Evaluation of a 10-minute version of the Attention Network Test

Interpersonal and individual effects of an app-based Christian and Islamic heart meditation intervention in healthy adults: protocol of a stratified randomised controlled trial

BACKGROUND

The academic development and widespread adoption of meditation practices for well-being and therapy have predominantly focused on secularised adaptations of Buddhist and Hindu techniques. This study aims to expand the field by investigating Christian and Islamic meditation that emphasize the spiritual significance of the heart through elements of visualisation and recitation. It compares the effects of spiritual heart-centred meditation with mindfulness meditation and a waitlist control, focusing on dimensions of social functioning, psychophysiology, cognition, and mental health.

METHOD

This study employs a stratified 3-arm randomised controlled method with mixed-method repeated measures across three assessment time points: before intervention (T1), after an 8-week intervention (T2), and at a 3-month follow up (T3). The three conditions include spiritual meditation (either Christian or Islamic), mindfulness meditation (Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction - MBSR), and a waitlist. Participants will be stratified into Christian and Muslim samples and randomly allocated to the spiritual meditation, MBSR, or waitlist control conditions. Importantly, participants assigned to the spiritual meditation condition will be matched to the spiritual meditation program corresponding to their religion. The intervention will be administered through a mobile phone app with daily 20-minute guided meditation sessions for eight weeks. Primary outcomes pertain to the domain of interpersonal functioning, focusing on prosociality, forgiveness, empathy, and perspective taking. Secondary outcomes include physiology: pain tolerance, pain intensity, stress reactivity assessed via heart rate (HR) and heart rate variability (HRV), psychophysiological reactivity associated with a forgiveness task as measured through HR and HRV, attention (alerting, orienting, and executive attention networks), and mental health (stress, depression, anxiety, subjective well-being, positive and negative affect).

DISCUSSION

This trial aims to test the effects of an app-based Christian and Islamic meditation, compared to secular mindfulness and a waitlist, using a randomised controlled trial. If the results yield positive outcomes, this study will support the efficacy of these contemplations, offering practitioners a way to enhance their well-being within their religious framework.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT06136676. Registered on 18 November 2023. https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT06136676 .

Inverted U-shape-like functional connectivity alterations in cognitive resting-state networks depending on exercise intensity: An fMRI study

Acute physical activity influences cognitive performance. However, the relationship between exercise intensity, neural network activity, and cognitive performance remains poorly understood. This study examined the effects of different exercise intensities on resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC) and cognitive performance. Twenty male athletes (27.3 ± 3.6 years) underwent cycling exercises of different intensities (high, low, rest/control) on different days in randomized order. Before and after, subjects performed resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging and a behavioral Attention Network Test (ANT). Independent component analysis and Linear mixed effects models examined rsFC changes within ten resting-state networks. No significant changes were identified in ANT performance. Resting-state analyses revealed a significant interaction in the Left Frontoparietal Network, driven by a non-significant rsFC increase after low-intensity and a significant rsFC decrease after high-intensity exercise, suggestive of an inverted U-shape relationship between exercise intensity and rsFC. Similar but trend-level rsFC interactions were observed in the Dorsal Attention Network (DAN) and the Cerebellar Basal Ganglia Network. Explorative correlation analysis revealed a significant positive association between rsFC increases in the right superior parietal lobule (part of DAN) and better ANT orienting in the low-intensity condition. Results indicate exercise intensity-dependent subacute rsFC changes in cognition-related networks, but their cognitive-behavioral relevance needs further investigation.

Differential modulation of resting-state functional connectivity between amygdala and precuneus after acute physical exertion of varying intensity: indications for a role in affective regulation

Introduction

Physical activity influences psychological well-being. This study aimed to determine the impact of exercise intensity on psychological well-being and alterations in emotion-related brain functional connectivity (FC).

Methods

Twenty young, healthy, trained athletes performed a low- and high-intensity interval exercise (LIIE and HIIE) as well as a control condition in a within-subject crossover design. Before and after each condition, Positive And Negative Affect Scale (PANAS) was assessed as well as resting-state functional MRI (rs-fMRI). Voxel-wise FC was examined for bilateral amygdala seed region to whole-brain and emotion-related anatomical regions (e.g., insula, temporal pole, precuneus). Data analyses were performed using linear mixed-effect models with fixed factors condition and time.

