1
|
Callara AL, Greco A, Scilingo EP, Bonfiglio L. Neuronal correlates of eyeblinks are an expression of primary consciousness phenomena. Sci Rep 2023; 13:12617. [PMID: 37537328 PMCID: PMC10400571 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-39500-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/16/2022] [Accepted: 07/26/2023] [Indexed: 08/05/2023] Open
Abstract
The blinking rate far exceeds that required for moistening the cornea and changes depending on whether a person is resting or engaged in cognitive tasks. During ecological cognitive tasks (such as speaking, reading, and watching videos), blinks occur at breakpoints of attention suggesting a role in information segmentation, but the close relationship between cognition dynamics and blink timing still escapes a full understanding. The aim of the present study is to seek (1) if there is a temporal relationship between blink events and the consecutive steps of cognitive processing, and (2) if blink timing and the intensity of blink-related EEG responses are affected by task-relevance of stimuli. Our results show that, in a classical visual oddball task, (i) the occurrence of blinks is influenced by stimuli, irrespective of their relevance, (ii) blinks following relevant stimuli are only apparently delayed due to the need of finalizing a behavioural response, and (iii) stimulus relevance does not affect the intensity of the blink-related EEG response. This evidence reinforce the idea that blinks are not emitted until the last step of the processing sequence has been completed and suggests that blink-related EEG responses are generated by primary consciousness phenomena which are considered by their nature non-modulable (all-or-nothing) phenomena.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Alejandro Luis Callara
- Dipartimento di Ingegneria dell'Informazione, University of Pisa, Via G. Caruso 16, 56122, Pisa, Italy
- Research Center "E. Piaggio", University of Pisa, Largo Lucio Lazzarino 1, 56122, Pisa, Italy
| | - Alberto Greco
- Dipartimento di Ingegneria dell'Informazione, University of Pisa, Via G. Caruso 16, 56122, Pisa, Italy
- Research Center "E. Piaggio", University of Pisa, Largo Lucio Lazzarino 1, 56122, Pisa, Italy
| | - Enzo Pasquale Scilingo
- Dipartimento di Ingegneria dell'Informazione, University of Pisa, Via G. Caruso 16, 56122, Pisa, Italy
- Research Center "E. Piaggio", University of Pisa, Largo Lucio Lazzarino 1, 56122, Pisa, Italy
| | - Luca Bonfiglio
- Department of Translational Research and New Technologies in Medicine and Surgery, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy.
- Unit of Developmental Neurorehabilitation, Maternal and Child Department, Pisa University Hospital, Pisa, Italy.
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Wang L, Huang L, Li M, Wang X, Wang S, Lin Y, Zhang X. An awareness-dependent mapping of saliency in the human visual system. Neuroimage 2021; 247:118864. [PMID: 34965453 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2021.118864] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/02/2021] [Revised: 12/20/2021] [Accepted: 12/25/2021] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
The allocation of exogenously cued spatial attention is governed by a saliency map. Yet, how salience is mapped when multiple salient stimuli are present simultaneously, and how this mapping interacts with awareness remains unclear. These questions were addressed here using either visible or invisible displays presenting two foreground stimuli (whose bars were oriented differently from the bars in the otherwise uniform background): a high salience target and a distractor of varied, lesser salience. Interference, or not, by the distractor with the effective salience of the target served to index a graded or non-graded nature of salience mapping, respectively. The invisible and visible displays were empirically validated by a two-alternative forced choice test (detecting the quadrant of the target) demonstrating subjects' performance at or above chance level, respectively. By combining psychophysics, fMRI, and effective connectivity analysis, we found a graded distribution of salience with awareness, changing to a non-graded distribution without awareness. Crucially, we further revealed that the graded distribution was contingent upon feedback from the posterior intraparietal sulcus (pIPS, especially from the right pIPS), whereas the non-graded distribution was innate to V1. Together, this awareness-dependent mapping of saliency reconciles several previous, seemingly contradictory findings regarding the nature of the saliency map.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Lijuan Wang
- Philosophy and Social Science Laboratory of Reading and Development in Children and Adolescents (South China Normal University), Ministry of Education, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510631, China; Key Laboratory of Brain, Cognition and Education Sciences (South China Normal University), Ministry of Education, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510631, China; School of Psychology, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510631, China
