Fundamental components of attention

The effects of age and gender and elite levels on perceptual-cognitive skills of adolescent badminton athletes

Introduction

This study aimed to examine perceptual-cognitive skills across age, gender and elite levels of badminton adolescent athletes.

Methods

A total of 57 badminton athletes divided into junior high school athletes (age = 13.36 ± 1.14 years, females = 22, males = 11) and senior high school athletes (age = 16.25 ± 0.84 years, females = 11, males = 13) were evaluated using a cognitive component skills approach. Elite levels were classified as semi-elite (n = 29, score = 3.23) and competitive elite (n = 28, score = 5.84) levels. Each group completed a cognitive test, including an evaluation of their capacity for Corsi block-tapping (CCT) and spatial priming tasks (SPT).

Results

No gender effects were found in the perceptual skills of the adolescent players, and the age effect was consistent across gender. For the elite levels, the perceptual-cognitive skills of SPT of reaction time was performed equally in the groups of semi-elite and competitive players, however, in the CCT Span of working-memory (WM), competitive-elite players outperformed semi-elite players.

Conclusion

We found that perceptual-cognitive skills of WM play crucial roles in the open-skill sports of badminton. Thus, when developing advanced skills to higher elite levels in adolescent players, perceptual-cognitive skills should be considered.

Persistent spiking activity in neuromorphic circuits incorporating post-inhibitory rebound excitation

Objective. This study introduces a novel approach for integrating the post-inhibitory rebound excitation (PIRE) phenomenon into a neuronal circuit. Excitatory and inhibitory synapses are designed to establish a connection between two hardware neurons, effectively forming a network. The model demonstrates the occurrence of PIRE under strong inhibitory input. Emphasizing the significance of incorporating PIRE in neuromorphic circuits, the study showcases generation of persistent activity within cyclic and recurrent spiking neuronal networks.Approach. The neuronal and synaptic circuits are designed and simulated in Cadence Virtuoso using TSMC 180 nm technology. The operating mechanism of the PIRE phenomenon integrated into a hardware neuron is discussed. The proposed circuit encompasses several parameters for effectively controlling multiple electrophysiological features of a neuron.Main results. The neuronal circuit has been tuned to match the response of a biological neuron. The efficiency of this circuit is evaluated by computing the average power dissipation and energy consumption per spike through simulation. The sustained firing of neural spikes is observed till 1.7 s using the two neuronal networks.Significance. Persistent activity has significant implications for various cognitive functions such as working memory, decision-making, and attention. Therefore, hardware implementation of these functions will require our PIRE-integrated model. Energy-efficient neuromorphic systems are useful in many artificial intelligence applications, including human-machine interaction, IoT devices, autonomous systems, and brain-computer interfaces.

Brain-state mediated modulation of inter-laminar dependencies in visual cortex

Spatial attention is critical for recognizing behaviorally relevant objects in a cluttered environment. How the deployment of spatial attention aids the hierarchical computations of object recognition remains unclear. We investigated this in the laminar cortical network of visual area V4, an area strongly modulated by attention. We found that deployment of attention strengthened unique dependencies in neural activity across cortical layers. On the other hand, shared dependencies were reduced within the excitatory population of a layer. Surprisingly, attention strengthened unique dependencies within a laminar population. Crucially, these modulation patterns were also observed during successful behavioral outcomes that are thought to be mediated by internal brain state fluctuations. Successful behavioral outcomes were also associated with phases of reduced neural excitability, suggesting a mechanism for enhanced information transfer during optimal states. Our results suggest common computation goals of optimal sensory states that are attained by either task demands or internal fluctuations.

A Review of Auditory Attention: Neural Mechanisms, Theories, and Affective Disorders

Attention is a fundamental aspect of human cognitive function and is crucial for essential activities such as learning, social interaction, and routine tasks. Notably, Auditory attention involves complex interactions and collaboration among multiple brain networks. Recognizing the impairment of auditory attention, comprehending its underlying mechanisms, and identifying the activated brain regions essential for the development of treatments and interventions for individuals facing auditory attention deficits, emphasizes the significance of investigating these matters. In the current study, we conducted a review by searching for the full text of 53 articles published related to auditory attention, mechanisms, and networks in databases like Science Direct, Google Scholar, ProQuest, and PubMed using the keywords Attention, Auditory Attention, Auditory Attention Impairment, theories of attention were investigated in the years 2000 to 2023 And focused on articles that provided discussions within this research domain. The studies have demonstrated that auditory attention exceeds being an acoustic attribute and assumes a fundamental role in complex acoustic environments, information processing, and even speech comprehension. In the context of this study, we have conducted a review and summary of the proposed theories related to attention and the brain networks involved in different forms of auditory attention. In conclusion, the integration of auditory attention assessments, behavioral observations, and an understanding of the neural mechanisms and brain regions implicated in auditory attention proves to be an effective approach for the diagnosis and treatment of attention-related disorders.

Common and distinct neural mechanisms of attention

Despite a constant deluge of sensory stimulation, only a fraction of it is used to guide behavior. This selective processing is generally referred to as attention, and much research has focused on the neural mechanisms controlling it. Recently, research has broadened to include more ways by which different species selectively process sensory information, whether due to the sensory input itself or to different behavioral and brain states. This work has produced a complex and disjointed body of evidence across different species and forms of attention. However, it has also provided opportunities to better understand the breadth of attentional mechanisms. Here, we summarize the evidence that suggests that different forms of selective processing are supported by mechanisms both common and distinct.

Auditory change detection and visual selective attention: association between MMN and N2pc

While the auditory and visual systems each provide distinct information to our brain, they also work together to process and prioritize input to address ever-changing conditions. Previous studies highlighted the trade-off between auditory change detection and visual selective attention; however, the relationship between them is still unclear. Here, we recorded electroencephalography signals from 106 healthy adults in three experiments. Our findings revealed a positive correlation at the population level between the amplitudes of event-related potential indices associated with auditory change detection (mismatch negativity) and visual selective attention (posterior contralateral N2) when elicited in separate tasks. This correlation persisted even when participants performed a visual task while disregarding simultaneous auditory stimuli. Interestingly, as visual attention demand increased, participants whose posterior contralateral N2 amplitude increased the most exhibited the largest reduction in mismatch negativity, suggesting a within-subject trade-off between the two processes. Taken together, our results suggest an intimate relationship and potential shared mechanism between auditory change detection and visual selective attention. We liken this to a total capacity limit that varies between individuals, which could drive correlated individual differences in auditory change detection and visual selective attention, and also within-subject competition between the two, with task-based modulation of visual attention causing within-participant decrease in auditory change detection sensitivity.

