, Spang KS, Burton BK, Greve AN, Gantriis DL, Mors O, Jepsen JRM, Nordentoft M, Plessen KJ. Visual attention in 7-year-old children at familial high risk of schizophrenia or bipolar disorder: The Danish high risk and resilience study VIA 7. J Affect Disord 2019; 258:56-65. [PMID: 31394459 DOI: 10.1016/j.jad.2019.07.079] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/15/2019] [Revised: 07/10/2019] [Accepted: 07/29/2019] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Attention deficits are found in children at familial high risk of schizophrenia (FHR-SZ) and bipolar disorder (FHR-BP) using assessment methods relying on motor-based response latency. This study compares visual attention functions in children at FHR-SZ or FHR-BP with controls using an unspeeded task unconfounded by motor components. METHODS Visual attention was assessed in 133 7-year-old children at FHR-SZ (N = 56) or FHR-BP (N = 32), and controls (N = 45) using the unspeeded paradigm, TVA-based whole report. We compared four parameters of visual attention: visual processing speed, visual short-term memory, threshold for visual perception, and error rate. Further, we investigated their potential relationships with severity of psychopathology, adequacy of the home environment, and neurocognitive measures. RESULTS Children at FHR-SZ displayed significant deficits in perceptual processing speed of visual attention compared with controls (p < .001; d = 0.75) as did children at FHR-BP (p < .05; d = 0.54). Visual processing speed was significantly associated with spatial working memory (β = -0.23; t(68) = -3.34, p = .01) and psychomotor processing speed (β = 0.14, t(67) = 2.11, p < .05). LIMITATIONS Larger group sizes would have permitted inclusion of more predictors in the search for neurocognitive and other factors associated with the parameters of TVA-based whole report. CONCLUSIONS Young children at FHR-SZ and FHR-BP display significant deficits in processing speed of visual attention, which may reflect the effect of shared vulnerability risk genes. Early identification of children at FHR-SZ and FHR-BP with perceptual processing speed impairments may represent a low-cost basis for low-risk interventions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicoline Hemager
- Mental Health Services of the Capital Region of Denmark, Mental Health Centre Copenhagen, Research Unit, Gentofte Hospitalsvej 15, 4th Floor, 2900 Hellerup, Denmark; Mental Health Services of the Capital Region of Denmark, Child and Adolescent Mental Health Centre, Research Unit Denmark; The Lundbeck Foundation Initiative for Integrative Psychiatric Research, Denmark.
| | - Signe Vangkilde
- Mental Health Services of the Capital Region of Denmark, Child and Adolescent Mental Health Centre, Research Unit Denmark; Department of Psychology, Center for Visual Cognition, University of Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Anne Thorup
- Mental Health Services of the Capital Region of Denmark, Mental Health Centre Copenhagen, Research Unit, Gentofte Hospitalsvej 15, 4th Floor, 2900 Hellerup, Denmark; The Lundbeck Foundation Initiative for Integrative Psychiatric Research, Denmark
| | - Camilla Christiani
- Mental Health Services of the Capital Region of Denmark, Mental Health Centre Copenhagen, Research Unit, Gentofte Hospitalsvej 15, 4th Floor, 2900 Hellerup, Denmark; The Lundbeck Foundation Initiative for Integrative Psychiatric Research, Denmark
| | - Ditte Ellersgaard
- Mental Health Services of the Capital Region of Denmark, Mental Health Centre Copenhagen, Research Unit, Gentofte Hospitalsvej 15, 4th Floor, 2900 Hellerup, Denmark; The Lundbeck Foundation Initiative for Integrative Psychiatric Research, Denmark
| | - Katrine Søborg Spang
- Mental Health Services of the Capital Region of Denmark, Child and Adolescent Mental Health Centre, Research Unit Denmark; The Lundbeck Foundation Initiative for Integrative Psychiatric Research, Denmark
| | - Birgitte Klee Burton
- Mental Health Services of the Capital Region of Denmark, Child and Adolescent Mental Health Centre, Research Unit Denmark; The Lundbeck Foundation Initiative for Integrative Psychiatric Research, Denmark
| | - Aja Neergaard Greve
- The Lundbeck Foundation Initiative for Integrative Psychiatric Research, Denmark; Psychosis Research Unit, Aarhus University Hospital, Denmark
| | - Ditte Lou Gantriis
- The Lundbeck Foundation Initiative for Integrative Psychiatric Research, Denmark; Psychosis Research Unit, Aarhus University Hospital, Denmark
| | - Ole Mors
- The Lundbeck Foundation Initiative for Integrative Psychiatric Research, Denmark; Psychosis Research Unit, Aarhus University Hospital, Denmark
| | - Jens Richardt Møllegaard Jepsen
- Mental Health Services of the Capital Region of Denmark, Child and Adolescent Mental Health Centre, Research Unit Denmark; The Lundbeck Foundation Initiative for Integrative Psychiatric Research, Denmark; Mental Health Services of the Capital Region of Denmark, Mental Health Centre Glostrup, Center for Neuropsychiatric Schizophrenia Research and Center for Clinical Intervention and Neuropsychiatric Schizophrenia Research, Denmark
| | - Merete Nordentoft
- Mental Health Services of the Capital Region of Denmark, Mental Health Centre Copenhagen, Research Unit, Gentofte Hospitalsvej 15, 4th Floor, 2900 Hellerup, Denmark; The Lundbeck Foundation Initiative for Integrative Psychiatric Research, Denmark; Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Kerstin Jessica Plessen
- Mental Health Services of the Capital Region of Denmark, Child and Adolescent Mental Health Centre, Research Unit Denmark; The Lundbeck Foundation Initiative for Integrative Psychiatric Research, Denmark; Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry, University Hospital of Lausanne, Switzerland
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16
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Brosnan MB, Demaria G, Petersen A, Dockree PM, Robertson IH, Wiegand I. Plasticity of the Right-Lateralized Cognitive Reserve Network in Ageing. Cereb Cortex 2019; 28:1749-1759. [PMID: 28444373 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhx085] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/02/2016] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Cognitive reserve (CR) is the phenomenon where older adults with more cognitively stimulating environments show less age-related cognitive decline. The right-lateralized fronto-parietal network has been proposed to significantly contribute to CR and visual attention in ageing. In this study we tested whether plasticity of this network may be harnessed in ageing.We assessed CR and parameters of visual attention capacity in older adults. Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) was employed to increase right fronto-parietal activity during a lateralized whole-report task. At baseline, older adults with greater CR showed a stronger hemifield asymmetry in processing speed towards the left visual-field, indicative of stronger involvement of the right hemisphere in these individuals. Correspondingly, processing speed improved during right prefrontal tDCS. Older adults with lower levels of CR showed tDCS-related improvements in processing speed in the left but not right hemifield: thus tDCS temporarily altered their processing speed asymmetry to resemble that of their high reserve peers.The finding that stronger right hemisphere involvement is related to CR supports Robertson's theory. Furthermore, preserved plasticity within the right prefrontal cortex in older adults suggests this is a viable target area to improve visual processing speed, a hallmark of age-related decline.