| | - Ling Huang
- Philosophy and Social Science Laboratory of Reading and Development in Children and Adolescents (South China Normal University), Ministry of Education, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510631, China; Key Laboratory of Brain, Cognition and Education Sciences (South China Normal University), Ministry of Education, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510631, China; School of Psychology, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510631, China
| | - Mengsha Li
- Philosophy and Social Science Laboratory of Reading and Development in Children and Adolescents (South China Normal University), Ministry of Education, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510631, China; Key Laboratory of Brain, Cognition and Education Sciences (South China Normal University), Ministry of Education, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510631, China; School of Psychology, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510631, China
| | - Xiaotong Wang
- Philosophy and Social Science Laboratory of Reading and Development in Children and Adolescents (South China Normal University), Ministry of Education, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510631, China; Key Laboratory of Brain, Cognition and Education Sciences (South China Normal University), Ministry of Education, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510631, China; School of Psychology, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510631, China
| | - Shiyu Wang
- Philosophy and Social Science Laboratory of Reading and Development in Children and Adolescents (South China Normal University), Ministry of Education, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510631, China; Key Laboratory of Brain, Cognition and Education Sciences (South China Normal University), Ministry of Education, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510631, China; School of Psychology, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510631, China
| | - Yuefa Lin
- Philosophy and Social Science Laboratory of Reading and Development in Children and Adolescents (South China Normal University), Ministry of Education, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510631, China; Key Laboratory of Brain, Cognition and Education Sciences (South China Normal University), Ministry of Education, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510631, China; School of Psychology, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510631, China
| | - Xilin Zhang
- Philosophy and Social Science Laboratory of Reading and Development in Children and Adolescents (South China Normal University), Ministry of Education, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510631, China; Key Laboratory of Brain, Cognition and Education Sciences (South China Normal University), Ministry of Education, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510631, China; School of Psychology, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510631, China; Center for Studies of Psychological Application, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510631, China; Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510631, China.
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Couperus JW, Lydic KO. Attentional set and the gradient of visual spatial attention. Neurosci Lett 2019; 712:134495. [PMID: 31520648 DOI: 10.1016/j.neulet.2019.134495] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2019] [Revised: 08/26/2019] [Accepted: 09/10/2019] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
There are a number of factors that may influence the shape and scope of the gradient of visual attention. This study examined the role of attentional set in determining the scope and presence of suppression in the gradient of visual selective attention observed in the P1 event related potential waveform. Twenty-two participants were asked to attend to a specific location and respond to a target stimulus. However, thirty percent of the time, the stimulus could also appear at one of 7 other locations (three ipsilateral to the attended location and four contralateral). Attentional set was varied by changes in the instructions to avoid confounds created by changing the stimuli. In half of the study participants were asked to respond only to stimuli that appeared at the designated location. In the other half of the study participants were asked to attend to the designated location but respond to all stimuli. Results demonstrate a significant main effect of attentional set, with greater processing when participants were asked to respond to all stimuli as compared to when they were only asked to respond to stimuli at the designated location. Additionally a significant interaction between visual field and location shows greater differences in processing (i.e. an attentional effect) at locations closer to the designated location. Findings are discussed in relation to the scope and gradient of attention.