Results

The PANAS Positive Affect scale showed a significant increase after LIIE and HIIE and a significant reduction in Negative Affect after the control condition. In rs-fMRI, no significant condition-by-time interactions were observed between the amygdala and whole brain. Amygdala-precuneus FC analysis showed an interaction effect, suggesting reduced post-exercise anticorrelation after the control condition, but stable, or even slightly enhanced anticorrelation for the exercise conditions, especially HIIE.

Discussion

In conclusion, both LIIE and HIIE had positive effects on mood and concomitant effects on amygdala-precuneus FC, particularly after HIIE. Although no significant correlations were found between amygdala-precuneus FC and PANAS, results should be discussed in the context of affective disorders in whom abnormal amygdala-precuneus FC has been observed.

The impact of mindfulness apps on psychological processes of change: a systematic review

Mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) have demonstrated therapeutic efficacy for various psychological conditions, and smartphone apps that facilitate mindfulness practice can enhance the reach and impact of MBIs. The goal of this review was to summarize the published evidence on the impact of mindfulness apps on the psychological processes known to mediate transdiagnostic symptom reduction after mindfulness practice. A literature search from January 1, 1993, to August 7, 2023 was conducted on three databases, and 28 randomized controlled trials involving 5963 adults were included. Across these 28 studies, 67 outcome comparisons were made between a mindfulness app group and a control group. Between-group effects tended to favor the mindfulness app group over the control group in three psychological process domains: repetitive negative thinking, attention regulation, and decentering/defusion. Findings were mixed in other domains (i.e., awareness, nonreactivity, non-judgment, positive affect, and acceptance). The range of populations examined, methodological concerns across studies, and problems with sustained app engagement likely contributed to mixed findings. However, effect sizes tended to be moderate to large when effects were found, and gains tended to persist at follow-up assessments two to six months later. More research is needed to better understand the impact of these apps on psychological processes of change. Clinicians interested in integrating apps into care should consider app-related factors beyond evidence of a clinical foundation and use app databases to identify suitable apps for their patients, as highlighted at the end of this review.

Fractional amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations associated with μ-opioid and dopamine receptor distributions in the central nervous system after high-intensity exercise bouts

Introduction

Dopaminergic, opiod and endocannabinoid neurotransmission are thought to play an important role in the neurobiology of acute exercise and, in particular, in mediating positive affective responses and reward processes. Recent evidence indicates that changes in fractional amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations (zfALFF) in resting-state functional MRI (rs-fMRI) may reflect changes in specific neurotransmitter systems as tested by means of spatial correlation analyses.

Methods

Here, we investigated this relationship at different exercise intensities in twenty young healthy trained athletes performing low-intensity (LIIE), high-intensity (HIIE) interval exercises, and a control condition on three separate days. Positive And Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS) scores and rs-fMRI were acquired before and after each of the three experimental conditions. Respective zfALFF changes were analyzed using repeated measures ANOVAs. We examined the spatial correspondence of changes in zfALFF before and after training with the available neurotransmitter maps across all voxels and additionally, hypothesis-driven, for neurotransmitter maps implicated in the neurobiology of exercise (dopaminergic, opiodic and endocannabinoid) in specific brain networks associated with "reward" and "emotion."

Results

Elevated PANAS Positive Affect was observed after LIIE and HIIE but not after the control condition. HIIE compared to the control condition resulted in differential zfALFF decreases in precuneus, temporo-occipital, midcingulate and frontal regions, thalamus, and cerebellum, whereas differential zfALFF increases were identified in hypothalamus, pituitary, and periaqueductal gray. The spatial alteration patterns in zfALFF during HIIE were positively associated with dopaminergic and μ-opioidergic receptor distributions within the 'reward' network.

Discussion

These findings provide new insight into the neurobiology of exercise supporting the importance of reward-related neurotransmission at least during high-intensity physical activity.