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Affiliation(s)
- Méadhbh B Brosnan
- Institute of Neuroscience and School of Psychology, Trinity College Dublin, The University of Dublin, Ireland
| | - Giorgia Demaria
- Institute of Neuroscience and School of Psychology, Trinity College Dublin, The University of Dublin, Ireland.,Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, The Netherlands
| | - Anders Petersen
- Centre for Visual Cognition, University of Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Paul M Dockree
- Institute of Neuroscience and School of Psychology, Trinity College Dublin, The University of Dublin, Ireland
| | - Ian H Robertson
- Institute of Neuroscience and School of Psychology, Trinity College Dublin, The University of Dublin, Ireland
| | - Iris Wiegand
- Centre for Visual Cognition, University of Copenhagen, Denmark.,Center for Lifespan Development, Max-Planck Institute for Human Development, Berlin, Germany.,Max-Planck UCL Centre for Computational Psychiatry and Ageing Research, Berlin, Germany
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17
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Wiegand I, Sander MC. Cue-related processing accounts for age differences in phasic alerting. Neurobiol Aging 2019; 79:93-100. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2019.03.017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/06/2018] [Revised: 03/21/2019] [Accepted: 03/25/2019] [Indexed: 10/27/2022]
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18
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Three weeks of SSRI administration enhances the visual perceptual threshold - a randomized placebo-controlled study. Psychopharmacology (Berl) 2019; 236:1759-1769. [PMID: 30623228 DOI: 10.1007/s00213-018-5158-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/29/2018] [Accepted: 12/21/2018] [Indexed: 01/02/2023]
Abstract
RATIONALE The serotonergic system has been repeatedly linked to visual attention in general, but the effects of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) on specific components of visual attention remain unknown. Changes in distinct perceptual and cognitive processes are not readily evident in most attention paradigms. OBJECTIVE In this study, we isolate basic components of visual attention to investigate potential effects of longer-term SSRI administration on non-emotional aspects of visual attention in healthy males. METHODS In a randomized double-blind placebo-controlled design, 32 young healthy males were tested on multiple attentional parameters, before and after a 3-week SSRI intervention with fluoxetine (40 mg daily) or placebo. Data were modeled with a computational theory of visual attention to derive independent estimates of five distinct components of visual attention. RESULTS The SSRI intervention selectively and significantly lowered the threshold for conscious visual perception. Specifically, we demonstrate that this improvement does not stem from a general increase in the speed of visual processing, as previously suggested, but specifically from a change in the perceptual threshold. CONCLUSIONS The study provides a novel description of the attentional dynamics affected by SSRI, while supporting previous findings on attentional effects of SSRI. Furthermore, it accentuates the utility of employing accuracy-based measures of attentional performance when conducting psychopharmacological research.
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19
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Modeling the length effect for words in lexical decision: The role of visual attention. Vision Res 2019; 159:10-20. [DOI: 10.1016/j.visres.2019.03.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/30/2018] [Revised: 12/21/2018] [Accepted: 03/11/2019] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
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20
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Praß M, de Haan B. Multi-target attention and visual short-term memory capacity are closely linked in the intraparietal sulcus. Hum Brain Mapp 2019; 40:3589-3605. [PMID: 31056819 PMCID: PMC6767774 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.24618] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/26/2018] [Revised: 04/18/2019] [Accepted: 04/22/2019] [Indexed: 11/06/2022] Open
Abstract
The existing literature suggests a critical role for both the right intraparietal sulcus (IPS) and the right temporo‐parietal junction (TPJ) in our ability to attend to multiple simultaneously‐presented lateralized targets (multi‐target attention), and the failure of this ability in extinction patients. Currently, however, the precise role of each of these areas in multi‐target attention is unclear. In this study, we combined the theory of visual attention (TVA) with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) guided continuous theta burst stimulation (cTBS) in neurologically healthy subjects to directly investigate the role of the right IPS and TPJ in multi‐target attention. Our results show that cTBS at an area of the right IPS associated with multi‐target attention elicits a reduction of visual short‐term memory capacity. This suggests that the right IPS is associated with a general capacity‐limited encoding mechanism that is engaged regardless of whether targets have to be attended or remembered. Curiously, however, cTBS to the right IPS failed to elicit extinction‐like behavior in our study, supporting previous suggestions that different areas of the right IPS may provide different contributions to multi‐target attention. CTBS to the right TPJ failed to induce a change in either TVA parameters or extinction‐like behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maren Praß
- Division of Neuropsychology, Center of Neurology, Hertie-Institute for Clinical Brain Research, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Bianca de Haan
- Division of Neuropsychology, Center of Neurology, Hertie-Institute for Clinical Brain Research, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany.,Division of Psychology, Department of Life Sciences, College of Health and Life Sciences, Brunel University London, Uxbridge, UK
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21
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Walle KM, Nordvik JE, Espeseth T, Becker F, Laeng B. Multiple object tracking and pupillometry reveal deficits in both selective and intensive attention in unilateral spatial neglect. J Clin Exp Neuropsychol 2018; 41:270-289. [DOI: 10.1080/13803395.2018.1536735] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/27/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Kjersti Mæhlum Walle
- Department of Research, Sunnaas Rehabilitation Hospital, Nesoddtangen, Norway
- Department of Psychology, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
| | - Jan Egil Nordvik
- Department of Research, Sunnaas Rehabilitation Hospital, Nesoddtangen, Norway
| | | | - Frank Becker
- Department of Research, Sunnaas Rehabilitation Hospital, Nesoddtangen, Norway
- Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
| | - Bruno Laeng
- Department of Psychology, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
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22
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Brosnan MB, Arvaneh M, Harty S, Maguire T, O'Connell R, Robertson IH, Dockree PM. Prefrontal Modulation of Visual Processing and Sustained Attention in Aging, a tDCS–EEG Coregistration Approach. J Cogn Neurosci 2018; 30:1630-1645. [DOI: 10.1162/jocn_a_01307] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Abstract
The ability to sustain attention is integral to healthy cognition in aging. The right PFC (rPFC) is critical for maintaining high levels of attentional focus. Whether plasticity of this region can be harnessed to support sustained attention in older adults is unknown. We used transcranial direct current stimulation to increase cortical excitability of the rPFC, while monitoring behavioral and electrophysiological markers of sustained attention in older adults with suboptimal sustained attention capacity. During rPFC transcranial direct current stimulation, fewer lapses of attention occurred and electroencephalography signals of frontal engagement and early visual attention were enhanced. To further verify these results, we repeated the experiment in an independent cohort of cognitively typical older adults using a different sustained attention paradigm. Again, prefrontal stimulation was associated with fewer attentional lapses. These experiments suggest the rPFC can be manipulated in later years to increase top–down modulation over early sensory processing and improve sustained attention performance. This holds valuable information for the development of neurorehabilitation protocols to ameliorate age-related deficits in this capacity.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Siobhán Harty
- The University of Dublin
- Department of Experimental Psychology, Tinbergen Building, Oxford, UK
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23
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Post-stroke unilateral spatial neglect: virtual reality-based navigation and detection tasks reveal lateralized and non-lateralized deficits in tasks of varying perceptual and cognitive demands. J Neuroeng Rehabil 2018; 15:34. [PMID: 29685145 PMCID: PMC5913876 DOI: 10.1186/s12984-018-0374-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/26/2017] [Accepted: 03/27/2018] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Unilateral spatial neglect (USN), a highly prevalent and disabling post-stroke impairment, has been shown to affect the recovery of locomotor and navigation skills needed for community mobility. We recently found that USN alters goal-directed locomotion in conditions of different cognitive/perceptual demands. However, sensorimotor post-stroke dysfunction (e.g. decreased walking speed) could have influenced the results. Analogous to a previously used goal-directed locomotor paradigm, a seated, joystick-driven navigation experiment, minimizing locomotor demands, was employed in individuals with and without post-stroke USN (USN+ and USN-, respectively) and healthy controls (HC). METHODS Participants (n = 15 per group) performed a seated, joystick-driven navigation and detection time task to targets 7 m away at 0°, ±15°/30° in actual (visually-guided), remembered (memory-guided) and shifting (visually-guided with representational updating component) conditions while immersed in a 3D virtual reality environment. RESULTS Greater end-point mediolateral errors to left-sided targets (remembered and shifting conditions) and overall lengthier onsets in reorientation strategy (shifting condition) were found for USN+ vs. USN- and vs. HC (p < 0.05). USN+ individuals mostly overshot left targets (- 15°/- 30°). Greater delays in detection time for target locations across the visual spectrum (left, middle and right) were found in USN+ vs. USN- and HC groups (p < 0.05). CONCLUSION USN-related attentional-perceptual deficits alter navigation abilities in memory-guided and shifting conditions, independently of post-stroke locomotor deficits. Lateralized and non-lateralized deficits in object detection are found. The employed paradigm could be considered in the design and development of sensitive and functional assessment methods for neglect; thereby addressing the drawbacks of currently used traditional paper-and-pencil tools.