Disengagement of attention with spatial neglect: A systematic review of behavioral and anatomical findings

The present review examined the consequences of focal brain injury on spatial attention studied with cueing paradigms, with a particular focus on the disengagement deficit, which refers to the abnormal slowing of reactions following an ipsilesional cue. Our review supports the established notion that the disengagement deficit is a functional marker of spatial neglect and is particularly pronounced when elicited by peripheral cues. Recent research has revealed that this deficit critically depends on cues that have task-relevant characteristics or are associated with negative reinforcement. Attentional capture by task-relevant cues is contingent on damage to the right temporo-parietal junction (TPJ) and is modulated by functional connections between the TPJ and the right insular cortex. Furthermore, damage to the dorsal premotor or prefrontal cortex (dPMC/dPFC) reduces the effect of task-relevant cues. These findings support an interactive model of the disengagement deficit, involving the right TPJ, the insula, and the dPMC/dPFC. These interconnected regions play a crucial role in regulating and adapting spatial attention to changing intrinsic values of stimuli in the environment.

An attentional and working memory theory of hallucination vulnerability in frontotemporal dementia

The rate and prevalence of hallucinations in behavioural variant frontotemporal dementia is well established. The mechanisms for underlying vulnerability however are the least well described in FTD compared with other neuropsychiatric conditions, despite the presence of these features significantly complicating the diagnostic process. As such, this present study aimed to provide a detailed characterization of the neural, cognitive and behavioural profile associated with a predisposition to hallucinatory experiences in behavioural variant frontotemporal dementia. In total, 153 patients with behavioural variant frontotemporal dementia were recruited sequentially for this study. A group of patients with well characterized hallucinations and good-quality volumetric MRI scans (n = 23) were genetically and demographically matched to a group without hallucinations (n = 23) and a healthy control cohort (n = 23). All patients were assessed at their initial visit by means of a detailed clinical interview, a comprehensive battery of neuropsychological tests and MRI. Data were analysed according to three levels: (i) the relationship between neural structures, cognition, behaviour and hallucinations in behavioural variant frontotemporal dementia; (ii) the impact of the C9orf72 expansion; and (iii) hallucination subtype on expression of hallucinations. Basic and complex attentional (including divided attention and working memory) and visual function measures differed between groups (all P < 0.001) with hallucinators demonstrating poorer performance, along with evidence of structural changes centred on the prefrontal cortex, caudate and cerebellum (corrected for False Discovery Rate at P < 0.05 with a cluster threshold of 100 contiguous voxels). Attentional processes were also implicated in C9orf72 carriers with hallucinations with structural changes selectively involving the thalamus. Patients with visual hallucinations in isolation showed a similar pattern with emphasis on cerebellar atrophy. Our findings provided novel insights that attentional and visual function subsystems and related distributed brain structures are implicated in the generation of hallucinations in behavioural variant frontotemporal dementia, that dissociate across C9orf72, sporadic behavioural variant frontotemporal dementia and for the visual subtype of hallucinations. This loading on attentional and working memory measures is in line with current mechanistic models of hallucinations that frequently suggest a failure of integration of cognitive and perceptual processes. We therefore propose a novel cognitive and neural model for hallucination predisposition in behavioural variant frontotemporal dementia that aligns with a transdiagnostic model for hallucinations across neurodegeneration and psychiatry.

The HPA and SAM axis mediate the impairment of creativity under stress

With the ever-changing social environment, individual creativity is facing a severe challenge induced by stress. However, little is known regarding the underlying mechanisms by which acute stress affects creative cognitive processing. The current research explored the impacts of the neuroendocrine response on creativity under stress and its underlying cognitive flexibility mechanisms. The enzyme-linked immuno sorbent assay was employed to assess salivary cortisol, which acted as a marker of stress-induced activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. Eye blink rate (EBR) and pupil diameter were measured as respective indicators of dopamine and noradrenaline released by the activation of the sympathetic-adrenal-medullary (SAM) axis. The Wisconsin card task (WCST) measured cognitive flexibility, while the alternative uses task (AUT) and the remote association task (RAT) measured separately divergent and convergent thinking in creativity. Results showed higher cortisol increments following acute stress induction in the stress group than control group. Ocular results showed that the stress manipulation significantly increased EBR and pupil diameter compared to controls, reflecting increased SAM activity. Further analysis revealed that stress-released cortisol impaired the originality component of the AUT, reducing cognitive flexibility as measured by perseverative errors on the WCST task. Serial mediation analyses showed that both EBR and pupil diameter were also associated with increased perseverative errors leading to poor originality on the AUT. These findings confirm that physiological arousal under stress can impair divergent thinking through the regulation of different neuroendocrine pathways, in which the deterioration of flexible switching plays an important mediating role.

Limiting parameter range for cortical-spherical mapping improves activated domain estimation for attention modulated auditory response

BACKGROUND

Attention is one of the factors involved in selecting input information for the brain. We applied a method for estimating domains with clear boundaries using magnetoencephalography (the domain estimation method) for auditory-evoked responses (N100m) to evaluate the effects of attention in milliseconds. However, because the surface around the auditory cortex is folded in a complicated manner, it is unknown whether the activity in the auditory cortex can be estimated.

NEW METHOD

The parameter range to express current sources was set to include the auditory cortex. Their search region was expressed as a direct product of the parameter ranges used in the adaptive diagonal curves.

RESULTS

Without a limitation of the range, activity was estimated in regions other than the auditory cortex in all cases. However, with the limitation of the range, the activity was estimated in the primary or higher auditory cortex. Further analysis of the limitation of the range showed that the domains activated during attention included the regions activated during no attention for the participants whose amplitudes of N100m were higher during attention.

COMPARISON WITH EXISTING METHOD

We proposed a method for effectively limiting the search region to evaluate the extent of the activated domain in regions with complex folded structures.

CONCLUSION

To evaluate the extent of activated domains in regions with complex folded structures, it is necessary to limit the parameter search range. The area of the activated domains in the auditory cortex may increase by attention on the millisecond timescale.

Dual statistical models link baseline visual attention measure to risk for significant symptomatic concussion in sports

Aim

Athletic pre-season testing can establish functional baseline for comparison following concussion. Whether impacts of future concussions may be foretold by such testing is little known.

Materials & methods

Two sets of models for a significant burden of concussion were generated: a traditional approach using a series of logistic regressions, and a penalized regression approach using elastic net.

Results

3091 youth and adult athletes were baseline-assessed. 90 subsequently experienced concussion and 35 were still experiencing a significant burden of concussion when tested within two weeks. Both models associated prior history of head injury and visual attention-related metrics with a significant burden of concussion.

Conclusion

Pre-season testing of visual attention may identify athletes who are at risk for significant sports-related concussion.

Visual attention and memory in professional traders

Professional traders need to process a large amount of visual information in their daily activity to judge how risky it is to trade specific investment products. Despite some studies investigating the effects of display clutter on traders, visual attention and memory were never investigated in controlled experimental tasks in this population. Following a preliminary study with 30 participants, visual selective attention and visual working memory were measured and compared between two groups of 15 traders and 15 non-traders (salespeople, acting as a control group) from a large-scale banking group in three experimental tasks measuring selective attention in complex visual contexts, simulating display clutter situations (Visual search), cognitive interference (Stroop task), and a delayed recall visual working memory task. In the Visual search task, traders displayed faster response times (RTs) than non-traders for small display sets, while their performance overlapped for large sets. In the Stroop task, traders showed faster RTs than non-traders but were nevertheless affected by cognitive interference. The memory task highlighted no significant differences between the groups. Therefore, this study found an advantage in traders' attention when processing visual information in small sets with no retention. This result could influence trading activity-determining an immediate use of relevant visual information in decision making-and traders' display layout organization.

