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Battaglia S, Fabius JH, Moravkova K, Fracasso A, Borgomaneri S. The Neurobiological Correlates of Gaze Perception in Healthy Individuals and Neurologic Patients. Biomedicines 2022; 10:627. [PMID: 35327431 PMCID: PMC8945205 DOI: 10.3390/biomedicines10030627] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 20.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/01/2022] [Revised: 03/01/2022] [Accepted: 03/05/2022] [Indexed: 01/15/2023] Open
Abstract
The ability to adaptively follow conspecific eye movements is crucial for establishing shared attention and survival. Indeed, in humans, interacting with the gaze direction of others causes the reflexive orienting of attention and the faster object detection of the signaled spatial location. The behavioral evidence of this phenomenon is called gaze-cueing. Although this effect can be conceived as automatic and reflexive, gaze-cueing is often susceptible to context. In fact, gaze-cueing was shown to interact with other factors that characterize facial stimulus, such as the kind of cue that induces attention orienting (i.e., gaze or non-symbolic cues) or the emotional expression conveyed by the gaze cues. Here, we address neuroimaging evidence, investigating the neural bases of gaze-cueing and the perception of gaze direction and how contextual factors interact with the gaze shift of attention. Evidence from neuroimaging, as well as the fields of non-invasive brain stimulation and neurologic patients, highlights the involvement of the amygdala and the superior temporal lobe (especially the superior temporal sulcus (STS)) in gaze perception. However, in this review, we also emphasized the discrepancies of the attempts to characterize the distinct functional roles of the regions in the processing of gaze. Finally, we conclude by presenting the notion of invariant representation and underline its value as a conceptual framework for the future characterization of the perceptual processing of gaze within the STS.
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Affiliation(s)
- Simone Battaglia
- Centro Studi e Ricerche in Neuroscienze Cognitive, Dipartimento di Psicologia, Alma Mater Studiorum-Università di Bologna, 47521 Cesena, Italy
| | - Jasper H. Fabius
- Institute of Neuroscience and Psychology, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G128QB, UK; (J.H.F.); (K.M.); (A.F.)
| | - Katarina Moravkova
- Institute of Neuroscience and Psychology, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G128QB, UK; (J.H.F.); (K.M.); (A.F.)
| | - Alessio Fracasso
- Institute of Neuroscience and Psychology, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G128QB, UK; (J.H.F.); (K.M.); (A.F.)
| | - Sara Borgomaneri
- Centro Studi e Ricerche in Neuroscienze Cognitive, Dipartimento di Psicologia, Alma Mater Studiorum-Università di Bologna, 47521 Cesena, Italy
- IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, 00179 Rome, Italy
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Narison R, de Montalembert M, Bayliss A, Conty L. Measuring Gaze and Arrow Cuing Effects With a Short Test Adapted to Brain Damaged Patients With Unilateral Spatial Neglect: A Preliminary Study. Front Psychol 2021; 12:690197. [PMID: 34393915 PMCID: PMC8358108 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.690197] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/02/2021] [Accepted: 06/23/2021] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
People with left unilateral spatial neglect (USN) following a right brain lesion show difficulty in orienting their attention toward stimuli presented on the left. However, cuing the stimuli with gaze direction or a pointing arrow can help some of them to compensate for this difficulty. In order to build a tool that helps to identify these patients, we needed a short version of the paradigm classically used to test gaze and arow cuing effects in healthy adults, adapted to the capacities of patients with severe attention deficit. Here, we tested the robustness of the cuing effects measured by such a short version in 48 young adult healthy participants, 46 older healthy participants, 10 patients with left USN following a right brain lesion (USN+), and 10 patients with right brain lesions but no USN (USN–). We observed gaze and arrow cuing effects in all populations, independently of age and presence or absence of a right brain lesion. In the neglect field, the USN+ group showed event greater cuing effect than older healthy participants and the USN– group. We showed that gaze and arrow cuing effects are powerful enough to be detected in a very short test adapted to the capacities of older patients with severe attention deficits, which increases their applicability in rehabilitation settings. We further concluded that our test is a suitable basis to develop a tool that will help neuropsychologists to identify USN patients who respond to gaze and/or arrow cuing in their neglect field.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rindra Narison