Using EEG to investigate the influence of boredom on prospective memory in top-down and bottom-up processing mechanisms for intelligent interaction

We aimed to investigate the alpha (α) activity in operators experiencing boredom while performing prolonged monitoring and prospective memory tasks using different processing mechanisms. Fifty-four participants underwent electroencephalography (EEG) and were found to have poorer prospective memory performance under top-down conditions. Further, α power and synchronisation were higher during bottom-up than in top-down processes, revealing an inhibition effect of the former. Significant differences in brain regions and hemispheres were identified to distinguish different cognitive processes in both information-processing mechanisms. Thus, people are likely to cope with boredom differently in terms of top-down and bottom-up processes. Specifically, a higher attention level was reported during top-down processing, to mitigate the negative influences of boredom. Overall, this study provides EEG evidence which suggests that prospective memory can be enhanced in top-down processing during prolonged monitoring tasks by increasing the salience of cues.

Linear Mixed-Model Analysis Better Captures Subcomponents of Attention in a Small Sample Size of Persons With Aphasia

PURPOSE

Although there are several reports of attention deficits in aphasia, studies are typically limited to a single component within this complex domain. Furthermore, interpretation of results is affected by small sample size, intraindividual variability, task complexity, or nonparametric statistical models of performance comparison. The purpose of this study is to explore multiple subcomponents of attention in persons with aphasia (PWA) and compare findings and implications from various statistical methods-nonparametric, mixed analysis of variance (ANOVA), and linear mixed-effects model (LMEM)-when applied to a small sample size.

METHOD

Eleven PWA and nine age- and education-matched healthy controls (HCs) completed the computer-based Attention Network Test (ANT). ANT examines the effects of four types of warning cues (no, double, central, spatial) and two flanker conditions (congruent, incongruent) to provide an efficient way to assess the three subcomponents of attention (alerting, orienting, and executive control). Individual response time and accuracy data from each participant are considered for data analysis.

RESULTS

Nonparametric analyses showed no significant differences between the groups on the three subcomponents of attention. Both mixed ANOVA and LMEM showed statistical significance on alerting effect in HCs, orienting effect in PWA, and executive control effect in both PWA and HCs. However, LMEM analyses additionally highlighted significant differences between the groups (PWA vs. HCs) for executive control effect, which were not evident on either ANOVA or nonparametric tests.

CONCLUSIONS

By considering the random effect of participant ID, LMEM was able to show deficits in alerting and executive control ability in PWA when compared to HCs. LMEM accounts for the intraindividual variability based on individual response time performances instead of relying on measures of central tendencies.

Evaluation of Compensation Strategies for Gait Impairment in Patients With Parkinson Disease

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES

Compensation strategies are essential in Parkinson disease (PD) gait rehabilitation. However, besides external cueing, these strategies have rarely been investigated systematically. We aimed to perform the following: (1) establish the patients' perspective on the efficacy and usability of 5 different compensation strategies; (2) quantify the efficacy of these strategies on spatiotemporal gait parameters; and (3) explore associations between the effects of specific strategies and patient characteristics.

METHODS

We recruited persons with PD and self-reported disabling gait impairments for this laboratory-based, within-subject study. Clinimetrics included the following: questionnaires (New Freezing of Gait Questionnaire, Vividness of Movement Imagery Questionnaire, Goldsmiths Musical Sophistication Index), cognitive assessments (Attentional Network Test and Montreal Cognitive Assessment [MoCA], Brixton), and physical examinations (Movement Disorders Society Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale [MDS-UPDRS III], Mini-Balance Evaluation Systems Test, tandem gait, and rapid turns test). Gait assessment consisted of six 3-minute trials of continuous walking around a 6-m walkway. Trials comprised the following: (1) baseline gait; (2) external cueing; (3) internal cueing; (4) action observation; (5) motor imagery; and (6) adopting a new walking pattern. Spatiotemporal gait parameters were acquired using 3-dimensional motion capture analysis. Strategy efficacy was determined by the change in gait variability compared with baseline gait. Associated patient characteristics were explored using regression analyses.

RESULTS

A total of 101 participants (50 men; median [range] age: 66 [47-91] years) were included. The effects of the different strategies varied greatly among participants. While participants with higher baseline variability showed larger improvements using compensation strategies, participants without freezing of gait, with lower MDS-UPDRS III scores, higher balance capacity, and better performance in orienting attention also showed greater improvements in gait variability. Higher MoCA scores were associated with greater efficacy of external cueing.

DISCUSSION

Our findings support the use of compensation strategies in gait rehabilitation for PD but highlight the importance of a personalized approach. Even patients with high gait variability are able to improve through the application of compensation strategies, but certain levels of cognitive and functional reserve seem necessary to optimally benefit from them.