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24
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Ogourtsova T, Archambault PS, Lamontagne A. Visual perceptual deficits and their contribution to walking dysfunction in individuals with post-stroke visual neglect. Neuropsychol Rehabil 2018; 30:207-232. [PMID: 29614914 DOI: 10.1080/09602011.2018.1454328] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/17/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Unilateral spatial neglect (USN), a highly prevalent and disabling post-stroke deficit, severely affects functional mobility. Visual perceptual abilities (VPAs) are essential in activities involving mobility. However, whether and to what extent post-stroke USN affects VPAs and how they contribute to mobility impairments remains unclear. OBJECTIVES To estimate the extent to which VPAs in left and right visual hemispaces are (1) affected in post-stroke USN; and (2) contribute to goal-directed locomotion. METHODS Individuals with (USN+, n = 15) and without (USN-, n = 15) post-stroke USN and healthy controls (HC, n = 15) completed (1) psychophysical evaluation of contrast sensitivity, optic flow direction and coherence, and shape discrimination; and (2) goal-directed locomotion tasks. RESULTS Higher discrimination thresholds were found for all VPAs in the USN+ group compared to USN- and HC groups (p < 0.05). Psychophysical tests showed high sensitivity in detecting deficits in individuals with a history of USN or with no USN on traditional assessments, and were found to be significantly correlated with goal-directed locomotor impairments. CONCLUSION Deficits in VPAs may account for the functional difficulties experienced by individuals with post-stroke USN. Psychophysical tests used in the present study offer important advantages and can be implemented to enhance USN diagnostics and rehabilitation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tatiana Ogourtsova
- School of Physical and Occupational Therapy, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.,Feil-Oberfeld Research Centre, Jewish Rehabilitation Hospital, Site of Centre for Interdisciplinary Research in Rehabilitation of Greater Montreal, Laval, Quebec, Canada
| | - Philippe S Archambault
- School of Physical and Occupational Therapy, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.,Feil-Oberfeld Research Centre, Jewish Rehabilitation Hospital, Site of Centre for Interdisciplinary Research in Rehabilitation of Greater Montreal, Laval, Quebec, Canada
| | - Anouk Lamontagne
- School of Physical and Occupational Therapy, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.,Feil-Oberfeld Research Centre, Jewish Rehabilitation Hospital, Site of Centre for Interdisciplinary Research in Rehabilitation of Greater Montreal, Laval, Quebec, Canada
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25
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Wang T, Gillebert CR. TVA-Based Assessment of Visual Attention Using Line-Drawings of Fruits and Vegetables. Front Psychol 2018; 9:207. [PMID: 29535660 PMCID: PMC5835087 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2018.00207] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/27/2017] [Accepted: 02/07/2018] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Visuospatial attention and short-term memory allow us to prioritize, select, and briefly maintain part of the visual information that reaches our senses. These cognitive abilities are quantitatively accounted for by Bundesen's theory of visual attention (TVA; Bundesen, 1990). Previous studies have suggested that TVA-based assessments are sensitive to inter-individual differences in spatial bias, visual short-term memory capacity, top-down control, and processing speed in healthy volunteers as well as in patients with various neurological and psychiatric conditions. However, most neuropsychological assessments of attention and executive functions, including TVA-based assessment, make use of alphanumeric stimuli and/or are performed verbally, which can pose difficulties for individuals who have troubles processing letters or numbers. Here we examined the reliability of TVA-based assessments when stimuli are used that are not alphanumeric, but instead based on line-drawings of fruits and vegetables. We compared five TVA parameters quantifying the aforementioned cognitive abilities, obtained by modeling accuracy data on a whole/partial report paradigm using conventional alphabet stimuli versus the food stimuli. Significant correlations were found for all TVA parameters, indicating a high parallel-form reliability. Split-half correlations assessing internal reliability, and correlations between predicted and observed data assessing goodness-of-fit were both significant. Our results provide an indication that line-drawings of fruits and vegetables can be used for a reliable assessment of attention and short-term memory.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tianlu Wang
- Department of Brain and Cognition, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Celine R. Gillebert
- Department of Brain and Cognition, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
- Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
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26
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Wiegand I, Napiórkowski N, Töllner T, Petersen A, Habekost T, Müller HJ, Finke K. Event-related Electroencephalographic Lateralizations Mark Individual Differences in Spatial and Nonspatial Visual Selection. J Cogn Neurosci 2017; 30:482-497. [PMID: 29244636 DOI: 10.1162/jocn_a_01221] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/04/2022]
Abstract
Selective attention controls the distribution of our visual system's limited processing resources to stimuli in the visual field. Two independent parameters of visual selection can be quantified by modeling an individual's performance in a partial-report task based on the computational theory of visual attention (TVA): (i) top-down control α, the relative attentional weighting of relevant over irrelevant stimuli, and (ii) spatial bias wλ, the relative attentional weighting of stimuli in the left versus right hemifield. In this study, we found that visual event-related electroencephalographic lateralizations marked interindividual differences in these two functions. First, individuals with better top-down control showed higher amplitudes of the posterior contralateral negativity than individuals with poorer top-down control. Second, differences in spatial bias were reflected in asymmetries in earlier visual event-related lateralizations depending on the hemifield position of targets; specifically, individuals showed a positivity contralateral to targets presented in their prioritized hemifield and a negativity contralateral to targets presented in their nonprioritized hemifield. Thus, our findings demonstrate that two functionally different aspects of attentional weighting quantified in the respective TVA parameters are reflected in two different neurophysiological measures: The observer-dependent spatial bias influences selection by a bottom-up processing advantage of stimuli appearing in the prioritized hemifield. By contrast, task-related target selection governed by top-down control involves active enhancement of target, and/or suppression of distractor, processing. These results confirm basic assumptions of the TVA framework, complement the functional interpretation of event-related lateralization components in selective attention studies, and are of relevance for the development of neurocognitive attentional assessment procedures.
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Affiliation(s)
- Iris Wiegand
- Max Planck UCL Centre for Computational Psychiatry and Ageing Research.,Max Planck Institute for Human Development.,Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School
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27
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Wiegand I, Lauritzen MJ, Osler M, Mortensen EL, Rostrup E, Rask L, Richard N, Horwitz A, Benedek K, Vangkilde S, Petersen A. EEG correlates of visual short-term memory in older age vary with adult lifespan cognitive development. Neurobiol Aging 2017; 62:210-220. [PMID: 29175710 DOI: 10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2017.10.018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/16/2017] [Revised: 10/16/2017] [Accepted: 10/21/2017] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Visual short-term memory (vSTM) is a cognitive resource that declines with age. This study investigated whether electroencephalography (EEG) correlates of vSTM vary with cognitive development over individuals' lifespan. We measured vSTM performance and EEG in a lateralized whole-report task in a healthy birth cohort, whose cognitive function (intelligence quotient) was assessed in youth and late-middle age. Higher vSTM capacity (K; measured by Bundesen's theory of visual attention) was associated with higher amplitudes of the contralateral delay activity (CDA) and the central positivity (CP). In addition, rightward hemifield asymmetry of vSTM (Kλ) was associated with lower CDA amplitudes. Furthermore, more severe cognitive decline from young adulthood to late-middle age predicted higher CDA amplitudes, and the relationship between K and the CDA was less reliable in individuals who show higher levels of cognitive decline compared to individuals with preserved abilities. By contrast, there was no significant effect of lifespan cognitive changes on the CP or the relationship between behavioral measures of vSTM and the CP. Neither the CDA, nor the CP, nor the relationships between K or Kλ and the event-related potentials were predicted by individuals' current cognitive status. Together, our findings indicate complex age-related changes in processes underlying behavioral and EEG measures of vSTM and suggest that the K-CDA relationship might be a marker of cognitive lifespan trajectories.