Can cognitive training capitalise on near transfer effects? Limited evidence of transfer following online inhibition training in a randomised-controlled trial

Despite early promise, cognitive training research has failed to deliver consistent real-world benefits and questions have been raised about the experimental rigour of many studies. Several meta-analyses have suggested that there is little to no evidence for transfer of training from computerised tasks to real-world skills. More targeted training approaches that aim to optimise performance on specific tasks have, however, shown more promising effects. In particular, the use of inhibition training for improving shoot/don't-shoot decision-making has returned positive far transfer effects. In the present work, we tested whether an online inhibition training task could generate near and mid-transfer effects in the context of response inhibition tasks. As there has been relatively little testing of retention effects in the literature to date, we also examined whether any benefits would persist over a 1-month interval. In a pre-registered, randomised-controlled trial, participants (n = 73) were allocated to either an inhibition training programme (six training sessions of a visual search task with singleton distractor) or a closely matched active control task (that omitted the distractor element). We assessed near transfer to a Flanker task, and mid-transfer to a computerised shoot/don't-shoot task. There was evidence for a near transfer effect, but no evidence for mid-transfer. There was also no evidence that the magnitude of training improvement was related to transfer task performance. This finding adds to the growing body of literature questioning the effectiveness of cognitive training. Given previous positive findings, however, there may still be value in continuing to explore the extent to which cognitive training can capitalise on near or mid-transfer effects for performance optimisation.

A recruitment through coherence theory of working memory

The interactions between prefrontal cortex and other areas during working memory have been studied for decades. Here we outline a conceptual framework describing interactions between these areas during working memory, and review evidence for key elements of this model. We specifically suggest that a top-down signal sent from prefrontal to sensory areas drives oscillations in these areas. Spike timing within sensory areas becomes locked to these working-memory-driven oscillations, and the phase of spiking conveys information about the representation available within these areas. Downstream areas receiving these phase-locked spikes from sensory areas can recover this information via a combination of coherent oscillations and gating of input efficacy based on the phase of their local oscillations. Although the conceptual framework is based on prefrontal interactions with sensory areas during working memory, we also discuss the broader implications of this framework for flexible communication between brain areas in general.

Fostering Collective Intelligence in Human-AI Collaboration: Laying the Groundwork for COHUMAIN

Artificial Intelligence (AI) powered machines are increasingly mediating our work and many of our managerial, economic, and cultural interactions. While technology enhances individual capability in many ways, how do we know that the sociotechnical system as a whole, consisting of a complex web of hundreds of human-machine interactions, is exhibiting collective intelligence? Research on human-machine interactions has been conducted within different disciplinary silos, resulting in social science models that underestimate technology and vice versa. Bringing together these different perspectives and methods at this juncture is critical. To truly advance our understanding of this important and quickly evolving area, we need vehicles to help research connect across disciplinary boundaries. This paper advocates for establishing an interdisciplinary research domain-Collective Human-Machine Intelligence (COHUMAIN). It outlines a research agenda for a holistic approach to designing and developing the dynamics of sociotechnical systems. In illustrating the kind of approach, we envision in this domain, we describe recent work on a sociocognitive architecture, the transactive systems model of collective intelligence, that articulates the critical processes underlying the emergence and maintenance of collective intelligence and extend it to human-AI systems. We connect this with synergistic work on a compatible cognitive architecture, instance-based learning theory and apply it to the design of AI agents that collaborate with humans. We present this work as a call to researchers working on related questions to not only engage with our proposal but also develop their own sociocognitive architectures and unlock the real potential of human-machine intelligence.

Distinct neural mechanisms construct classical versus extraclassical inhibitory surrounds in an inhibitory nucleus in the midbrain attention network

Inhibitory neurons in the midbrain spatial attention network, called isthmi pars magnocellularis (Imc), control stimulus selection by the sensorimotor and attentional hub, the optic tectum (OT). Here, we investigate in the barn owl how classical as well as extraclassical (global) inhibitory surrounds of Imc receptive fields (RFs), fundamental units of Imc computational function, are constructed. We find that focal, reversible blockade of GABAergic input onto Imc neurons disconnects their extraclassical inhibitory surrounds, but leaves intact their classical inhibitory surrounds. Subsequently, with paired recordings and iontophoresis, first at spatially aligned site-pairs in Imc and OT, and then, at mutually distant site-pairs within Imc, we demonstrate that classical inhibitory surrounds of Imc RFs are inherited from OT, but their extraclassical inhibitory surrounds are constructed within Imc. These results reveal key design principles of the midbrain spatial attention circuit and highlight the critical importance of competitive interactions within Imc for its operation.

Posterior Parietal Cortex Plays a Causal Role in Abstract Memory-Based Visual Categorical Decisions

Neural activity in the lateral intraparietal cortex (LIP) correlates with both sensory evaluation and motor planning underlying visuomotor decisions. We previously showed that LIP plays a causal role in visually-based perceptual and categorical decisions, and preferentially contributes to evaluating sensory stimuli over motor planning. In that study, however, monkeys reported their decisions with a saccade to a colored target associated with the correct motion category or direction. Since LIP is known to play a role in saccade planning, it remains unclear whether LIP's causal role in such decisions extend to decision-making tasks which do not involve saccades. Here, we employed reversible pharmacological inactivation of LIP neural activity while two male monkeys performed delayed match to category (DMC) and delayed match to sample (DMS) tasks. In both tasks, monkeys needed to maintain gaze fixation throughout the trial and report whether a test stimulus was a categorical match or nonmatch to the previous sample stimulus by releasing a touch bar. LIP inactivation impaired monkeys' behavioral performance in both tasks, with deficits in both accuracy and reaction time (RT). Furthermore, we recorded LIP neural activity in the DMC task targeting the same cortical locations as in the inactivation experiments. We found significant neural encoding of the sample category, which was correlated with monkeys' categorical decisions in the DMC task. Taken together, our results demonstrate that LIP plays a generalized role in visual categorical decisions independent of the task-structure and motor response modality.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Neural activity in the lateral intraparietal cortex (LIP) correlates with perceptual and categorical decisions, in addition to its role in mediating saccadic eye movements. Past work found that LIP is causally involved in visual decisions that are rapidly reported by saccades in a reaction time based decision making task. Here we use reversible inactivation of LIP to test whether LIP is also causally involved in visual decisions when reported by hand movements during delayed matching tasks. Here we show that LIP inactivation impaired monkeys' task performance during both memory-based discrimination and categorization tasks. These results demonstrate that LIP plays a generalized role in visual categorical decisions independent of the task-structure and motor response modality.