Alpha Oscillations in Parietal and Parietooccipital Explaining How Boredom Matters Prospective Memory

Intelligent interaction alters previous human–machine task allocation patterns. Human workers will suffer from boredom and inattention, posing a significant challenge for the human–machine interaction loop. This study aims to investigate the relationship between boredom and prospective memory, which is a memory form including the detecting, identifying, and executing functions. Thus, the attention and memory mechanisms are critical to complete prospective memory tasks when bored. This study recruited twenty-eight participants and used electroencephalography to measure the alpha power in brain regions. The results indicated that parietal oscillations had a mediation effect on prospective memory, which could be associated with the frequent unstable attention. In addition, this study found that parietooccipital oscillations linked boredom and prospective memory, and the default mode network (DMN) and visual processing during boredom could better explain this finding. The findings of this study suggested that attention management and influences of processing visual information were starting points to cope with boredom because they could help prepare for prospective memory and make optimal decisions accordingly.

The Attention Network Test in Parkinson and Lewy Body Disease: A Systematic Review

BACKGROUND

The Attention Network Test (ANT) is a well-established measure of efficiency for the alerting, orienting, and executive attentional networks. However, its novel application in Parkinson disease (PD) and Lewy body dementia (LBD) research more broadly has yet to be evaluated systematically.

OBJECTIVE

To compare and consolidate the outcomes of studies reporting use of the ANT in PD and LBD groups and to identify the methodological considerations for the conduct of such studies.

METHOD

We performed a systematic literature search for articles exploring attention in PD and LBD groups using the ANT. We excluded articles on the basis of irrelevant scope, non-English, and groups other than PD and LBD. Once the full text articles were identified, we extracted the data and assessed the studies' quality.

RESULTS

The final sample included 16 articles ranging from low to moderate quality. Behavioral findings suggested a general slowing of responses yet preserved accuracy from the PD group compared with controls. Overall, the evidence was inconclusive regarding the state of the alerting network in the PD and LBD groups, mostly supportive of an intact orienting network, and strongly suggestive of an impaired executive network. Differences in sample stratification, patient symptomatology, and dopaminergic medication levels were identified as influential factors in the attentional results across studies.

CONCLUSION

Although sparse, the existing evidence indicates that the ANT is a viable option for measuring attention in PD; it can also be harnessed to explore the impact of symptoms and medications on attentional networks in PD and LBD groups.

Mechanisms Underlying Cognitive Effects of Inducing a Mindful State

Mindfulness is understood as a state or practice of guiding attention to the present moment without judgment. While some studies on mindfulness-based interventions demonstrate beneficial effects on cognitive functions (e.g. Chiesa et al., 2011; Yakobi et al., 2021) it still appears challenging to identify underlying mechanisms due to the wide range of research designs and dependent measures used, as well as the frequent absence of active control conditions. Relatedly, processes underlying the effects of short inductions of a mindful state may be unspecific to mindfulness and attainable through other means, such as relaxation (Fell et al., 2010).

Therefore, the current study compared the effects of a brief mindfulness induction with a relaxation induction (via progressive muscle relaxation; active control condition) and listening to podcasts (passive control condition) in a pre-post experimental design. 78 participants without recent meditation experience were randomly assigned to the experimental conditions (mindfulness = 25; progressive muscle relaxation = 24; podcast listening = 30) and received corresponding instructions for a total of 40 minutes (2 × 20 minutes) a maximum of 3 days apart. Executive functions of inhibition, updating and switching as well as attentional networks were assessed with the continuous performance task, n-back task, number-letter task, and attention network task, respectively.

While updating and executive attention similarly benefited from meditation and relaxation compared to podcast listening, inhibition and shifting measures indicate differential effects of mindfulness induction. Alerting and orienting were not affected by any induction. Implications for mechanisms underlying the effects of mindfulness are discussed.

Neural correlates of attentional deficits in Parkinson's disease patients with mild cognitive impairment

INTRODUCTION

Deficits in attentional processing observed in Parkinson's disease (PD) patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) increase risk of PD dementia. However, the neural basis of these attentional deficits are presently unknown. The present study aimed to explore the neural correlates of attention dysfunction in PD-MCI using the Attention Network Test (ANT) and functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI).