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Affiliation(s)
- Iris Wiegand
- Center for Visual Cognition, Department of Psychology, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark; Max Planck UCL Centre for Computational Psychiatry and Ageing Research, Berlin, Germany; Center for Lifespan Psychology, Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Berlin, Germany.
| | - Martin J Lauritzen
- Center for Healthy Aging, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark; Department of Clinical Neurophysiology, Rigshospitalet - Glostrup, Glostrup, Denmark; Department of Neuroscience and Pharmacology, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.
| | - Merete Osler
- Department of Neuroscience and Pharmacology, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark; Research Center for Prevention and Health, Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Erik Lykke Mortensen
- Center for Healthy Aging, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark; Department of Public Health, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Egill Rostrup
- Center for Healthy Aging, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark; Functional Imaging Unit, Department of Clinical Physiology, Nuclear Medicine and PET, Rigshospitalet - Glostrup, Glostrup, Denmark
| | - Lene Rask
- Center for Healthy Aging, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark; Department of Clinical Neurophysiology, Rigshospitalet - Glostrup, Glostrup, Denmark; Department of Neuroscience and Pharmacology, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Nelly Richard
- Center for Healthy Aging, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark; Department of Clinical Neurophysiology, Rigshospitalet - Glostrup, Glostrup, Denmark; Department of Neuroscience and Pharmacology, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Anna Horwitz
- Center for Healthy Aging, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark; Department of Clinical Neurophysiology, Rigshospitalet - Glostrup, Glostrup, Denmark; Department of Neuroscience and Pharmacology, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Krisztina Benedek
- Department of Clinical Neurophysiology, Rigshospitalet - Glostrup, Glostrup, Denmark
| | - Signe Vangkilde
- Center for Visual Cognition, Department of Psychology, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Anders Petersen
- Center for Visual Cognition, Department of Psychology, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
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Single-session transcranial direct current stimulation induces enduring enhancement of visual processing speed in patients with major depression. Eur Arch Psychiatry Clin Neurosci 2017; 267:671-686. [PMID: 28039551 DOI: 10.1007/s00406-016-0761-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/19/2016] [Accepted: 12/13/2016] [Indexed: 01/17/2023]
Abstract
Attentional deficits are considered key cognitive symptoms in major depressive disorder (MDD) arising from abnormal activation patterns within dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) alertness networks. Altering these activity patterns with transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) might thus ameliorate alertness-dependent cognitive deficits in MDD patients. In a double-blind, randomized, sham-controlled study, we investigated the effect of a single session of anodal tDCS (2 mA) applied to the left dlPFC on different parameters of visual attention based on Bundesen's theory of visual attention (Psychol Rev 97(4):523-547, 1990) in a group of 20 patients with MDD and a control group of 20 healthy participants. The parametric attention assessment took place before, immediately after and 24 h after tDCS intervention. It revealed a selective impairment in visual processing speed as a primary functional deficit in MDD at baseline assessment. Furthermore, a significant stimulation condition × time point interaction showed that verum tDCS over the left dlPFC resulted in a processing speed enhancement 24 h post-stimulation in MDD patients. In healthy control participants, we did not find similar tDCS-induced effects. Our results suggest that even a single session of tDCS over the dlPFC can induce enduring neurocognitive benefits that indicate an amelioration of cortical under-arousal in MDD patients in a time frame beyond that of immediate, excitability increases that are directly induced by the current.
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Ásgeirsson ÁG, Nieuwenhuis S. No arousal-biased competition in focused visuospatial attention. Cognition 2017; 168:191-204. [PMID: 28709109 DOI: 10.1016/j.cognition.2017.07.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/12/2016] [Revised: 07/03/2017] [Accepted: 07/04/2017] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
Abstract
Arousal sometimes enhances and sometimes impairs perception and memory. A recent theory attempts to reconcile these findings by proposing that arousal amplifies the competition between stimulus representations, strengthening already strong representations and weakening already weak representations. Here, we report a stringent test of this arousal-biased competition theory in the context of focused visuospatial attention. Participants were required to identify a briefly presented target in the context of multiple distractors, which varied in the degree to which they competed for representation with the target, as revealed by psychophysics. We manipulated arousal using emotionally arousing pictures (Experiment 1), alerting tones (Experiment 2) and white-noise stimulation (Experiment 3), and validated these manipulations with electroencephalography and pupillometry. In none of the experiments did we find evidence that arousal modulated the effect of distractor competition on the accuracy of target identification. Bayesian statistics revealed moderate to strong evidence against arousal-biased competition. Modeling of the psychophysical data based on Bundesen's (1990) theory of visual attention corroborated the conclusion that arousal does not bias competition in focused visuospatial attention.
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Affiliation(s)
- Árni Gunnar Ásgeirsson
- Cognitive Psychology Unit, Leiden University, The Netherlands; University of Akureyri, Iceland.
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30
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Donoso Brown EV, Powell JM. Assessment of unilateral neglect in stroke: Simplification and structuring of test items. Br J Occup Ther 2017; 80:448-452. [PMID: 34413568 DOI: 10.1177/0308022616685582] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
Statement of context Unilateral neglect is a complex impairment that is common after stroke and limits occupational performance. Sensitive assessment of unilateral neglect is critical for planning treatment and ensuring safe community discharge. Critical reflection on practice This reflection describes unexpected findings in the assessment of neglect with two individuals in the acute phase of recovery post stroke. When trialing a new activity based test battery, we observed few neglect behaviors during test tasks despite observation of multiple neglect behaviors outside of the testing situation. Upon reflection, we better understood how simplification and structuring of test items and environments could impact the observation and assessment of neglect behaviors. Implications for practice This practice analysis further supports the use of multiple assessments when evaluating unilateral neglect and specifically encourages the inclusion of assessment methods that maintain the complexity of everyday tasks and environments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elena V Donoso Brown
- Duquesne University, Rangos School of Health Sciences, Department of Occupational Therapy
| | - Janet M Powell
- University of Washington, School of Medicine, Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Division of Occupational Therapy
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31
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Wiegand I, Petersen A, Bundesen C, Habekost T. Phasic alerting increases visual attention capacity in younger but not in older individuals. VISUAL COGNITION 2017. [DOI: 10.1080/13506285.2017.1330791] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/29/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Iris Wiegand
- Center for Visual Cognition, Department of Psychology, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
- Max-Planck UCL Centre for Computational Psychiatry and Ageing Research, Berlin, Germany
- Center for Lifespan Development, Max-Planck Institute for Human Development, Berlin, Germany
| | - Anders Petersen
- Center for Visual Cognition, Department of Psychology, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Claus Bundesen
- Center for Visual Cognition, Department of Psychology, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Thomas Habekost
- Center for Visual Cognition, Department of Psychology, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
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32
