1
|
Ritz H, Shenhav A. Orthogonal neural encoding of targets and distractors supports multivariate cognitive control. Nat Hum Behav 2024; 8:945-961. [PMID: 38459265 PMCID: PMC11219097 DOI: 10.1038/s41562-024-01826-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/12/2022] [Accepted: 01/15/2024] [Indexed: 03/10/2024]
Abstract
The complex challenges of our mental life require us to coordinate multiple forms of neural information processing. Recent behavioural studies have found that people can coordinate multiple forms of attention, but the underlying neural control process remains obscure. We hypothesized that the brain implements multivariate control by independently monitoring feature-specific difficulty and independently prioritizing feature-specific processing. During functional MRI, participants performed a parametric conflict task that separately tags target and distractor processing. Consistent with feature-specific monitoring, univariate analyses revealed spatially segregated encoding of target and distractor difficulty in the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex. Consistent with feature-specific attentional priority, our encoding geometry analysis revealed overlapping but orthogonal representations of target and distractor coherence in the intraparietal sulcus. Coherence representations were mediated by control demands and aligned with both performance and frontoparietal activity, consistent with top-down attention. Together, these findings provide evidence for the neural geometry necessary to coordinate multivariate cognitive control.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Harrison Ritz
- Cognitive, Linguistic & Psychological Science, Brown University, Providence, RI, USA.
- Carney Institute for Brain Science, Brown University, Providence, RI, USA.
- Princeton Neuroscience Institute, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA.
| | - Amitai Shenhav
- Cognitive, Linguistic & Psychological Science, Brown University, Providence, RI, USA
- Carney Institute for Brain Science, Brown University, Providence, RI, USA
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Gradi N, Chopin A, Bavelier D, Shechner T, Pichon S. Evaluating the effect of action-like video game play and of casual video game play on anxiety in adolescents with elevated anxiety: protocol for a multi-center, parallel group, assessor-blind, randomized controlled trial. BMC Psychiatry 2024; 24:56. [PMID: 38243201 PMCID: PMC10799487 DOI: 10.1186/s12888-024-05515-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/13/2023] [Accepted: 01/10/2024] [Indexed: 01/21/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Adolescence is a critical period for the onset and maintenance of anxiety disorders, which raises the importance of intervening early; one possibility of doing so is via digital interventions. Within that research field, at least two important research paths have been explored in the past years. On the one hand, the anxiolytic effect of casual video games has been tested as such gaming activity may distract away from anxious thoughts through the induction of flow and redirection of attention toward the game and thus away of anxious thoughts. On the other hand, the bidirectional link between weak attentional control and higher anxiety has led to the design of interventions aiming at improving attentional control such as working memory training studies. Taking stock that another genre of gaming, action video games, improves attentional control, game-based interventions that combines cognitive training and action-like game features would seem relevant. This three-arm randomized controlled trial aims to evaluate the feasibility and the efficacy of two video game interventions to document how each may potentially alleviate adolescent anxiety-related symptoms when deployed fully on-line. METHODS The study aims to recruit 150 individuals, 12 to 14 years of age, with high levels of anxiety as reported by the parents' online form of the Screen for Child Anxiety Related Disorders questionnaire. This trial contrasts a child-friendly, "action-like" video game designed to improve attentional control abilities in a progressive and stepwise manner (Eco-Rescue), a casual puzzle video game selected to act as a positive distraction tool (Bejeweled) and finally a control group with no assigned training intervention to control for possible test-retest effects (No-training). Participants will be assigned randomly to one of the three study arms. They will be assessed for main (anxiety) and secondary outcomes (attentional control, affective working memory) at three time points, before training (T1), one week after the 6-week training (T2) and four months after completing the training (T3). DISCUSSION The results will provide evidence for the feasibility and the efficacy of two online video game interventions at improving mental health and emotional well-being in adolescents with high levels of anxiety. This project will contribute unique knowledge to the field, as few studies have examined the effects of video game play in the context of digital mental health interventions for adolescents. TRIAL REGISTRATION The trial is registered on ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT05923944, June 20, 2023).