Exploring global trends and future directions in advertising research: A focus on consumer behavior

This study aims to select the physiological and neurophysiological studies utilized in advertising and to address the fragmented comprehension of consumers' mental responses to advertising held by marketers and advertisers. To fill the gap, the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) framework was employed to select relevant articles, and bibliometric analysis was conducted to determine global trends and advancements in advertising and neuromarketing. The study selected and analyzed forty-one papers from the Web of Science (WoS) database from 2009-2020. The results indicated that Spain, particularly the Complutense University of Madrid, was the most productive country and institution, respectively, with 11 and 3 articles. The journal Frontiers in Psychology was the most prolific, with eight articles. The article "Neuromarketing: The New Science of Consumer Behavior" had the most citations (152 T.Cs). Additionally, the researchers discovered that the inferior frontal and middle temporal gyri were associated with pleasant and unpleasant emotions, respectively, while the right superior temporal and right middle frontal gyrus was connected to high and low arousal. Furthermore, the right prefrontal cortex (PFC) and left PFC were linked to withdrawal and approach behaviors. In terms of the reward system, the ventral striatum played a critical role, while the orbitofrontal cortex and ventromedial PFC were connected to perception. As far as we know, this is the first paper that focused on the global academic trends and developments of neurophysiological and physiological instruments used in advertising in the new millennium, emphasizing the significance of intrinsic and extrinsic emotional processes, endogenous and exogenous attentional processes, memory, reward, motivational attitude, and perception in advertising campaigns.

Effects of emotional working memory training on problematic internet use, inhibition, attention, and working memory among young problematic internet users: A randomized control study

Problematic internet use (PIU) has been defined as an inability to control impulses to use the internet, and is associated with psychological, social, educational, and/or occupational problems. Considering the harmful effects of PIU, the present study evaluated a treatment intervention aimed at controlling PIU. A randomized control study investigated the effectiveness of emotional working memory training (eWMT) in improving inhibition, attention, and working memory among individuals with PIU in comparison with a placebo group. Young adults (N = 36) with PIU were either trained for 20 sessions in an n-back dual emotional task (eWMT; n = 18) or a feature matching task (placebo; n = 18). Results showed that 20 continuous sessions of eWMT significantly reduced the symptoms of PIU and improved participants' working memory, attention, and inhibition (compared to the placebo group). These preliminary findings suggest that eWMT can be considered a promising treatment to reduce PIU by improving individuals' cognitive and emotional functioning.

Visuomotor Synchronization: Military Normative Performance

INTRODUCTION

Cognitive processes such as perception and reasoning are preceded and dependent on attention. Because of the close overlap between neural circuits of attention and eye movement, attention may be objectively quantified with recording of eye movements during an attention-dependent task. Our previous work demonstrated that performance scores on a circular visual tracking task that requires dynamic synchronization of the gaze with the target motion can be impacted by concussion, sleep deprivation, and attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder. The current study examined the characteristics of performance on a standardized predictive visual tracking task in a large sample from a U.S. Military population to provide military normative data.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The sample consisted of 1,594 active duty military service members of either sex aged 18-29 years old who were stationed at Fort Hood Army Base. The protocol was reviewed and approved by the U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command Institutional Review Board. Demographic, medical, and military history data were collected using questionnaires, and performance-based data were collected using a circular visual tracking test and Trail Making Test. Differences in visual tracking performance by demographic characteristics were examined with a multivariate analysis of variance, as well as a Kolmogorov-Smirnov test and a rank-sum test. Associations with other measures were examined with a rank-sum test or Spearman correlations.

RESULTS

Robust sex differences in visual tracking performance were found across the various statistical models, as well as age differences in several isolated comparisons. Accordingly, norms of performance scores, described in terms of percentile standings, were developed adjusting for age and sex. The effects of other measures on visual tracking performance were small or statistically non-significant. An examination of the score distributions of various metrics suggested that strategies preferred by men and women may optimize different aspects of visual tracking performance.

CONCLUSION

This large-scale quantification of attention, using dynamic visuomotor synchronization performance, provides rigorously characterized age- and sex-based military population norms. This study establishes analytics for assessing normal and impaired attention and detecting changes within individuals over time. Practical applications for combat readiness and surveillance of attention impairment from sleep insufficiency, concussion, medication, or attention disorders will be enhanced with portable, easily accessible, fast, and reliable dynamic eye-tracking technologies.

Attention to faces in images is associated with personality and psychopathology

Humans show a robust tendency to look at faces in images, but also differ consistently in the strength of this attentional preference. Previous research remained inconclusive as to how a stronger face preference may be indicative of an individual's personality or clinical characteristics. Here we investigated face preferences in 120 participants (primarily drawn from a student population) who freely viewed photos in an internet browser showing a person in the context of a visually rich environment while attention was assessed using a cursor-based technique. Participants differed consistently in the strength of their face preference across images. A stronger preference for faces was correlated positively with openness to experience, extraversion, agreeableness and empathizing and was correlated negatively with social anxiety, depression levels and alexithymia. Trait measures were linked through a strong common factor which was additionally correlated with face preference. We conclude that face preferences may be linked to personality traits and to psychopathology but that an attribution to a specific facet of psychopathology may not be warranted. Future research should investigate links between face preferences and personality features in more diverse samples and across differing social situations.

Perception-action integration during inhibitory control is reflected in a concomitant multi-region processing of specific codes in the neurophysiological signal

The integration of perception and action has long been studied in psychological science using overarching cognitive frameworks. Despite these being very successful in explaining perception-action integration, little is known about its neurophysiological and especially the functional neuroanatomical foundations. It is unknown whether distinct brain structures are simultaneously involved in the processing of perception-action integration codes and also to what extent demands on perception-action integration modulate activities in these structures. We investigate these questions in an EEG study integrating temporal and ICA-based EEG signal decomposition with source localization. For this purpose, we used data from 32 healthy participants who performed a 'TEC Go/Nogo' task. We show that the EEG signal can be decomposed into components carrying different informational aspects or processing codes relevant for perception-action integration. Importantly, these specific codes are processed independently in different brain structures, and their specific roles during the processing of perception-action integration differ. Some regions (i.e., the anterior cingulate and insular cortex) take a 'default role' because these are not modulated in their activity by demands or the complexity of event file coding processes. In contrast, regions in the motor cortex, middle frontal, temporal, and superior parietal cortices were not activated by 'default' but revealed modulations depending on the complexity of perception-action integration (i.e., whether an event file has to be reconfigured). Perception-action integration thus reflects a multi-region processing of specific fractions of information in the neurophysiological signal. This needs to be taken into account when further developing a cognitive science framework detailing perception-action integration.

Room for Feelings: A “Working Memory” Account of Affective Processing

In the past decades, affective science has overwhelmingly demonstrated the unique properties of affective information to bias our attention, memory, and decisions. At the same time, accumulating evidence suggests that neutral and affective representations rely on the same working memory substrates for the selection and computation of information and that they are therefore restricted by the same capacity limitations that these substrates impose. Here, we integrate these insights into a working memory model of affective processing (WMAP). Drawing on competitive access models of working memory, we discuss its role in the various stages of affective processing, from attentional selection to maintenance and memory storage, and resulting feelings and actions. We end our overview with some open questions and future directions.