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Wiegand I, Petersen A, Finke K, Bundesen C, Lansner J, Habekost T. Behavioral and Brain Measures of Phasic Alerting Effects on Visual Attention. Front Hum Neurosci 2017; 11:176. [PMID: 28443009 PMCID: PMC5385325 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2017.00176] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/26/2017] [Accepted: 03/24/2017] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
In the present study, we investigated effects of phasic alerting on visual attention in a partial report task, in which half of the displays were preceded by an auditory warning cue. Based on the computational Theory of Visual Attention (TVA), we estimated parameters of spatial and non-spatial aspects of visual attention and measured event-related lateralizations (ERLs) over visual processing areas. We found that the TVA parameter sensory effectiveness a, which is thought to reflect visual processing capacity, significantly increased with phasic alerting. By contrast, the distribution of visual processing resources according to task relevance and spatial position, as quantified in parameters top-down control α and spatial bias windex, was not modulated by phasic alerting. On the electrophysiological level, the latencies of ERLs in response to the task displays were reduced following the warning cue. These results suggest that phasic alerting facilitates visual processing in a general, unselective manner and that this effect originates in early stages of visual information processing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Iris Wiegand
- Center for Visual Cognition, Department of Psychology, University of CopenhagenCopenhagen, Denmark.,Center for Lifespan Development, Max-Planck Institute for Human DevelopmentBerlin, Germany.,Max-Planck UCL Centre for Computational Psychiatry and Ageing ResearchBerlin, Germany
| | - Anders Petersen
- Center for Visual Cognition, Department of Psychology, University of CopenhagenCopenhagen, Denmark
| | - Kathrin Finke
- General and Experimental Psychology, Department of Psychology, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität (LMU) MunichMunich, Germany.,Hans-Berger Department of Neurology, Jena University HospitalJena, Germany
| | - Claus Bundesen
- Center for Visual Cognition, Department of Psychology, University of CopenhagenCopenhagen, Denmark
| | - Jon Lansner
- Center for Visual Cognition, Department of Psychology, University of CopenhagenCopenhagen, Denmark
| | - Thomas Habekost
- Center for Visual Cognition, Department of Psychology, University of CopenhagenCopenhagen, Denmark
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33
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Fitzpatrick CM, Caballero-Puntiverio M, Gether U, Habekost T, Bundesen C, Vangkilde S, Woldbye DPD, Andreasen JT, Petersen A. Theory of Visual Attention (TVA) applied to mice in the 5-choice serial reaction time task. Psychopharmacology (Berl) 2017; 234:845-855. [PMID: 28070619 DOI: 10.1007/s00213-016-4520-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/27/2016] [Accepted: 12/21/2016] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
RATIONALE The 5-choice serial reaction time task (5-CSRTT) is widely used to measure rodent attentional functions. In humans, many attention studies in healthy and clinical populations have used testing based on Bundesen's Theory of Visual Attention (TVA) to estimate visual processing speeds and other parameters of attentional capacity. OBJECTIVES We aimed to bridge these research fields by modifying the 5-CSRTT's design and by mathematically modelling data to derive attentional parameters analogous to human TVA-based measures. METHODS C57BL/6 mice were tested in two 1-h sessions on consecutive days with a version of the 5-CSRTT where stimulus duration (SD) probe length was varied based on information from previous TVA studies. Thereafter, a scopolamine hydrobromide (HBr; 0.125 or 0.25 mg/kg) pharmacological challenge was undertaken, using a Latin square design. Mean score values were modelled using a new three-parameter version of TVA to obtain estimates of visual processing speeds, visual thresholds and motor response baselines in each mouse. RESULTS The parameter estimates for each animal were reliable across sessions, showing that the data were stable enough to support analysis on an individual level. Scopolamine HBr dose-dependently reduced 5-CSRTT attentional performance while also increasing reward collection latency at the highest dose. Upon TVA modelling, scopolamine HBr significantly reduced visual processing speed at both doses, while having less pronounced effects on visual thresholds and motor response baselines. CONCLUSIONS This study shows for the first time how 5-CSRTT performance in mice can be mathematically modelled to yield estimates of attentional capacity that are directly comparable to estimates from human studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- C M Fitzpatrick
- Department of Drug Design and Pharmacology, University of Copenhagen, Universitetsparken 2, 2100, Copenhagen, Denmark.
| | - M Caballero-Puntiverio
- Department of Drug Design and Pharmacology, University of Copenhagen, Universitetsparken 2, 2100, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - U Gether
- Molecular Neuropharmacology and Genetics Laboratory, Department of Neuroscience and Pharmacology, University of Copenhagen, Blegdamsvej 3, 2200, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - T Habekost
- Center for Visual Cognition, Department of Psychology, University of Copenhagen, Øster Farimagsgade 2A, 1353, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - C Bundesen
- Center for Visual Cognition, Department of Psychology, University of Copenhagen, Øster Farimagsgade 2A, 1353, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - S Vangkilde
- Center for Visual Cognition, Department of Psychology, University of Copenhagen, Øster Farimagsgade 2A, 1353, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - D P D Woldbye
- Laboratory of Neural Plasticity, Department of Neuroscience and Pharmacology, University of Copenhagen, 3 Blegdamsvej, 2200, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - J T Andreasen
- Department of Drug Design and Pharmacology, University of Copenhagen, Universitetsparken 2, 2100, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - A Petersen
- Center for Visual Cognition, Department of Psychology, University of Copenhagen, Øster Farimagsgade 2A, 1353, Copenhagen, Denmark
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Agosta S, Magnago D, Tyler S, Grossman E, Galante E, Ferraro F, Mazzini N, Miceli G, Battelli L. The Pivotal Role of the Right Parietal Lobe in Temporal Attention. J Cogn Neurosci 2016; 29:805-815. [PMID: 27991181 DOI: 10.1162/jocn_a_01086] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/04/2022]
Abstract
The visual system is extremely efficient at detecting events across time even at very fast presentation rates; however, discriminating the identity of those events is much slower and requires attention over time, a mechanism with a much coarser resolution [Cavanagh, P., Battelli, L., & Holcombe, A. O. Dynamic attention. In A. C. Nobre & S. Kastner (Eds.), The Oxford handbook of attention (pp. 652-675). Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2013]. Patients affected by right parietal lesion, including the TPJ, are severely impaired in discriminating events across time in both visual fields [Battelli, L., Cavanagh, P., & Thornton, I. M. Perception of biological motion in parietal patients. Neuropsychologia, 41, 1808-1816, 2003]. One way to test this ability is to use a simultaneity judgment task, whereby participants are asked to indicate whether two events occurred simultaneously or not. We psychophysically varied the frequency rate of four flickering disks, and on most of the trials, one disk (either in the left or right visual field) was flickering out-of-phase relative to the others. We asked participants to report whether two left-or-right-presented disks were simultaneous or not. We tested a total of 23 right and left parietal lesion patients in Experiment 1, and only right parietal patients showed impairment in both visual fields while their low-level visual functions were normal. Importantly, to causally link the right TPJ to the relative timing processing, we ran a TMS experiment on healthy participants. Participants underwent three stimulation sessions and performed the same simultaneity judgment task before and after 20 min of low-frequency inhibitory TMS over right TPJ, left TPJ, or early visual area as a control. rTMS over the right TPJ caused a bilateral impairment in the simultaneity judgment task, whereas rTMS over left TPJ or over early visual area did not affect performance. Altogether, our results directly link the right TPJ to the processing of relative time.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sara Agosta
- Instituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Rovereto, Italy
| | | | - Sarah Tyler
- Instituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Rovereto, Italy.,University of California, Irvine
| | | | | | | | - Nunzia Mazzini
- Ospedale Riabilitativo Villa Rosa, Pergine Valsugana, Trento, Italy
| | | | - Lorella Battelli
- Instituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Rovereto, Italy.,Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA
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Foerster RM, Poth CH, Behler C, Botsch M, Schneider WX. Using the virtual reality device Oculus Rift for neuropsychological assessment of visual processing capabilities. Sci Rep 2016; 6:37016. [PMID: 27869220 PMCID: PMC5116630 DOI: 10.1038/srep37016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/19/2016] [Accepted: 10/24/2016] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Neuropsychological assessment of human visual processing capabilities strongly depends on visual testing conditions including room lighting, stimuli, and viewing-distance. This limits standardization, threatens reliability, and prevents the assessment of core visual functions such as visual processing speed. Increasingly available virtual reality devices allow to address these problems. One such device is the portable, light-weight, and easy-to-use Oculus Rift. It is head-mounted and covers the entire visual field, thereby shielding and standardizing the visual stimulation. A fundamental prerequisite to use Oculus Rift for neuropsychological assessment is sufficient test-retest reliability. Here, we compare the test-retest reliabilities of Bundesen’s visual processing components (visual processing speed, threshold of conscious perception, capacity of visual working memory) as measured with Oculus Rift and a standard CRT computer screen. Our results show that Oculus Rift allows to measure the processing components as reliably as the standard CRT. This means that Oculus Rift is applicable for standardized and reliable assessment and diagnosis of elementary cognitive functions in laboratory and clinical settings. Oculus Rift thus provides the opportunity to compare visual processing components between individuals and institutions and to establish statistical norm distributions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rebecca M Foerster
- Neuro-cognitive Psychology, Bielefeld University, P. O. Box 100131, D-33501 Bielefeld, Germany.,Cluster of Excellence Cognitive Interaction Technology, Bielefeld University, P. O. Box 100131, D-33501 Bielefeld, Germany
| | - Christian H Poth
- Neuro-cognitive Psychology, Bielefeld University, P. O. Box 100131, D-33501 Bielefeld, Germany.,Cluster of Excellence Cognitive Interaction Technology, Bielefeld University, P. O. Box 100131, D-33501 Bielefeld, Germany
| | - Christian Behler
- Cluster of Excellence Cognitive Interaction Technology, Bielefeld University, P. O. Box 100131, D-33501 Bielefeld, Germany.,Computer Graphics and Geometry Processing, Bielefeld University,P. O. Box 100131, D-33501 Bielefeld, Germany
| | - Mario Botsch
- Cluster of Excellence Cognitive Interaction Technology, Bielefeld University, P. O. Box 100131, D-33501 Bielefeld, Germany.,Computer Graphics and Geometry Processing, Bielefeld University,P. O. Box 100131, D-33501 Bielefeld, Germany
| | - Werner X Schneider
- Neuro-cognitive Psychology, Bielefeld University, P. O. Box 100131, D-33501 Bielefeld, Germany.,Cluster of Excellence Cognitive Interaction Technology, Bielefeld University, P. O. Box 100131, D-33501 Bielefeld, Germany
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Vellage AK, Becke A, Strumpf H, Baier B, Schönfeld MA, Hopf JM, Müller NG. Filtering and storage working memory networks in younger and older age. Brain Behav 2016; 6:e00544. [PMID: 27843697 PMCID: PMC5102642 DOI: 10.1002/brb3.544] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/29/2016] [Revised: 06/29/2016] [Accepted: 07/02/2016] [Indexed: 01/18/2023] Open
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Working memory (WM) is a multi-component model that among others involves the two processes of filtering and storage. The first reflects the necessity to inhibit irrelevant information from entering memory, whereas the latter refers to the active maintenance of object representations in memory. In this study, we aimed at a) redefining the neuronal networks sustaining filtering and storage within visual working memory by avoiding shortcomings of prior studies, and b) assessing age-related changes in these networks. METHODS We designed a new paradigm that strictly controlled for perceptual load by presenting the same number of stimuli in each of three conditions. We calculated fMRI contrasts between a baseline condition (low filter and low storage load) and conditions that posed high demands on filtering and storage, respectively, in large samples of younger (n = 40) and elder (n = 38) participants. RESULTS Our approach of comparing contrasts between groups revealed more extensive filter and storage WM networks than previous studies. In the younger group, filtering involved the bilateral insulae, the right occipital cortex, the right brainstem, and the right cerebellum. In the elder group, filtering was associated with the bilateral insulae, right precuneus, and bilateral ventromedial prefrontal cortex. An extensive neuronal network was also found during storage of information in the bilateral posterior parietal cortex, the left ventromedial prefrontal cortex, and the right precuneus in the younger participants. In addition to these brain regions, elder participants recruited the bilateral ventral prefrontal cortex, the superior, middle and inferior and temporal cortex, the left cingulum and the bilateral parahippocampal cortex. CONCLUSIONS In general, elder participants recruited more brain regions in comparison to younger participants to reach similar accuracy levels. Furthermore, in elder participants one brain region emerged in both contrasts, namely the left ventromedial prefrontal cortex. Hence, elder participants seem to routinely recruit this brain region in demanding tasks, irrespective of whether filtering or storing is challenged.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anne-Katrin Vellage
- Neuroprotection Group German Centre of Neurodegenerative Diseases Magdeburg Germany
| | - Andreas Becke
- Neuroprotection Group German Centre of Neurodegenerative Diseases Magdeburg Germany; Institute of Cognitive Neurology and Dementia Research Magdeburg Germany
| | | | - Bernhard Baier
- Department of Neurology Edith-Stein Clinic Bad Bergzabern Germany
| | - Mircea Ariel Schönfeld
- Leibniz Institute for Neurobiology Magdeburg Germany; Department of Neurology Otto von Guericke University Magdeburg Germany; Center of Behavioral Brain Sciences (CBBS) Magdeburg Germany
| | - Jens-Max Hopf
- Leibniz Institute for Neurobiology Magdeburg Germany; Department of Neurology Otto von Guericke University Magdeburg Germany; Center of Behavioral Brain Sciences (CBBS) Magdeburg Germany
| | - Notger G Müller
- Neuroprotection Group German Centre of Neurodegenerative Diseases Magdeburg Germany; Department of Neurology Otto von Guericke University Magdeburg Germany; Center of Behavioral Brain Sciences (CBBS) Magdeburg Germany
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Gögler N, Finke K, Keller I, Müller HJ, Conci M. Object integration requires attention: Visual search for Kanizsa figures in parietal extinction. Neuropsychologia 2016; 92:42-50. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2016.06.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/12/2015] [Revised: 06/03/2016] [Accepted: 06/07/2016] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
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What you get from what you see: Parametric assessment of visual processing capacity in multiple sclerosis and its relation to cognitive fatigue. Cortex 2016; 83:167-80. [PMID: 27552137 DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2016.07.018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/23/2016] [Revised: 06/18/2016] [Accepted: 07/18/2016] [Indexed: 12/26/2022]
Abstract
Multiple sclerosis (MS(1)) is a diffusely disseminated inflammatory disease affecting widespread cerebral networks. Major cognitive impairments are a reduction of processing capacity and mental fatigue, i.e., an "abnormal sense of tiredness or lack of energy". Here, the present study provides the first assessment of the distinct components of visual processing capacity based on a 'theory of visual attention' (TVA(2)) in MS patients and relates it to measures of subjective as well as (more) objective fatigue. The performance of 36 relapsing-remitting MS patients in a whole report task of brief letter arrays was compared to healthy control subjects matched for gender, age and education. Additionally, the sustained attention test PASAT-3(3) served as a measure of objective fatigue, and the self-report questionnaire MFIS(4) as a measure of subjective fatigue. Results indicate generally diminished processing speed as well as iconic memory buffers, and increased perceptual thresholds in MS patients compared to healthy controls. Block-wise analysis of attentional parameters shows that the processing speed performance of MS patients declines in the second half of the TVA-based test compared to healthy controls and in particular for patients with high versus low objective fatigue. These findings describe which aspects of processing capacity are impaired in MS, and show that fatigue mainly affects speed of processing. Thus, TVA-based assessment provides a novel approach in the determination of cognitive impairments and fatigue in MS. However, further research is required to elucidate the complex relations of processing capacity and cognitive functions in MS.