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Naïma Gradi
- Department of Psychology, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland.
| | - Adrien Chopin
- Smith Kettlewell Eye Research Institute, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Daphné Bavelier
- Department of Psychology, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland.
| | - Tomer Shechner
- Department of Psychology, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel
| | - Swann Pichon
- Geneva School of Health Sciences, Geneva, Switzerland
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Cavanagh P, Caplovitz GP, Lytchenko TK, Maechler MR, Tse PU, Sheinberg DL. The Architecture of Object-Based Attention. Psychon Bull Rev 2023; 30:1643-1667. [PMID: 37081283 DOI: 10.3758/s13423-023-02281-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 03/22/2023] [Indexed: 04/22/2023]
Abstract
The allocation of attention to objects raises several intriguing questions: What are objects, how does attention access them, what anatomical regions are involved? Here, we review recent progress in the field to determine the mechanisms underlying object-based attention. First, findings from unconscious priming and cueing suggest that the preattentive targets of object-based attention can be fully developed object representations that have reached the level of identity. Next, the control of object-based attention appears to come from ventral visual areas specialized in object analysis that project downward to early visual areas. How feedback from object areas can accurately target the object's specific locations and features is unknown but recent work in autoencoding has made this plausible. Finally, we suggest that the three classic modes of attention may not be as independent as is commonly considered, and instead could all rely on object-based attention. Specifically, studies show that attention can be allocated to the separated members of a group-without affecting the space between them-matching the defining property of feature-based attention. At the same time, object-based attention directed to a single small item has the properties of space-based attention. We outline the architecture of object-based attention, the novel predictions it brings, and discuss how it works in parallel with other attention pathways.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Patrick Cavanagh
- Department of Psychology, Glendon College, 2275 Bayview Avenue, North York, ON, M4N 3M6, Canada.
- CVR, York University, Toronto, ON, Canada.
| | | | | | | | | | - David L Sheinberg
- Department of Neuroscience, Brown University, Providence, RI, USA
- Carney Institute for Brain Science, Brown University, Providence, RI, USA
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Gurariy G, Randall R, Greenberg AS. Neuroimaging evidence for the direct role of auditory scene analysis in object perception. Cereb Cortex 2023; 33:6257-6272. [PMID: 36562994 PMCID: PMC10183742 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhac501] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/11/2022] [Revised: 11/29/2022] [Accepted: 11/30/2022] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Auditory Scene Analysis (ASA) refers to the grouping of acoustic signals into auditory objects. Previously, we have shown that perceived musicality of auditory sequences varies with high-level organizational features. Here, we explore the neural mechanisms mediating ASA and auditory object perception. Participants performed musicality judgments on randomly generated pure-tone sequences and manipulated versions of each sequence containing low-level changes (amplitude; timbre). Low-level manipulations affected auditory object perception as evidenced by changes in musicality ratings. fMRI was used to measure neural activation to sequences rated most and least musical, and the altered versions of each sequence. Next, we generated two partially overlapping networks: (i) a music processing network (music localizer) and (ii) an ASA network (base sequences vs. ASA manipulated sequences). Using Representational Similarity Analysis, we correlated the functional profiles of each ROI to a model generated from behavioral musicality ratings as well as models corresponding to low-level feature processing and music perception. Within overlapping regions, areas near primary auditory cortex correlated with low-level ASA models, whereas right IPS was correlated with musicality ratings. Shared neural mechanisms that correlate with behavior and underlie both ASA and music perception suggests that low-level features of auditory stimuli play a role in auditory object perception.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Gennadiy Gurariy
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Medical College of Wisconsin and Marquette University, 8701 W Watertown Plank Rd, Milwaukee, WI 53233, United States
| | - Richard Randall
- School of Music and Neuroscience Institute, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, United States
| | - Adam S Greenberg
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Medical College of Wisconsin and Marquette University, 8701 W Watertown Plank Rd, Milwaukee, WI 53233, United States
| |
Collapse
|
5
|
Evidence of target enhancement and distractor suppression in early visual areas. Atten Percept Psychophys 2023; 85:734-748. [PMID: 36918513 PMCID: PMC10066080 DOI: 10.3758/s13414-023-02673-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 02/09/2023] [Indexed: 03/15/2023]
Abstract
Although the mechanisms of target enhancement and distractor suppression have been investigated along the visual processing hierarchy, there remains some unknown as to the role of perceptual load on the competition between different task-related information as attention deployment is manipulated. We present an fMRI spatial cueing paradigm, in which 32 participants had to attend to either a left or a right hemifield location and to indicate the orientation of the target Gabor that was presented simultaneously to a noise patch distractor. Critically, the target could appear at either the cued, valid location or at the uncued, invalid location; in the latter, the noise patch distractor appeared at the cued location. Perceptual load was manipulated by the presence or absence of high-contrast Gabor patches close to the fixation cross, which acted as lateral masks. Behavioural results indicated that participants performed more efficiently in validly cued trials compared to invalidly cued trials and under low compared to high load. Enhancement effects for targets and suppression effects for noise patches were greater in early visual areas at high load, that is in the presence of lateral masks. These results are in line with the hypothesis that attention results in both target enhancement and distractor suppression, and that these effects are most marked under high perceptual load. Theoretical implications of these results for different models of attention are discussed.