Collapse
|
4
|
Wong-Kee-You AMB, Tsotsos JK, Adler SA. Development of spatial suppression surrounding the focus of visual attention. J Vis 2019; 19:9. [DOI: 10.1167/19.7.9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
| | - John K. Tsotsos
- Centre for Vision Research, York University, Toronto, ON, Canada
- Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, York University, Toronto, ON, Canada
- ://jtl.lassonde.yorku.ca/
| | - Scott A. Adler
- Department of Psychology, York University, Toronto, Canada
- Centre for Vision Research, York University, Toronto, ON, Canada
- ://babylab.cvr.yorku.ca
| |
Collapse
|
5
|
Affiliation(s)
- Reshanne R. Reeder
- Department of Experimental Psychology, Institute of Psychology II, Otto-von-Guericke University, Magdeburg, Germany
| | - Christian N. L. Olivers
- Department of Experimental and Applied Psychology, Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Stefan Pollmann
- Department of Experimental Psychology, Institute of Psychology II, Otto-von-Guericke University, Magdeburg, Germany
- Center for Behavioral Brain Sciences, Magdeburg, Germany
| |
Collapse
|
6
|
Simione L, Nolfi S. The Emergence of Selective Attention through Probabilistic Associations between Stimuli and Actions. PLoS One 2016; 11:e0166174. [PMID: 27846301 PMCID: PMC5112963 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0166174] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/02/2016] [Accepted: 10/15/2016] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
In this paper we show how a multilayer neural network trained to master a context-dependent task in which the action co-varies with a certain stimulus in a first context and with a second stimulus in an alternative context exhibits selective attention, i.e. filtering out of irrelevant information. This effect is rather robust and it is observed in several variations of the experiment in which the characteristics of the network as well as of the training procedure have been varied. Our result demonstrates how the filtering out of irrelevant information can originate spontaneously as a consequence of the regularities present in context-dependent training set and therefore does not necessarily depend on specific architectural constraints. The post-evaluation of the network in an instructed-delay experimental scenario shows how the behaviour of the network is consistent with the data collected in neuropsychological studies. The analysis of the network at the end of the training process indicates how selective attention originates as a result of the effects caused by relevant and irrelevant stimuli mediated by context-dependent and context-independent bidirectional associations between stimuli and actions that are extracted by the network during the learning.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Luca Simione
- Institute of Cognitive Sciences and Technologies, CNR, Rome, Italy
- * E-mail:
| | - Stefano Nolfi
- Institute of Cognitive Sciences and Technologies, CNR, Rome, Italy
| |
Collapse
|
7
|
Painter DR, Dux PE, Mattingley JB. Distinct roles of the intraparietal sulcus and temporoparietal junction in attentional capture from distractor features: An individual differences approach. Neuropsychologia 2015; 74:50-62. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2015.02.029] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/04/2014] [Revised: 02/19/2015] [Accepted: 02/20/2015] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
|
8
|
Lenartowicz A, Simpson GV, Haber CM, Cohen MS. Neurophysiological signals of ignoring and attending are separable and related to performance during sustained intersensory attention. J Cogn Neurosci 2014; 26:2055-69. [PMID: 24666167 DOI: 10.1162/jocn_a_00613] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/09/2023]
Abstract
The ability to attend to an input selectively while ignoring distracting sensations is thought to depend on the coordination of two processes: enhancement of target signals and attenuation of distractor signals. This implies that attending and ignoring may be dissociable neural processes and that they make separable contributions to behavioral outcomes of attention. In this study, we tested these hypotheses in the context of sustained attention by measuring neurophysiological responses to attended and ignored stimuli in a noncued, continuous, audiovisual selective attention task. We compared these against responses during a passive control to quantify effects of attending and ignoring separately. In both sensory modalities, responses to ignored stimuli were attenuated relative to a passive control, whereas responses to attended stimuli were enhanced. The scalp topographies and brain activations of these modulatory effects were consistent with the sensory regions that process each modality. They also included parietal and prefrontal activations that suggest these effects arise from interactions between top-down and sensory cortices. Most importantly, we found that both attending and ignoring processes contributed to task accuracy and that these effects were not correlated--suggesting unique neural trajectories. This conclusion was supported by the novel observation that attending and ignoring differed in timing and in active cortical regions. The data provide direct evidence for the separable contributions of attending and ignoring to behavioral outcomes of attention control during sustained intersensory attention.
Collapse
|
9
|
Payne L, Guillory S, Sekuler R. Attention-modulated alpha-band oscillations protect against intrusion of irrelevant information. J Cogn Neurosci 2013; 25:1463-76. [PMID: 23530921 PMCID: PMC3987899 DOI: 10.1162/jocn_a_00395] [Citation(s) in RCA: 83] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/04/2022]
Abstract
Combining high-density scalp EEG recordings with a sensitive analog measure of STM's fidelity, we characterized the temporal dynamics of intentional ignoring and related those dynamics to the intrusion of task-irrelevant information. On each trial of the task, two study Gabors were briefly presented in succession. A green or red disc preceding each Gabor signified whether that Gabor should be remembered or ignored, respectively. With cue-stimulus intervals of 300, 600, or 900 msec presented in separate sessions, we found that the onset of posterior, prestimulus alpha oscillations varied with the length of the interval. Although stimulus onset time was entirely predictable, the longer the cue-stimulus interval, the earlier the increase in prestimulus alpha power. However, the alpha-band modulation was not simply locked to the cue offset. The temporal envelopes of posterior alpha-band modulation were strikingly similar for both cued attending and cued ignoring and differed only in magnitude. This similarity suggests that cued attending includes suppression of task-irrelevant, spatial processing. Supporting the view that alpha-band oscillations represent inhibition, our graded measure of recall revealed that, when the stimulus to be ignored appears second in the sequence, peristimulus alpha power predicted the degree to which that irrelevant stimulus distorted subsequent recall of the stimulus that was to be remembered. These results demonstrate that timely deployment of attention-related alpha-band oscillations can aid STM by filtering out task-irrelevant information.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Lisa Payne
- Department of Psychology, Brandeis University, Room MS013, 415 South St., Waltham, MA 02453, USA.