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Vossel S, Fink GR. Contralesional distractors enhance ipsilesional target processing after right-hemispheric stroke. Cortex 2016; 78:115-124. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2016.02.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/11/2015] [Revised: 01/04/2016] [Accepted: 02/10/2016] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
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40
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Wiegand I, Hennig-Fast K, Kilian B, Müller HJ, Töllner T, Möller HJ, Engel RR, Finke K. EEG correlates of visual short-term memory as neuro-cognitive endophenotypes of ADHD. Neuropsychologia 2016; 85:91-9. [PMID: 26972967 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2016.03.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/03/2015] [Revised: 03/09/2016] [Accepted: 03/10/2016] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
Abstract
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) frequently persists into adulthood. A reduction in visual short-term memory (vSTM) storage capacity was recently suggested as a potential neuro-cognitive endophenotype, i.e., a testable marker of an individual's liability for developing ADHD. This study aimed at identifying markers of the brain abnormalities underlying vSTM reductions in adult ADHD. We combined behavioral parameter-based assessment with electrophysiology in groups of adult ADHD patients and healthy age-matched controls. Amplitudes of ERP markers of vSTM storage capacity, the contralateral delay activity (CDA) and the P3b, were analyzed according to (i) differences between individuals with higher vs. lower storage capacity K and (ii) differences between ADHD patients and control participants. We replicated the finding of reduced storage capacity in adult ADHD. Across groups, individuals with higher relative to lower storage capacity showed a larger CDA and P3b. We further found differences between the patient and control groups in the ERPs: The CDA amplitude was attenuated in an early time window for ADHD patients compared to control participants, and was negatively correlated with ADHD patients' symptom severity ratings. Furthermore, the P3b was larger in ADHD patients relative to control participants. These electrophysiological findings indicate altered brain mechanisms underlying visual storage capacity in ADHD, which are characterized by deficient encoding and maintenance, and increased recruitment of control processes. Accordingly, (quantifiable) ERP markers of vSTM in adult ADHD bear candidacy as neuro-cognitive endophenotypes of the disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Iris Wiegand
- Department of Psychology, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, 80802 Munich, Germany; Department of Psychology, University of Copenhagen, 1353 Copenhagen, Denmark; Graduate School of Systemic Neurosciences, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, 82152 Planegg-Martinsried, Germany
| | - Kristina Hennig-Fast
- Department of Psychiatry, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, 80335 Munich, Germany; Faculty of Psychology, University of Vienna, 1010 Vienna, Austria; Clinic of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy Bethel, Bielefeld Evangelical Hospital, Bielefeld, Germany
| | - Beate Kilian
- Department of Psychiatry, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, 80335 Munich, Germany
| | - Hermann J Müller
- Department of Psychology, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, 80802 Munich, Germany; School of Psychological Sciences, Birkbeck College, University of London, WC1E 7HX, United Kingdom
| | - Thomas Töllner
- Department of Psychology, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, 80802 Munich, Germany; Graduate School of Systemic Neurosciences, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, 82152 Planegg-Martinsried, Germany
| | - Hans-Jürgen Möller
- Department of Psychiatry, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, 80335 Munich, Germany
| | - Rolf R Engel
- Department of Psychiatry, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, 80335 Munich, Germany
| | - Kathrin Finke
- Department of Psychology, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, 80802 Munich, Germany.
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Individual attentional selection capacities are reflected in interhemispheric connectivity of the parietal cortex. Neuroimage 2016; 129:148-158. [PMID: 26827815 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2016.01.054] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/19/2015] [Revised: 01/21/2016] [Accepted: 01/23/2016] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Modelling psychophysical data using the Theory of Visual Attention (TVA) allows for a quantification of attentional sub-processes, such as the resolution of competition amongst multiple stimuli by top-down control signals for target selection (TVA-parameter α). This fMRI study investigated the neural correlates of α by comparing activity differences and changes of effective connectivity between conditions where a target was accompanied by a distractor or by a second target. Twenty-five participants performed a partial report task inside the MRI scanner. The left angular gyrus (ANG), medial frontal, and posterior cingulate cortex showed higher activity when a target was accompanied by a distractor as opposed to a second target. The reverse contrast yielded activation of a bilateral fronto-parietal network, the anterior insula, anterior cingulate cortex, and left inferior occipital gyrus. A psychophysiological interaction analysis revealed that the connectivity between left ANG and the left and right supramarginal gyrus (SMG), left anterior insula, and right putamen was enhanced in the target-distractor condition in participants with worse attentional top-down control. Dynamic causal modelling suggested that the connection from left ANG to right SMG during distractor presence was modulated by α. Our data show that interindividual differences in attentional processing are reflected in changes of effective connectivity without significant differences in activation strength of network nodes.
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Bundesen C, Vangkilde S, Petersen A. Recent developments in a computational theory of visual attention (TVA). Vision Res 2015; 116:210-8. [DOI: 10.1016/j.visres.2014.11.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 45] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/24/2014] [Revised: 11/10/2014] [Accepted: 11/12/2014] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
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McAvinue LP, Vangkilde S, Johnson KA, Habekost T, Kyllingsbæk S, Bundesen C, Robertson IH. A Componential Analysis of Visual Attention in Children With ADHD. J Atten Disord 2015. [PMID: 23190613 DOI: 10.1177/1087054712461935] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Inattentive behaviour is a defining characteristic of ADHD. Researchers have wondered about the nature of the attentional deficit underlying these symptoms. The primary purpose of the current study was to examine this attentional deficit using a novel paradigm based upon the Theory of Visual Attention (TVA). METHOD The TVA paradigm enabled a componential analysis of visual attention through the use of a mathematical model to estimate parameters relating to attentional selectivity and capacity. Children's ability to sustain attention was also assessed using the Sustained Attention to Response Task. The sample included a comparison between 25 children with ADHD and 25 control children aged 9-13. RESULTS Children with ADHD had significantly impaired sustained attention and visual processing speed but intact attentional selectivity, perceptual threshold and visual short-term memory capacity. CONCLUSION The results of this study lend support to the notion of differential impairment of attentional functions in children with ADHD.
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Repetition priming in selective attention: A TVA analysis. Acta Psychol (Amst) 2015; 160:35-42. [PMID: 26163225 DOI: 10.1016/j.actpsy.2015.06.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/22/2015] [Revised: 05/29/2015] [Accepted: 06/29/2015] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Current behavior is influenced by events in the recent past. In visual attention, this is expressed in many variations of priming effects. Here, we investigate color priming in a brief exposure digit-recognition task. Observers performed a masked odd-one-out singleton recognition task where the target-color either repeated or changed between subsequent trials. Performance was measured by recognition accuracy over exposure durations. The purpose of the study was to replicate earlier findings of perceptual priming in brief displays and to model those results based on a Theory of Visual Attention (TVA; Bundesen, 1990). We tested 4 different definitions of a generic TVA-model and assessed their explanatory power. Our hypothesis was that priming effects could be explained by selective mechanisms, and that target-color repetitions would only affect the selectivity parameter (α) of our models. Repeating target colors enhanced performance for all 12 observers. As predicted, this was only true under conditions that required selection of a target among distractors, but not when a target was presented alone. Model fits by TVA were obtained with a trial-by-trial maximum likelihood estimation procedure that estimated 4-15 free parameters, depending on the particular model. We draw two main conclusions. Color priming can be modeled simply as a change in selectivity between conditions of repetition or swap of target color. Depending on the desired resolution of analysis; priming can accurately be modeled by a simple four parameter model, where VSTM capacity and spatial biases of attention are ignored, or more fine-grained by a 10 parameter model that takes these aspects into account.