- Laboratory of Cognitive Functioning and Dysfunctioning (DysCo), Univ. Paris Nanterre, Nanterre, France.,Rehabilitation Center of "Le Bourbonnais" and SAMSAH UGECAM BFC, Bourbon Lancy, France
| | - Marie de Montalembert
- Laboratory of Cognitive Functioning and Dysfunctioning (DysCo), Univ. Paris Nanterre, Nanterre, France
| | - Andrew Bayliss
- School of Psychology, University of East Anglia, Norwich Research Park, Norwich, United Kingdom
| | - Laurence Conty
- Laboratory of Cognitive Functioning and Dysfunctioning (DysCo), Univ. Paris Nanterre, Nanterre, France
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Abstract
Individuals with left unilateral spatial neglect (USN) following a right hemisphere lesion show difficulty in orienting their attention toward stimuli presented on the left. In normal cognition, others' gaze direction and a pointing arrow naturally guide visual attention. Here, we explore a method to identify patients who may benefit from these skills as a base for compensation during rehabilitation. We tested gaze and arrow cueing effects in 26 healthy participants and in 13 patients with USN. Our data show that brain injuries causing USN do not affect gaze and arrow cueing in a consistent manner from one patient to another.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rindra Narison
- Laboratory Cognitive functioning and dysfunctioning (DysCo), University Paris Nanterre, Nanterre, France.,Neurological rehabilitation unit, Rehabilitation Center of "Le Bourbonnais" UGECAM BFC, Bourbon Lancy, France
| | - Marie De Montalembert
- Laboratory Cognitive functioning and dysfunctioning (DysCo), University Paris Nanterre, Nanterre, France
| | - Laurence Conty
- Laboratory Cognitive functioning and dysfunctioning (DysCo), University Paris Nanterre, Nanterre, France
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López-Sanz D, Bruña R, de Frutos-Lucas J, Maestú F. Magnetoencephalography applied to the study of Alzheimer's disease. PROGRESS IN MOLECULAR BIOLOGY AND TRANSLATIONAL SCIENCE 2019; 165:25-61. [PMID: 31481165 DOI: 10.1016/bs.pmbts.2019.04.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Magnetoencephalography (MEG) is a relatively modern neuroimaging technique able to study normal and pathological brain functioning with temporal resolution in the order of milliseconds and adequate spatial resolution. Although its clinical applications are still relatively limited, great advances have been made in recent years in the field of dementia and Alzheimer's disease (AD) in particular. In this chapter, we briefly describe the physiological phenomena underlying MEG brain signals and the different metrics that can be computed from these data in order to study the alterations disrupting brain activity not only in demented patients, but also in the preclinical and prodromal stages of the disease. Changes in non-linear brain dynamics, power spectral properties, functional connectivity and network topological changes observed in AD are narratively summarized in the context of the pathophysiology of the disease. Furthermore, the potential of MEG as a potential biomarker to identify AD pathology before dementia onset is discussed in the light of current knowledge and the relationship between potential MEG biomarkers and current established hallmarks of the disease is also reviewed. To this aim, findings from different approaches such as resting state or during the performance of different cognitive paradigms are discussed.Lastly, there is an increasing interest in current scientific literature in promoting interventions aimed at modifying certain lifestyles, such as nutrition or physical activity among others, thought to reduce or delay AD risk. We discuss the utility of MEG as a potential marker of the success of such interventions from the available literature.