| | | | | |
Collapse
|
10
|
Persike M, Meinhardt-Injac B, Meinhardt G. The preview benefit for familiar and unfamiliar faces. Vision Res 2013; 87:1-9. [PMID: 23694681 DOI: 10.1016/j.visres.2013.05.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/12/2012] [Revised: 04/30/2013] [Accepted: 05/02/2013] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
Previewing distracters improves visual search - the preview benefit (Watson & Humphreys, 1997). Recent fMRI evidence suggests that the preview benefit rests on active inhibition in brain regions concerned with spatial memory, as well as in content selective areas (Allen, Humphreys, & Matthews, 2008). Using familiar and unfamiliar faces in a preview search task we show that search performance is much better with familiar than with unfamiliar faces. With both types of stimuli we obtained preview benefits of at least 10%, measured in terms of the advantage in reaction time relative to the no preview condition. The preview benefit increased up to 30% when distracter faces and their locations were previewed, compared to a benefit in the range of 10-25% for previewing just distracter locations. Analysis in terms of search time per item showed that familiar faces were processed with more than double the efficiency of the unfamiliar faces. Further, efficiency was enhanced relative to the no preview condition only when distracter locations and content were previewed, but not when participants previewed just distracter locations. These findings corroborate that the preview benefit involves both spatial and content-specific mechanisms, and indicate contribution of existing long-term memory representations independent of spatial memory.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- M Persike
- Institute of Psychology, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Wallstr. 3, D-55122 Mainz, Germany.
| | | | | |
Collapse
|
11
|
Dent K, Allen HA, Braithwaite JJ, Humphreys GW. Parallel distractor rejection as a binding mechanism in search. Front Psychol 2012; 3:278. [PMID: 22908002 PMCID: PMC3414861 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2012.00278] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/16/2012] [Accepted: 07/19/2012] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
The relatively common experimental visual search task of finding a red X amongst red O's and green X's (conjunction search) presents the visual system with a binding problem. Illusory conjunctions (ICs) of features across objects must be avoided and only features present in the same object bound together. Correct binding into unique objects by the visual system may be promoted, and ICs minimized, by inhibiting the locations of distractors possessing non-target features (e.g., Treisman and Sato, 1990). Such parallel rejection of interfering distractors leaves the target as the only item competing for selection; thus solving the binding problem. In the present article we explore the theoretical and empirical basis of this process of active distractor inhibition in search. Specific experiments that provide strong evidence for a process of active distractor inhibition in search are highlighted. In the final part of the article we consider how distractor inhibition, as defined here, may be realized at a neurophysiological level (Treisman and Sato, 1990).
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Kevin Dent
- Department of Psychology, University of EssexColchester, UK
| | | | | | - Glyn W. Humphreys
- Department of Experimental Psychology, University of OxfordOxford, UK
| |
Collapse
|
12
|
Allen HA, Payne H. Similar behaviour, different brain patterns: age-related changes in neural signatures of ignoring. Neuroimage 2012; 59:4113-25. [PMID: 22056463 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2011.10.070] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/20/2011] [Revised: 10/18/2011] [Accepted: 10/18/2011] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Abstract
We measured behavioural performance and fMRI activity whilst old and young adults performed a temporal segmentation task ('preview search'). Being able to select parts of the visual world to be attended or ignored is a critical visual skill. Both old and young adults were able to improve their performance on a difficult search task when some of the distracter items were presented earlier than the remainder. Comparisons of brain activity and functional connectivity, however, suggested that the underlying mechanisms are quite different for the two age groups. Older adults' activation patterns do not correspond to those predicted by simple increased involvement of frontal regions reflecting higher demand with age but seem to suggest that changes in brain activation patterns propagate throughout the cortex.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Harriet A Allen
- School of Psychology, University of Nottingham, University Park, Nottingham NG7 2RD, UK.
| | | |
Collapse
|