Functional connectivity across dorsal and ventral attention networks in response to task difficulty and experimental pain

The dorsal and ventral attention networks (DAN & VAN) provide a framework for studying attentional modulation of pain. It has been argued that cognitive demand distracts attention from painful stimuli via top-down reinforcement of task goals (DAN), whereas pain exerts an interruptive effect on cognitive performance via bottom-up pathways (VAN). The current study explores this explanatory framework by manipulating pain and task demand in combination with functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) and Granger Causal Connectivity Analyses (GCCA). Twenty-one participants played a racing game at low and high difficulty levels with or without experimental pain (administered via a cold pressor test). Six channels of fNIRS were collected from bilateral frontal eye fields and intraparietal sulci (DAN), with right-lateralised channels at the inferior frontal gyrus and temporoparietal junction (VAN). Our first analysis revealed increased G-causality from bottom-up pathways (VAN) during the cold pressor test. However, an equivalent experience of experimental pain during gameplay increased G-causality in top-down (DAN) pathways, with the left intraparietal sulcus serving a hub of connectivity. High game difficulty increased G-causality via top-down pathways and implicated the right inferior frontal gyrus as an interhemispheric hub. Our results are discussed with reference to existing models of both networks and attentional modulation of pain.

The effect of acute stress on spatial selectivity in dual-stream emotion induced blindness: The role of cortisol and spontaneous frontal EEG theta/beta ratio

The current study explored the effect of acute stress on dual-stream emotion induced blindness (EIB). We focused on spatially localised target processing induced by stress, as well as the role of cortisol and the frontal EEG theta/beta ratio (TBR). Eight-minutes spontaneous EEG data were recorded first. After performing a Trier Social Stress Test (TSST) or a corresponding control task a week apart, the participants completed a dual-stream EIB task. Changes in cortisol levels over time were likewise recorded. We found that stress promoted the target processing in the same stream location as the distractor, eliminating the spatial-localisation effect. Cortisol and frontal TBR positively and negatively, respectively, predicted a reduced spatially localised target detection induced by stress following negative distractors. Overall, acute stress apparently reduced the dual-stream EIB due to the effective allocation of limited resources. Further, the role of cortisol associated with better target detection was more specific to the negative distractor condition and partially disassociated from the general stress response. Cortisol levels and frontal TBR independently predicted the spatially localised processing, suggesting differentiated influence paths of trait and state factors on target detection following emotional distractors.

How do irrelevant stimuli from another modality influence responses to the targets in a same-different task

It remains unclear whether multisensory interaction can implicitly occur at the abstract level. To address this issue, a same-different task was used to select comparable images and sounds in Experiment 1. Then, the stimuli with various levels of discrimination difficulty were adopted in a modified same-different task in Experiments 2, 3, and 4. The resultsshowed that only when the irrelevant stimuli were easily distinguishable, aconsistency effectcould beobservedin the testing phase. Moreover, when easily distinguishableirrelevant stimuliwere simultaneously presented with difficulttarget stimuli, irrelevant auditorystimuli facilitated responses to visual targets whereas irrelevant visual stimuli interfered with responses to auditorytargetsin the training phase,indicating an asymmetry in the role of visual and auditory in abstract multisensory integration. The results suggested that abstract multisensory information could be implicitly integrated and the inverse effectiveness principle might not apply to high-level processing of abstract multisensory integration.

Tracking momentary fluctuations in human attention with a cognitive brain-machine interface

Selective attention produces systematic effects on neural states. It is unclear whether, conversely, momentary fluctuations in neural states have behavioral significance for attention. We investigated this question in the human brain with a cognitive brain-machine interface (cBMI) for tracking electrophysiological steady-state visually evoked potentials (SSVEPs) in real-time. Discrimination accuracy (d') was significantly higher when target stimuli were triggered at high, versus low, SSVEP power states. Target and distractor SSVEP power was uncorrelated across the hemifields, and target d' was unaffected by distractor SSVEP power states. Next, we trained participants on an auditory neurofeedback paradigm to generate biased, cross-hemispheric competitive interactions between target and distractor SSVEPs. The strongest behavioral effects emerged when competitive SSVEP dynamics unfolded at a timescale corresponding to the deployment of endogenous attention. In sum, SSVEP power dynamics provide a reliable readout of attentional state, a result with critical implications for tracking and training human attention.

The perceived effects of augmented trail sensing and mood recognition abilities in a human-fish biohybrid system

The use of technologies to enhance human and animal perception has been explored in pioneering research about artificial life and biohybrid systems. These attempts have revealed that augmented sensing abilities can emerge from new interactions between individuals within or across species. Nevertheless, the diverse effects of different augmented capabilities have been less examined and compared. In this work, we built a human-fish biohybrid system that enhanced the vision of the ornamental fish by projecting human participants onto the arena background. In contrast, human participants were equipped with a mixed-reality device, which visualized individual fish trails (representing situation-oriented perceptions) and emotions (representing communication-oriented perceptions). We investigated the impacts of the two enhanced perceptions on the human side and documented the perceived effects from three aspects. First, both augmented perceptions considerably increase participants' attention toward ornamental fish, and the impact of emotion recognition is more potent than trail sense. Secondly, the frequency of human-fish interactions increases with the equipped perceptions. The mood recognition ability on the human side can indirectly promote the recorded positive mood of fish. Thirdly, most participants mentioned that they felt closer to those fish which had mood recognition ability, even if we added some mistakes in the accuracy of mood recognition. In contrast, the addition of trail sensing ability does not lead to a similar effect on the mental bond. These findings reveal several aspects of different perceived effects between the enhancements of communication-oriented and situation-oriented perceptions.

Consumer Behaviour to Be Considered in Advertising: A Systematic Analysis and Future Agenda

In the past decade, neurophysiological and physiological tools have been used to explore consumer behaviour toward advertising. The studies into brain processes (e.g., emotions, motivation, reward, attention, perception, and memory) toward advertising are scant, and remain unclear in the academic literature. To fill the gap in the literature, this study followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) protocol to extract relevant articles. It extracted and analysed 76 empirical articles from the Web of Science (WoS) database from 2009-2020. The findings revealed that the inferior frontal gyrus was associated with pleasure, while the middle temporal gyrus correlated with displeasure of advertising. Meanwhile, the right superior-temporal is related to high arousal and the right middle-frontal-gyrus is linked to low arousal toward advertisement campaigns. The right prefrontal-cortex (PFC) is correlated with withdrawal behaviour, and the left PFC is linked to approach behaviour. For the reward system, the ventral striatum has a main role in the reward system. It has also been found that perception is connected to the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) and ventromedial (Vm) PFC. The study's findings provide a profound overview of the importance of brain processes such as emotional processes, reward, motivation, cognitive processes, and perception in advertising campaigns such as commercial, social initiative, and public health.