METHOD

Fifteen (15) PD-MCI patients, 26 PD patients without MCI (PD-NC) and 22 healthy controls (HC) were scanned (3T Siemens PRISMA) whilst performing the ANT. Reaction time, accuracy and fMRI BOLD activation were compared between groups for the three attentional task components of 1) alerting, 2) orienting, and 3) executive control.

RESULTS

PD-MCI patients showed an overall slower reaction time compared to PD-NC and HC, and showed less interference of reaction time in the orienting effect than HC. fMRI data demonstrated greater activation in the bilateral cerebellum crus 1 during the alerting attention condition in both PD-MCI and PD-NC compared to HC. However, activation was supressed in the left postcentral gyrus in PD-MCI compared to PD-NC and HC.

DISCUSSION

Alterations in the alerting attention functional network despite intact task performance in PD-MCI suggests that functional brain changes may precede cognitive changes in the attention domain. Furthermore, increased activation in the cerebellum may reflect an attentional compensatory mechanism unique to the PD pathology. Taken together, the findings suggest that PD has a complex effect on attentional ability that can, at least in part, be elucidated using functional neuroimaging.

Attentional efficiency does not explain the mental state × domain effect

The reduced importance of intent when judging purity (vs. harm) violations is some of the strongest evidence for distinct moral modules or systems: moral pluralism. However, research has indicated that some supposed differences between purity and harm moral domains are due to the relative weirdness of purity vignettes. This weirdness might lead to a failure to attend to or correctly process relevant mental state information. Such attentional failures could offer an alternative explanation (to separate moral systems) for the reduced exculpatory value of innocent intentions for purity violations. We tested if the different role of intent in each domain was moderated by individual differences in attentional efficiency, as measured by the Attention Network Task. If attentional efficiency explains the reduced exculpatory value of innocent intentions in purity (vs. harm) violations, then we would expect those high (vs. low) in attentional efficiency not to show the reduced exculpatory effect of innocent intentions in the purity (vs. harm) domain. Consistent with moral pluralism, results revealed no such moderation. Findings are discussed in relation to various ways of testing domain-general and domain-specific accounts of the mental state × domain effect, so that we might better understand the architecture of our moral minds.

Influence of sexual appeal in roadside advertising on drivers' attention and driving behavior

Sexual appeals are widely used in advertising to attract consumers’ attention. It has already been proved that they influence the addressee’s cognitive processing, which in turn raises the question if sexual appeals may pose a serious threat for road safety when used in roadside advertising. Three studies were designed to answer this question. Study I was a nationwide survey (N = 1095) which revealed that drivers subjectively perceive sexual contents in roadside advertising as distracting and dangerous. Study II was a modified version of the Attentional Network Test (N = 1063) which proved that in cognitive tasks reaction time increases in line with the sexual content of advertisements. Study III was a simulator study (N = 55) which confirmed that driving characteristics change when sexually-oriented advertisements are located along the road. These studies have led us to a conclusion that sexually appealing cues in roadside advertising may pose a threat for road safety.

Effects of a Mindfulness Meditation App on Subjective Well-Being: Active Randomized Controlled Trial and Experience Sampling Study

BACKGROUND

Mindfulness training (MT) includes a variety of contemplative practices aimed at promoting intentional awareness of experience, coupled with attitudes of nonjudgment and curiosity. Following the success of 8-week, manualized group interventions, MT has been implemented in a variety of modalities, including smartphone apps that seek to replicate the success of group interventions. However, although smartphone apps are scalable and accessible to a wider swath of population, their benefits remain largely untested.

OBJECTIVE

This study aimed to investigate a newly developed MT app called Wildflowers, which was codeveloped with the laboratory for use in mindfulness research. It was hypothesized that 3 weeks of MT through this app would improve subjective well-being, attentional control, and interoceptive integration, albeit with weaker effects than those published in the 8 week, manualized group intervention literature.

METHODS

Undergraduate students completed 3 weeks of MT with Wildflowers (n=45) or 3 weeks of cognitive training with a game called 2048 (n=41). State training effects were assessed through pre- and postsession ratings of current mood, stress level, and heart rate. Trait training effects were assessed through pre- and postintervention questionnaires canvassing subjective well-being and behavioral task measures of attentional control and interoceptive integration. State and trait training data were analyzed in a multilevel model using emergent latent factors (acceptance, awareness, and openness) to summarize the trait questionnaire battery.