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Affiliation(s)
- David López-Sanz
- Laboratory of Cognitive and Computational Neuroscience (UCM-UPM), Centre for Biomedical Technology (CTB), Technical University of Madrid (UPM), Madrid, Spain; Department of Experimental Psychology, Complutense University of Madrid (UCM), Madrid, Spain
| | - Ricardo Bruña
- Laboratory of Cognitive and Computational Neuroscience (UCM-UPM), Centre for Biomedical Technology (CTB), Technical University of Madrid (UPM), Madrid, Spain; Department of Experimental Psychology, Complutense University of Madrid (UCM), Madrid, Spain; Biomedical Research Networking Center in Bioengineering, Biomaterials and Nanomedicine (CIBER-BBN), Zaragoza, Spain
| | - Jaisalmer de Frutos-Lucas
- Laboratory of Cognitive and Computational Neuroscience (UCM-UPM), Centre for Biomedical Technology (CTB), Technical University of Madrid (UPM), Madrid, Spain; Biological and Health Psychology Department, Universidad Autonoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain; School of Medical and Health Sciences, Edith Cowan University, Joondalup, WA, Australia
| | - Fernando Maestú
- Laboratory of Cognitive and Computational Neuroscience (UCM-UPM), Centre for Biomedical Technology (CTB), Technical University of Madrid (UPM), Madrid, Spain; Department of Experimental Psychology, Complutense University of Madrid (UCM), Madrid, Spain; Biomedical Research Networking Center in Bioengineering, Biomaterials and Nanomedicine (CIBER-BBN), Zaragoza, Spain.
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Are eyes special? Electrophysiological and behavioural evidence for a dissociation between eye-gaze and arrows attentional mechanisms. Neuropsychologia 2019; 129:146-152. [PMID: 30935837 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2019.03.017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/09/2019] [Revised: 03/12/2019] [Accepted: 03/25/2019] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
Abstract
It has been proposed that attention triggered by eye-gaze may represent a unique attentional process, different from that triggered by non-social stimuli such as arrows. To investigate this issue, in the present study we compared the temporal dynamics of the conflict processing triggered by eye-gaze and arrow stimuli. We investigated the electrophysiological activity during a task in which participants were required to identify the direction of laterally presented eye-gaze or arrow targets. Opposite behavioural effects were observed: while arrows produced the typical effect, with faster responses when they were congruent with their position, eye-gaze targets produced a reversed effect with faster responses when they were incongruent. Event-related potentials showed common and dissociable congruency modulation: whereas eye-gaze and arrows showed similar effects on earlier ERP components (P1 and N1), they led to opposite effects in later components such as N2 and P3. This represents the first electrophysiological demonstration of both early shared and later dissociable congruency effects for eye-gaze and arrow stimuli.
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Capozzi F, Ristic J. How attention gates social interactions. Ann N Y Acad Sci 2018; 1426:179-198. [PMID: 29799619 DOI: 10.1111/nyas.13854] [Citation(s) in RCA: 54] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/11/2018] [Revised: 03/30/2018] [Accepted: 04/24/2018] [Indexed: 01/25/2023]
Abstract
Social interactions are at the core of social life. However, humans selectively choose their exchange partners and do not engage in all available opportunities for social encounters. In this review, we argue that attentional systems play an important role in guiding the selection of social interactions. Supported by both classic and emerging literature, we identify and characterize the three core processes-perception, interpretation, and evaluation-that interact with attentional systems to modulate selective responses to social environments. Perceptual processes facilitate attentional prioritization of social cues. Interpretative processes link attention with understanding of cues' social meanings and agents' mental states. Evaluative processes determine the perceived value of the source of social information. The interplay between attention and these three routes of processing places attention in a powerful role to manage the selection of the vast amount of social information that individuals encounter on a daily basis and, in turn, gate the selection of social interactions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Francesca Capozzi
- Department of Psychology, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
| | - Jelena Ristic
- Department of Psychology, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
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Fan L, Yu H, Zhang X, Feng Q, Sun M, Xu M. Conflict Tasks of Different Types Divergently Affect the Attentional Processing of Gaze and Arrow. Iperception 2018; 9:2041669518771713. [PMID: 29770186 PMCID: PMC5946621 DOI: 10.1177/2041669518771713] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/27/2017] [Accepted: 03/26/2018] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
The present study explored the attentional processing mechanisms of gaze and arrow cues in two different types of conflict tasks. In Experiment 1, participants performed a flanker task in which gaze and arrow cues were presented as central targets or bilateral distractors. The congruency between the direction of the target and the distractors was manipulated. Results showed that arrow distractors greatly interfered with the attentional processing of gaze, while the processing of arrow direction was immune to conflict from gaze distractors. Using a spatial compatibility task, Experiment 2 explored the conflict effects exerted on gaze and arrow processing by their relative spatial locations. When the direction of the arrow was in conflict with its spatial layout on screen, response times were slowed; however, the encoding of gaze was unaffected by spatial location. In general, processing to an arrow cue is less influenced by bilateral gaze cues but is affected by irrelevant spatial information, while processing to a gaze cue is greatly disturbed by bilateral arrows but is unaffected by irrelevant spatial information. Different effects on gaze and arrow cues by different types of conflicts may reflect two relatively distinct specific modes of the attentional process.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lingxia Fan