Age-related differences in the effect of chronic alcohol on cognition and the brain: a systematic review

Adolescence is an important developmental period associated with increased risk for excessive alcohol use, but also high rates of recovery from alcohol use-related problems, suggesting potential resilience to long-term effects compared to adults. The aim of this systematic review is to evaluate the current evidence for a moderating role of age on the impact of chronic alcohol exposure on the brain and cognition. We searched Medline, PsycInfo, and Cochrane Library databases up to February 3, 2021. All human and animal studies that directly tested whether the relationship between chronic alcohol exposure and neurocognitive outcomes differs between adolescents and adults were included. Study characteristics and results of age-related analyses were extracted into reference tables and results were separately narratively synthesized for each cognitive and brain-related outcome. The evidence strength for age-related differences varies across outcomes. Human evidence is largely missing, but animal research provides limited but consistent evidence of heightened adolescent sensitivity to chronic alcohol's effects on several outcomes, including conditioned aversion, dopaminergic transmission in reward-related regions, neurodegeneration, and neurogenesis. At the same time, there is limited evidence for adolescent resilience to chronic alcohol-induced impairments in the domain of cognitive flexibility, warranting future studies investigating the potential mechanisms underlying adolescent risk and resilience to the effects of alcohol. The available evidence from mostly animal studies indicates adolescents are both more vulnerable and potentially more resilient to chronic alcohol effects on specific brain and cognitive outcomes. More human research directly comparing adolescents and adults is needed despite the methodological constraints. Parallel translational animal models can aid in the causal interpretation of observed effects. To improve their translational value, future animal studies should aim to use voluntary self-administration paradigms and incorporate individual differences and environmental context to better model human drinking behavior.

Reclaiming saliency: Rhythmic precision-modulated action and perception

Computational models of visual attention in artificial intelligence and robotics have been inspired by the concept of a saliency map. These models account for the mutual information between the (current) visual information and its estimated causes. However, they fail to consider the circular causality between perception and action. In other words, they do not consider where to sample next, given current beliefs. Here, we reclaim salience as an active inference process that relies on two basic principles: uncertainty minimization and rhythmic scheduling. For this, we make a distinction between attention and salience. Briefly, we associate attention with precision control, i.e., the confidence with which beliefs can be updated given sampled sensory data, and salience with uncertainty minimization that underwrites the selection of future sensory data. Using this, we propose a new account of attention based on rhythmic precision-modulation and discuss its potential in robotics, providing numerical experiments that showcase its advantages for state and noise estimation, system identification and action selection for informative path planning.

Perceptual learning with dichoptic attention tasks improves attentional modulation in V1 and IPS and reduces interocular suppression in human amblyopia

Long-term and chronic visual suppression to the non-preferred eye in early childhood is a key factor in developing amblyopia, as well as a critical barrier to treat amblyopia. To explore the relationship between selective visual attention and amblyopic suppression and its role in the success of amblyopic training, we used EEG source-imaging to show that training human adults with strabismic and anisometropic amblyopia with dichoptic attention tasks improved attentional modulation of neural populations in the primary visual cortex (V1) and intraparietal sulcus (IPS). We also used psychophysics to show that training reduced interocular suppression along with visual acuity and stereoacuity improvements. Importantly, our results revealed that the reduction of interocular suppression by training was significantly correlated with the improvement of selective visual attention in both training-related and -unrelated tasks in the amblyopic eye, relative to the fellow eye. These findings suggest a relation between interocular suppression and selective visual attention bias between eyes in amblyopic vision, and that dichoptic training with high-attention demand tasks in the amblyopic eye might be an effective way to treat amblyopia.

Recruitment of frontal sensory circuits during visual discrimination

A long-range circuit linking the medial frontal cortex to the primary visual cortex (V1) has been proposed to mediate visual selective attention in mice during visually guided behavior. Here, we use in vivo two-photon functional imaging to measure the endogenous activity of axons of A24b/M2 neurons from this region projecting to layer 1 of V1 (A24b/M2-V1_axons) in mice either passively viewing stimuli or performing a go/no-go visually guided task. We observe that while A24b/M2-V1_axons are recruited under these conditions, this is not linked to enhancement of neural or behavioral measures of sensory coding. Instead, A24b/M2-V1_axon activity is associated with licking behavior, modulated by reward, and biased toward the sensory cortical hemisphere representing the stimulus currently being discriminated.

•

Endogenous A24b/M2-V1 axon activity elevation does not enhance sensory processing

•

A24b/M2-V1 axon activity is correlated with licking

•

A24b/M2-V1 axon lick-correlated activity is modulated by reward

Virtual reality for the assessment and rehabilitation of neglect: where are we now? A 6-year review update

Unilateral spatial neglect (USN) is a frequent repercussion of a cerebrovascular accident, typically a stroke. USN patients fail to orient their attention to the contralesional side to detect auditory, visual, and somatosensory stimuli, as well as to collect and purposely use this information. Traditional methods for USN assessment and rehabilitation include paper-and-pencil procedures, which address cognitive functions as isolated from other aspects of patients' functioning within a real-life context. This might compromise the ecological validity of these procedures and limit their generalizability; moreover, USN evaluation and treatment currently lacks a gold standard. The field of technology has provided several promising tools that have been integrated within the clinical practice; over the years, a "first wave" has promoted computerized methods, which cannot provide an ecological and realistic environment and tasks. Thus, a "second wave" has fostered the implementation of virtual reality (VR) devices that, with different degrees of immersiveness, induce a sense of presence and allow patients to actively interact within the life-like setting. The present paper provides an updated, comprehensive picture of VR devices in the assessment and rehabilitation of USN, building on the review of Pedroli et al. (2015). The present paper analyzes the methodological and technological aspects of the studies selected, considering the issue of usability and ecological validity of virtual environments and tasks. Despite the technological advancement, the studies in this field lack methodological rigor as well as a proper evaluation of VR usability and should improve the ecological validity of VR-based assessment and rehabilitation of USN.

Learning induces coordinated neuronal plasticity of metabolic demands and functional brain networks

The neurobiological basis of learning is reflected in adaptations of brain structure, network organization and energy metabolism. However, it is still unknown how different neuroplastic mechanisms act together and if cognitive advancements relate to general or task-specific changes. Therefore, we tested how hierarchical network interactions contribute to improvements in the performance of a visuo-spatial processing task by employing simultaneous PET/MR neuroimaging before and after a 4-week learning period. We combined functional PET and metabolic connectivity mapping (MCM) to infer directional interactions across brain regions. Learning altered the top-down regulation of the salience network onto the occipital cortex, with increases in MCM at resting-state and decreases during task execution. Accordingly, a higher divergence between resting-state and task-specific effects was associated with better cognitive performance, indicating that these adaptations are complementary and both required for successful visuo-spatial skill learning. Simulations further showed that changes at resting-state were dependent on glucose metabolism, whereas those during task performance were driven by functional connectivity between salience and visual networks. Referring to previous work, we suggest that learning establishes a metabolically expensive skill engram at rest, whose retrieval serves for efficient task execution by minimizing prediction errors between neuronal representations of brain regions on different hierarchical levels.