RESULTS

Analyses revealed both state and trait effects specific to MT; participants engaging in MT demonstrated improved mood (r=.14) and a reduction of stress (r=-.13) immediately after each training session compared with before the training session and decreased postsession stress over 3 weeks (r=-.08). In addition, MT relative to cognitive training resulted in greater improvements in attentional control (r=-.24). Interestingly, both groups demonstrated increased subjective ratings of awareness (r=.28) and acceptance (r=.23) from pre- to postintervention, with greater changes in acceptance for the MT group trending (r=.21).

CONCLUSIONS

MT, using a smartphone app, may provide immediate effects on mood and stress while also providing long-term benefits for attentional control. Although further investigation is warranted, there is evidence that with continued usage, MT via a smartphone app may provide long-term benefits in changing how one relates to their inner and outer experiences.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

ClinicalTrials.gov NCT03783793; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03783793 (Archived by WebCite at http://www.webcitation.org/75EF2ehst).

Are longer advertising slogans more dangerous? The influence of the length of ad slogans on drivers’ attention and motor behavior

The purpose of this project was to verify whether slogans displayed on roadside advertisements created a distraction for drivers. In order to explain the mechanisms underlying this phenomenon, Study 1 examined the impact of slogan length on attentional processing efficiency. Study 2 investigated the relationship between the length of the slogan and the motor behavior of respondents driving a car simulator. We assumed that slogan length would decrease the drivers’ task performance in both studies. Study 1 was conducted on a group of 70 participants, who completed a modified version of the Attention Network Test (ANT; Fan et al. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 14(3), 340–347, 2002). The task consisted of visual ads intended to distract respondents from the primary task. Reaction times were significantly longer when ads had longer slogans compared to shorter slogans. Study 2, involving a car simulator, was conducted on a group of 53 drivers performing a task of driving in a convoy. Participants were shown billboards with ads at the roadside in random order (two pairs of corresponding ads with short and long text on it). Participants’ driving performance decreased when longer slogans were presented in comparison to the short-slogan condition. In conclusion, we interpret the results of Study 1 to indicate that longer slogan leads to a greater load of attentional processing. This subsequently leads to a reduction of the processing efficiency within attentional systems and further increases the amount of time to resist the irrelevant stimulus. A consequence of this, as shown in Study 2 using a car simulator, is a decrease in cognitive resources necessary for safe driving and therefore worse performance on a driving task.

A Pilot Study of a 4-Week eHealth-Based Protocol of the Attention Training Technique Component of Metacognitive Therapy Among Patients With Anxiety Disorders

The attention training technique (ATT) component of metacognitive therapy seeks to reduce anxiety and strengthen executive attention. ATT has the potential to expand mental health service delivery, with researchers labeling ATT as a possible form of eHealth. However, the only known published study to examine ATT in that delivery capacity was not supportive of its use. The current pilot study examined a new 4-week eHealth-based protocol of ATT among a small mixed sample of patients with anxiety disorders (N = 16). Patients attended a single in-person session to practice ATT and then practiced ATT remotely by accessing a standardized recording of ATT through the Internet for 4 weeks. There was no attrition and over 80% of patients achieved the practice benchmark. Improvements were noted across clinician-rated, patient-rated, and performance-based outcomes. Results support further examination of ATT as a possible eHealth treatment for anxiety disorders. Recommendations for future research are discussed.

Sleep Deprivation Diminishes Attentional Control Effectiveness and Impairs Flexible Adaptation to Changing Conditions

Insufficient sleep is a global public health problem resulting in catastrophic accidents, increased mortality, and hundreds of billions of dollars in lost productivity. Yet the effect of sleep deprivation (SD) on decision making and performance is often underestimated by fatigued individuals and is only beginning to be understood by scientists. The deleterious impact of SD is frequently attributed to lapses in vigilant attention, but this account fails to explain many SD-related problems, such as loss of situational awareness and perseveration. Using a laboratory study protocol, we show that SD individuals can maintain information in the focus of attention and anticipate likely correct responses, but their use of such a top-down attentional strategy is less effective at preventing errors caused by competing responses. Moreover, when the task environment requires flexibility, performance under SD suffers dramatically. The impairment in flexible shifting of attentional control we observed is distinct from lapses in vigilant attention, as corroborated by the specificity of the influence of a genetic biomarker, the dopaminergic polymorphism DRD2 C957T. Reduced effectiveness of top-down attentional control under SD, especially when conditions require flexibility, helps to explain maladaptive performance that is not readily explained by lapses in vigilant attention.