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45
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Attention Control and Attention to Emotional Stimuli in Anxious Children Before and After Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. COGNITIVE THERAPY AND RESEARCH 2015. [DOI: 10.1007/s10608-015-9708-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
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46
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de Haan B, Stoll T, Karnath HO. Early sensory processing in right hemispheric stroke patients with and without extinction. Neuropsychologia 2015; 73:141-50. [PMID: 26002755 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2015.05.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/01/2014] [Revised: 04/13/2015] [Accepted: 05/02/2015] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
While extinction is most commonly viewed as an attentional disorder and not as a consequence of a failure to process contralesional sensory information, it has been speculated that early sensory processing of contralesional targets in extinction patients might not be fully normal. We used a masked visuo-motor response priming paradigm to study the influence of both contralesional and ipsilesional peripheral subliminal prime stimuli on central target performance, allowing us to compare the strength of the early sensory processing associated with these prime stimuli between right brain damaged patients with and without extinction as well as healthy elderly subjects. We found that the effect of an informative subliminal prime in the left contralesional visual field on central target performance was significantly reduced in both right brain damaged patients with and without extinction. The results suggest that a low-level early sensory deterioration of the neural representation for contralesional prime stimuli is a general consequence of right hemispheric brain damage unrelated to the presence or absence of extinction. This suggests that the presence of a spatial bias against contralesional information is not sufficient to elicit extinction. For extinction to occur, this spatial bias might need to be accompanied by a pathological (non-directional) reduction of attentional capacity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bianca de Haan
- Center of Neurology, Division of Neuropsychology, Hertie-Institute for Clinical Brain Research, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany.
| | - Tine Stoll
- Center of Neurology, Division of Neuropsychology, Hertie-Institute for Clinical Brain Research, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Hans-Otto Karnath
- Center of Neurology, Division of Neuropsychology, Hertie-Institute for Clinical Brain Research, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany; Department of Psychology, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, USA
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47
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Dyrholm M, Vangkilde S, Bundesen C. Beyond trial types. PSYCHOLOGICAL RESEARCH 2015; 79:425-31. [PMID: 24793447 PMCID: PMC4366569 DOI: 10.1007/s00426-014-0570-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/22/2013] [Accepted: 04/17/2014] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
Conventional wisdom on psychological experiments has held that when one or more independent variables are manipulated it is essential that all other conditions are kept constant such that confounding factors can be assumed negligible (Woodworth, 1938). In practice, the latter assumption is often questionable because it is generally difficult to guarantee that all other conditions are constant between any two trials. Therefore, the most common way to check for confounding violations of this assumption is to split the experimental conditions in terms of "trial types" to simulate a reduction of unintended trial-by-trial variation. Here, we pose a method which is more general than the use of trial types: use of mathematical models treating measures of potentially confounding factors and manipulated variables as equals on the single-trial level. We show how the method can be applied with models that subsume under the generalized linear item response theory (GLIRT), which is the case for most of the well-known psychometric models (Mellenbergh, 1994). As an example, we provide a new analysis of a single-letter recognition experiment using a nested likelihood ratio test that treats manipulated and measured variables equally (i.e., in exactly the same way) on the single-trial level. The test detects a confounding interaction with time-on-task as a single-trial measure and yields a substantially better estimate of the effect size of the main manipulation compared with an analysis made in terms of trial types.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mads Dyrholm
- Center for Visual Cognition, University of Copenhagen, Øster Farimagsgade 2A, 1353, Copenhagen, Denmark,
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Schubert T, Finke K, Redel P, Kluckow S, Müller H, Strobach T. Video game experience and its influence on visual attention parameters: an investigation using the framework of the Theory of Visual Attention (TVA). Acta Psychol (Amst) 2015; 157:200-14. [PMID: 25834984 DOI: 10.1016/j.actpsy.2015.03.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/14/2014] [Revised: 03/06/2015] [Accepted: 03/10/2015] [Indexed: 10/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Experts with video game experience, in contrast to non-experienced persons, are superior in multiple domains of visual attention. However, it is an open question which basic aspects of attention underlie this superiority. We approached this question using the framework of Theory of Visual Attention (TVA) with tools that allowed us to assess various parameters that are related to different visual attention aspects (e.g., perception threshold, processing speed, visual short-term memory storage capacity, top-down control, spatial distribution of attention) and that are measurable on the same experimental basis. In Experiment 1, we found advantages of video game experts in perception threshold and visual processing speed; the latter being restricted to the lower positions of the used computer display. The observed advantages were not significantly moderated by general person-related characteristics such as personality traits, sensation seeking, intelligence, social anxiety, or health status. Experiment 2 tested a potential causal link between the expert advantages and video game practice with an intervention protocol. It found no effects of action video gaming on perception threshold, visual short-term memory storage capacity, iconic memory storage, top-down control, and spatial distribution of attention after 15 days of training. However, observations of a selected improvement of processing speed at the lower positions of the computer screen after video game training and of retest effects are suggestive for limited possibilities to improve basic aspects of visual attention (TVA) with practice.
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49
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Abstract
In combination with whole report and partial report tasks, the theory of visual attention (TVA) can be used to estimate individual differences in five basic attentional parameters: the visual processing speed, the storage capacity of visual short-term memory, the perceptual threshold, the efficiency of top-down selectivity, and the spatial bias of attentional weighting. TVA-based assessment has been used in about 30 studies to investigate attentional deficits in a range of neurological and psychiatric conditions: (a) neglect and simultanagnosia, (b) reading disturbances, (c) aging and neurodegenerative diseases, and most recently (d) neurodevelopmental disorders. The article introduces TVA based assessment, discusses its methodology and psychometric properties, and reviews the progress made in each of the four research fields. The empirical results demonstrate the general usefulness of TVA-based assessment for many types of clinical neuropsychological research. The method's most important qualities are cognitive specificity and theoretical grounding, but it is also characterized by good reliability and sensitivity to minor deficits. The review concludes by pointing to promising new areas for clinical TVA-based research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas Habekost
- Department of Psychology, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen Denmark
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50
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Primativo S, Arduino LS, Daini R, De Luca M, Toneatto C, Martelli M. Impaired oculo-motor behaviour affects both reading and scene perception in neglect patients. Neuropsychologia 2015; 70:90-106. [PMID: 25698638 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2015.02.020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/09/2014] [Revised: 02/11/2015] [Accepted: 02/16/2015] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
Abstract
Unilateral spatial neglect (USN) is a common neuropsychological disorder following a right-sided brain lesion. Although USN is mostly characterized by symptoms involving the left hemispace, other symptoms are not left lateralized. Recently, it was shown that patients with neglect dyslexia, a reading disturbance that affects about 40% of USN patients, manifest a non-lateralized impairment of eye movement behaviour in association with their reading deficit when they read aloud and perform non-verbal saccadic tasks (Primativo et al., 2013). In the present paper, we aimed to demonstrate that the eye movement impairment shown by some USN patients reflects a more general oculo-motor disorder that is not confined to orthographic material, the horizontal axis or constrained saccadic tasks. We conjectured that inaccurate oculo-motor behaviour in USN patients indicates the presence of a reading deficit. With this aim we evaluated 20 patients, i.e., 10 right-sided brain-damaged patients without neglect and 10 patients affected by USN. On the basis of the patients' eye movement patterns during a scene exploration task, we found that 4 out of the 10 USN patients presented an abnormal oculo-motor pattern. These same four patients (but not the others) also failed in performing 5 different saccadic tasks and produced neglect dyslexia reading errors in both single words and texts. First, we show that a large proportion of USN patients have inaccurate eye movement behaviour in non-reading tasks. Second, we demonstrate that this exploratory deficit is predictive of the reading impairment. Thus, we conclude that the eye movement deficit prevents reading and impairs the performance on many other perceptual tests, including scene exploration. The large percentage of patients with impaired eye-movement pattern suggests that particular attention should be paid to eye movement behaviour during the diagnostic phase in order to program the best rehabilitation strategy for each patient.
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Affiliation(s)
- Silvia Primativo
- Neuropsychology Unit, IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Rome, Italy; Department of Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy; Dementia Research Centre, UCL Institute of Neurology, University College London, National Hospital, Queen Square, Box 16, London WC1N 3BG, UK.
| | | | - Roberta Daini
- Department of Psychology, University of Milano-Bicocca, Milan, Italy
| | - Maria De Luca
- Neuropsychology Unit, IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Rome, Italy
| | - Carlo Toneatto
- Department of Psychology, University of Milano-Bicocca, Milan, Italy
| | - Marialuisa Martelli
- Neuropsychology Unit, IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Rome, Italy; Department of Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy.
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