Brain network analyses reveal coupled changes between functional connectivity and metabolic demands that relate to cognitive performance improvements induced by learning a challenging visuo-spatial task for four weeks.

Anatomical and functional connectivity support the existence of a salience network node within the caudal ventrolateral prefrontal cortex

Three large-scale networks are considered essential to cognitive flexibility: the ventral and dorsal attention (VANet and DANet) and salience (SNet) networks. The ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (vlPFC) is a known component of the VANet and DANet, but there is a gap in the current knowledge regarding its involvement in the SNet. Herein, we used a translational and multimodal approach to demonstrate the existence of a SNet node within the vlPFC. First, we used tract-tracing methods in non-human primates (NHP) to quantify the anatomical connectivity strength between different vlPFC areas and the frontal and insular cortices. The strongest connections were with the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC) and anterior insula (AI) - the main cortical SNet nodes. These inputs converged in the caudal area 47/12, an area that has strong projections to subcortical structures associated with the SNet. Second, we used resting-state functional MRI (rsfMRI) in NHP data to validate this SNet node. Third, we used rsfMRI in the human to identify a homologous caudal 47/12 region that also showed strong connections with the SNet cortical nodes. Taken together, these data confirm a SNet node in the vlPFC, demonstrating that the vlPFC contains nodes for all three cognitive networks: VANet, DANet, and SNet. Thus, the vlPFC is in a position to switch between these three networks, pointing to its key role as an attentional hub. Its additional connections to the orbitofrontal, dorsolateral, and premotor cortices, place the vlPFC at the center for switching behaviors based on environmental stimuli, computing value, and cognitive control.

A Multi-Granular Aggregation-Enhanced Knowledge Graph Representation for Recommendation

Knowledge graph (KG) helps to improve the accuracy, diversity, and interpretability of a recommender systems. KG has been applied in recommendation systems, exploiting graph neural networks (GNNs), but most existing recommendation models based on GNNs ignore the influence of node types and the loss of information during aggregation. In this paper, we propose a new model, named A Multi-Granular Aggregation-Enhanced Knowledge Graph Representation for Recommendation (MAKR), that relieves the sparsity of the network and overcomes the limitation of information loss of the traditional GNN recommendation model. Specifically, we propose a new graph, named the Improved Collaborative Knowledge Graph (ICKG), that integrates user–item interaction and a knowledge graph into a huge heterogeneous network, divides the nodes in the heterogeneous network into three categories—users, items, and entities, and connects the edges according to the similarity between the users and items so as to enhance the high-order connectivity of the graph. In addition, we used attention mechanisms, the factorization machine (FM), and transformer (Trm) algorithms to aggregate messages from multi-granularity and different types to improve the representation ability of the model. The empirical results of three public benchmarks showed that MAKR outperformed state-of-the-art methods such as Neural FM, RippleNet, and KGAT.

Aftereffects to Prism Exposure without Adaptation: A Single Case Study

Visuo-motor adaptation to optical prisms (Prism Adaptation, PA), displacing the visual scene laterally, is a behavioral method used for the experimental investigation of visuomotor plasticity, and, in clinical settings, for temporarily ameliorating and rehabilitating unilateral spatial neglect. This study investigated the building up of PA, and the presence of the typically occurring subsequent Aftereffects (AEs) in a brain-damaged patient (TMA), suffering from apperceptive agnosia and a right visual half-field defect, with bilateral atrophy of the parieto-occipital cortices, regions involved in PA and AEs. Base-Right prisms and control neutral lenses were used. PA was achieved by repeated pointing movements toward three types of stimuli: visual, auditory, and bimodal audio-visual. The presence and the magnitude of AEs were assessed by proprioceptive, visual, visuo-proprioceptive, and auditory-proprioceptive straight-ahead pointing tasks. The patient’s brain connectivity was investigated by Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI). Unlike control participants, TMA did not show any adaptation to prism exposure, but her AEs were largely preserved. These findings indicate that AEs may occur even in the absence of PA, as indexed by the reduction of the pointing error, showing a dissociation between the classical measures of PA and AEs. In the PA process, error reduction, and its feedback, may be less central to the building up of AEs, than the sensorimotor pointing activity per se.

A Neuro-Computational Model for Discrete-Continuous Dual-Task Process

Studies on dual-task (DT) procedures in human behavior are important, as they can offer great insight into the cognitive control system. Accordingly, a discrete-continuous auditory-tracking DT experiment was conducted in this study with different difficulty conditions, including a continuous mouse-tracking task concurrent with a discrete auditory task (AT). Behavioral results of 25 participants were investigated via different factors, such as response time (RT), errors, and hesitations (pauses in tracking tasks). In DT, synchronization of different target neuron units was observed in corresponding brain regions; consequently, a computational model of the stimulus process was proposed to investigate the DT interference procedure during the stimulus process. This generally relates to the bottom-up attention system that a neural resource allocates for various ongoing stimuli. We proposed a black-box model based on interactions and mesoscopic behaviors of neural units. Model structure was implemented based on neurological studies and oscillator units to represent neural activities. Each unit represents one stimulus feature of task concept. Comparing the model's output behavior with the experiment results (RT) validates the model. Evaluation of the proposed model and data on RT implies that the stimulus of the AT affects the DT procedure in the model output (84% correlation). However, the continuous task is not significantly changed (26% correlation). The continuous task simulation results were inconsistent with the experiment, suggesting that continuous interference occurs in higher cognitive processing regions and is controlled by the top-down attentional system. However, this is consistent with the psychological research finding of DT interference occurring in response preparation rather than the stimulus process stage. Furthermore, we developed the proposed model by adding qualitative interpretation and saving the model's generality to address various types of discrete continuous DT procedures. The model predicts a justification method for brain rhythm interactions by synchronization, and manipulating parameters would produce different behaviors. The decrement of coupling parameter and strength factor would predict a similar pattern as in Parkinson's disease and ADHD disorder, respectively. Also, by increasing the similarity factor among the features, the model's result shows automatic task performance in each task.

Sharpening Working Memory With Real-Time Electrophysiological Brain Signals: Which Neurofeedback Paradigms Work?

Growing evidence supports the idea that the ultimate biofeedback is to reward sensory pleasure (e.g., enhanced visual clarity) in real-time to neural circuits that are associated with a desired performance, such as excellent memory retrieval. Neurofeedback is biofeedback that uses real-time sensory reward to brain activity associated with a certain performance (e.g., accurate and fast recall). Working memory is a key component of human intelligence. The challenges are in our current limited understanding of neurocognitive dysfunctions as well as in technical difficulties for closed-loop feedback in true real-time. Here we review recent advancements of real time neurofeedback to improve memory training in healthy young and older adults. With new advancements in neuromarkers of specific neurophysiological functions, neurofeedback training should be better targeted beyond a single frequency approach to include frequency interactions and event-related potentials. Our review confirms the positive trend that neurofeedback training mostly works to improve memory and cognition to some extent in most studies. Yet, the training typically takes multiple weeks with 2-3 sessions per week. We review various neurofeedback reward strategies and outcome measures. A well-known issue in such training is that some people simply do not respond to neurofeedback. Thus, we also review the literature of individual differences in psychological factors e.g., placebo effects and so-called "BCI illiteracy" (Brain Computer Interface illiteracy). We recommend the use of Neural modulation sensitivity or BCI insensitivity in the neurofeedback literature. Future directions include much needed research in mild cognitive impairment, in non-Alzheimer's dementia populations, and neurofeedback using EEG features during resting and sleep for memory enhancement and as sensitive outcome measures.