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Applied Experimental Psychology, National Demonstration Center for Experimental Psychology Education, Faculty of Psychology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
| | - Huan Yu
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Applied Experimental Psychology, National Demonstration Center for Experimental Psychology Education, Faculty of Psychology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
| | - Xuemin Zhang
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Applied Experimental Psychology, National Demonstration Center for Experimental Psychology Education, Faculty of Psychology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China; State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning and IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China; Center for Collaboration and Innovation in Brain and Learning Sciences, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
| | - Qing Feng
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Applied Experimental Psychology, National Demonstration Center for Experimental Psychology Education, Faculty of Psychology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
| | - Mengdan Sun
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Applied Experimental Psychology, National Demonstration Center for Experimental Psychology Education, Faculty of Psychology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
| | - Mengsi Xu
- School of Psychology, Southwest University, Chongqing, China
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Zhao S, Uono S, Li C, Yoshimura S, Toichi M. The Influence of Self-Referential Processing on Attentional Orienting in Frontoparietal Networks. Front Hum Neurosci 2018; 12:199. [PMID: 29867422 PMCID: PMC5962753 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2018.00199] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/20/2017] [Accepted: 04/26/2018] [Indexed: 01/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Self-referential processing refers to the processing of information relevant to oneself and plays an important role in cognition. Behavioral studies have shown that directional cue stimuli have a qualitatively different function during attentional orienting after presentation of the cue associated with the self. However, it is necessary to determine how neural activity is influenced by self-referential processing during attentional orienting. The present study involved establishing an association between non-predictive arrow cues and the "self" during a training task and then investigating the influence of self-referential processing on neural activity during attentional orienting. Enhanced neural activity was observed in cortical midline structures (CMS) during the use of self- vs. neutral-arrow cues, which suggests that the arrow associated with the "self" triggered self-referential processing during attentional orienting due to the experiences of the participant in the training task. Comparison of obtained under the incongruent and congruent conditions revealed a qualitative difference in neural activities between the self- and neutral-arrow cues associated with attentional orienting. Furthermore, when the neutral-arrow cue was treated as a baseline condition, neural activity was reduced in the frontoparietal attention networks by self-referential processing under the incongruent condition, but it was enhanced under the congruent condition. Thus, the stimulus modulated subsequent attentional neural processes after being associated with the self as a cue, which indicates that this process may be triggered by self-reference to automatically and effectively capture information. Our findings extend those of previous behavioral studies of neural activity, suggesting that directional cues were qualitatively influenced by self-referential processing, and showed different functions during attentional orienting. Moreover, the present study provides important evidence of how self-referential processing affects attentional orienting in the frontoparietal network. Highlights -Enhanced activity was observed in CMS due to self-referential processing.-The influence of self-referential processing differed in the frontoparietal network.-Activity was enhanced by self-referential processing under the congruent condition.-Activity was reduced by self-referential processing under the incongruent condition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shuo Zhao
- Faculty of Human Health Science, Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan.,Organization for Promoting Neurodevelopmental Disorder Research, Kyoto, Japan
| | - Shota Uono
- Department of Neurodevelopmental Psychiatry, Habilitation and Rehabilitation, Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan
| | - Chunlin Li
- School of Biomedical Engineering, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China
| | - Sayaka Yoshimura
- Department of Neurodevelopmental Psychiatry, Habilitation and Rehabilitation, Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan
| | - Motomi Toichi
- Faculty of Human Health Science, Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan.,Organization for Promoting Neurodevelopmental Disorder Research, Kyoto, Japan
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