Visual-cognitive tools used to determine fitness-to-drive may reflect normal aging

BACKGROUND

Scores on many visual-cognitive tools are proposed as indicators of fitness-to-drive. A purported feature of some tools and one believed to be important is that they are 'age-independent'. Specifically, scores are not correlated with age and poor scores represent a pathological process rather than normal aging. Yet, we know that several cognitive abilities are associated with age. One potential reason for the apparent age-independence of some tools is that focusing on older drivers leads to 'range restriction', a statistical issue that reduces the magnitude of correlations when values for one variable are restricted to a smaller range than naturally occurs. Hence, the purpose of this study was to investigate whether age is correlated with scores on visual-cognitive tests when we examine the full age range.

METHODS

We recruited 114 drivers aged 18 to 89 years (mean: 42.30 ± 26.50 years). Participants completed several visual-cognitive tools often used to examine fitness-to-drive (Trail Making Tests A and B, Attention Network Test and 'useful field of view').

RESULTS

Correlations between age and test scores for drivers 65 years and older only ranged from 0.03 to 0.48. With the whole age range, correlations ranged from 0.56 to 0.84. We also compared ordinary Pearson correlations among visual-cognitive tests scores to the corresponding partial correlations after removing the effect of age. Whereas ordinary Pearson correlations ranged from 0.40 to 0.69, partial correlations ranged from 0.01 to 0.30.

CONCLUSION

Test scores may reflect age-associated normal biological changes. These results have implications for predicting fitness-to-drive among older drivers and suggest caution in using these scores.

Intolerance of uncertainty and attentional networks: Unique associations with alerting

The present study sought to extend our understanding as to how intolerance of uncertainty (IU) relates to information-processing by investigating associations between IU and attentional networks, including alerting, orienting, and executive attention. Based upon prior research, IU was expected to cluster with alerting. An unselected sample of college students (N=86; 79% women) completed self-report measures of IU and state anxiety, as well as the attention network test. Among the attentional networks, IU only shared a positive association with alerting and the association remained intact after statistically controlling for state anxiety. State anxiety did not moderate the association between IU and alerting. Although two IU dimensions (prospective and inhibitory) both shared a positive association with alerting, only prospective IU was associated with alerting after statistically controlling for state anxiety. The results provide evidence that IU relates to an overfunctioning of the alerting attentional network, which may suggest a role of hypervigilance and a greater influence of bottom-up processing in relation to IU. Implications for how these results advance our understanding of possible links between IU and anxiety disorders are discussed.

Disturbance of attention network functions in Chinese healthy older adults: an intra-individual perspective

BACKGROUND

Intra-individual variability (IIV) and the change of attentional functions have been reported to be susceptible to both healthy ageing and pathological ageing. The current study aimed to evaluate the IIV of attention and the age-related effect on alerting, orienting, and executive control in cognitively healthy older adults.

METHOD

We evaluated 145 Chinese older adults (age range of 65-80 years, mean age of 72.41 years) with a comprehensive neuropsychological battery and the Attention network test (ANT). A two-step strategy of analytical methods was used: Firstly, the IIV of older adults was evaluated by the intraindividual coefficient of variation of reaction time (ICV-RT). The correlation between ICV-RT and age was used to evaluate the necessity of subgrouping. Further, the comparisons of ANT performance among three age groups were performed with processing speed adjusted.

RESULTS

Person's correlation revealed significant positive correlations between age and IIV (r = 0.185, p = 0.032), age and executive control (r = 0.253, p = 0.003). Furthermore, one-way ANOVA comparisons among three age groups revealed a significant age-related disturbance on executive control (F = 4.55, p = 0.01), in which oldest group (group with age >75 years) showed less efficient executive control than young-old (group with age 65-70 years) (Conventional score, p = 0.012; Ratio score, p = 0.020).

CONCLUSION

Advancing age has an effect on both IIV and executive attention in cognitively healthy older adults, suggesting that the disturbance of executive attention is a sensitive indicator to reflect healthy ageing. Its significance to predict further deterioration should be carefully evaluated with prospective studies.