Reduced Precision Underwrites Ego Dissolution and Therapeutic Outcomes Under Psychedelics

Evidence suggests classic psychedelics reduce the precision of belief updating and enable access to a range of alternate hypotheses that underwrite how we make sense of the world. This process, in the higher cortices, has been postulated to explain the therapeutic efficacy of psychedelics for the treatment of internalizing disorders. We argue reduced precision also underpins change to consciousness, known as “ego dissolution,” and that alterations to consciousness and attention under psychedelics have a common mechanism of reduced precision of Bayesian belief updating. Evidence, connecting the role of serotonergic receptors to large-scale connectivity changes in the cortex, suggests the precision of Bayesian belief updating may be a mechanism to modify and investigate consciousness and attention.

Differential mechanisms underlie trace and delay conditioning in Drosophila

Two forms of associative learning-delay conditioning and trace conditioning-have been widely investigated in humans and higher-order mammals¹. In delay conditioning, an unconditioned stimulus (for example, an electric shock) is introduced in the final moments of a conditioned stimulus (for example, a tone), with both ending at the same time. In trace conditioning, a 'trace' interval separates the conditioned stimulus and the unconditioned stimulus. Trace conditioning therefore relies on maintaining a neural representation of the conditioned stimulus after its termination (hence making distraction possible²), to learn the conditioned stimulus-unconditioned stimulus contingency³; this makes it more cognitively demanding than delay conditioning⁴. Here, by combining virtual-reality behaviour with neurogenetic manipulations and in vivo two-photon brain imaging, we show that visual trace conditioning and delay conditioning in Drosophila mobilize R2 and R4m ring neurons in the ellipsoid body. In trace conditioning, calcium transients during the trace interval show increased oscillations and slower declines over repeated training, and both of these effects are sensitive to distractions. Dopaminergic activity accompanies signal persistence in ring neurons, and this is decreased by distractions solely during trace conditioning. Finally, dopamine D1-like and D2-like receptor signalling in ring neurons have different roles in delay and trace conditioning; dopamine D1-like receptor 1 mediates both forms of conditioning, whereas the dopamine D2-like receptor is involved exclusively in sustaining ring neuron activity during the trace interval of trace conditioning. These observations are similar to those previously reported in mammals during arousal⁵, prefrontal activation⁶ and high-level cognitive learning^7,8.

Neuronal modulation in the mouse superior colliculus during covert visual selective attention

Covert visual attention is accomplished by a cascade of mechanisms distributed across multiple brain regions. Visual cortex is associated with enhanced representations of relevant stimulus features, whereas the contributions of subcortical circuits are less well understood but have been associated with selection of relevant spatial locations and suppression of distracting stimuli. As a step toward understanding these subcortical circuits, here we identified how neuronal activity in the intermediate layers of the superior colliculus (SC) of head-fixed mice is modulated during covert visual attention. We found that spatial cues modulated both firing rate and spike-count correlations. Crucially, the cue-related modulation in firing rate was due to enhancement of activity at the cued spatial location rather than suppression at the uncued location, indicating that SC neurons in our task were modulated by an excitatory or disinhibitory circuit mechanism focused on the relevant location, rather than broad inhibition of irrelevant locations. This modulation improved the neuronal discriminability of visual-change-evoked activity, but only when assessed for neuronal activity between the contralateral and ipsilateral SC. Together, our findings indicate that neurons in the mouse SC can contribute to covert visual selective attention by biasing processing in favor of locations expected to contain task-relevant information.

Two-Tier Instant-Feedback Assessment Strategy for Improvement of Student Concentration

In this study, a two-tier instant-feedback assessment model was constructed using the Zuvio instant-feedback system and oral questions; this model was applied to conduct formative assessments for an introductory computer course. We adopted a one-group pretest-posttest approach with 52 first-year nursing students. The course ran for 6 weeks with two classes per week. The course content of mBlock language and the educational robotic kit mbot was introduced in the first 2 weeks. From the third to the sixth week, the two-tier instant assessment strategy was added. At the end of the teaching experiment, surveys on concentration and course satisfaction were administered. Our results were as follows: (1) two-tier instant-feedback assessment can enhance student concentration, as the results showed that students' concentration improved; (2) in the subscale, the "competitive selection" dimension reached a significant difference; and (3), the students held positive views toward the incorporation of two-tier instant-feedback assessment into the course.

EXPRESS: The Rubber Hand Illusion: Top-Down Attention Modulates Embodiment

The Rubber Hand Illusion (RHI) creates distortions of body ownership through multimodal integration of somatosensory and visual inputs. This illusion largely rests on bottom-up (automatic multisensory and perceptual integration) mechanisms. However, the relative contribution from top-down factors, such as controlled processes involving attentional regulation, remains unclear. Following previous work that highlights the putative influence of higher-order cognition in the RHI, we aimed to further examine how modulations of working memory load and task instructions—two conditions engaging top-down cognitive processes—influence the experience of the RHI, as indexed by a number of psychometric dimensions. Relying on exploratory factor analysis for assessing this phenomenology within the RHI, our results confirm the influence of higher-order, top-down mental processes. Whereas task instruction strongly modulated embodiment of the rubber hand, cognitive load altered the affective dimension of the RHI. Our findings corroborate that top-down processes shape the phenomenology of the RHI and herald new ways to improve experimental control over the RHI.

A novel method for utilizing dichoptic attention tasks in amblyopic training

There is converging evidence of attention deficits in individuals with amblyopia. It has been reported that selective visual attention is allocated preferentially toward the non-amblyopic fellow eye in strabismic ambloypes. This attention allocation bias between the eyes is found related to visual suppression in amblyopia. In this study, I introduced a novel method, which uses dichoptic attention tasks to train individuals with amblyopia and has been demonstrated alleviating visual suppression and improving visual functions while reducing interocular attention bias in adults with amblyopia. The method consists of the following components:•

The training tasks include three attention factors (searching, counting and cueing) to implement selective visual attention to the amblyopic eye dichoptically.

•

With a dichoptic approach, the targets are presented to the amblyopic eye while the distractors are simultaneously presented to the fellow eye. The tasks are to search and count the targets that are presented to the cued eye among the distractors.

•

The training stimuli avoid typical contrast sensitivity-based tasks, and the targets are highly visible allowing them to be seen by the amblyopic eye with poor visual acuity.