Collapse
|
6
|
Sun M, Xin X, Ying H, Hu L, Zhang X. Categorical encoding of moving colors during location tracking. Perception 2023; 52:195-212. [PMID: 36596275 DOI: 10.1177/03010066221147120] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/04/2023]
Abstract
Categorical perception (CP) describes our tendency to perceive the visual world in a categorical manner, suggesting that high-level cognition may affect perception. While most studies are conducted in static visual scenes, Sun and colleagues found CP effects of color in multiple object tracking (MOT). This study used functional magnetic resonance imaging to investigate the neural mechanism behind the categorical effects of color in MOT. Categorical effects were associated with activities in a broad range of brain regions, including both the ventral (V4, middle temporal gyrus) and dorsal pathways (MT + /V5, inferior parietal lobule) of feature processing, as well as frontal regions (middle frontal gyrus, medial superior frontal gyrus). We proposed that these regions are hierarchically organized and responsible for distinct functions. The color-selective V4 encodes color categories, making cross-category colors more discriminable than within-category colors. Meanwhile, the language and/or semantic regions encode the verbal information of the colors. Both visual and nonvisual codes of color categories then modulate the activities of motion-sensitive MT + areas and frontal areas responsible for attentional processes.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | - Luming Hu
- 47836Beijing Normal University, China
| | | |
Collapse
|
7
|
Zwierko T, Lesiakowski P, Redondo B, Vera J. Examining the ability to track multiple moving targets as a function of postural stability: a comparison between team sports players and sedentary individuals. PeerJ 2022; 10:e13964. [PMID: 36071825 PMCID: PMC9443790 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.13964] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/02/2022] [Accepted: 08/08/2022] [Indexed: 01/19/2023] Open
Abstract
Background The ability to track multiple objects plays a key role in team ball sports actions. However, there is a lack of research focused on identifying multiple object tracking (MOT) performance under rapid, dynamic and ecologically valid conditions. Therefore, we aimed to assess the effects of manipulating postural stability on MOT performance. Methods Nineteen team sports players (soccer, basketball, handball) and sixteen sedentary individuals performed the MOT task under three levels of postural stability (high, medium, and low). For the MOT task, participants had to track three out of eight balls for 10 s, and the object speed was adjusted following a staircase procedure. For postural stability manipulation, participants performed three identical protocols (randomized order) of the MOT task while standing on an unstable platform, using the training module of the Biodex Balance System SD at levels 12 (high-stability), eight (medium-stability), and four (low-stability). Results We found that the ability to track moving targets is dependent on the balance stability conditions (F2,66 = 8.7, p < 0.001, η² = 0.09), with the disturbance of postural stability having a negative effect on MOT performance. Moreover, when compared to sedentary individuals, team sports players showed better MOT scores for the high-stability and the medium-stability conditions (corrected p-value = 0.008, Cohen's d = 0.96 and corrected p-value = 0.009, Cohen's d = 0.94; respectively) whereas no differences were observed for the more unstable conditions (low-stability) between-groups. Conclusions The ability to track moving targets is sensitive to the level of postural stability, with the disturbance of balance having a negative effect on MOT performance. Our results suggest that expertise in team sports training is transferred to non-specific sport domains, as shown by the better performance exhibited by team sports players in comparison to sedentary individuals. This study provides novel insights into the link between individual's ability to track multiple moving objects and postural control in team sports players and sedentary individuals.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Teresa Zwierko
- Institute of Physical Culture Sciences, Laboratory of Kinesiology, Functional and Structural Human Research Center, University of Szczecin, Szczecin, Poland
| | - Piotr Lesiakowski
- Department of Physical Education and Sport, Pomeranian Medical University, Szczecin, Poland
| | - Beatriz Redondo
- CLARO (Clinical and Laboratory Applications of Research in Optometry) Research Group, Department of Optics, University of Granada, Granada, Spain
| | - Jesús Vera
- CLARO (Clinical and Laboratory Applications of Research in Optometry) Research Group, Department of Optics, University of Granada, Granada, Spain
| |
Collapse
|
8
|
Ritz H, Wild CJ, Johnsrude IS. Parametric Cognitive Load Reveals Hidden Costs in the Neural Processing of Perfectly Intelligible Degraded Speech. J Neurosci 2022; 42:4619-4628. [PMID: 35508382 PMCID: PMC9186799 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.1777-21.2022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/01/2021] [Revised: 03/08/2022] [Accepted: 03/10/2022] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Speech is often degraded by environmental noise or hearing impairment. People can compensate for degradation, but this requires cognitive effort. Previous research has identified frontotemporal networks involved in effortful perception, but materials in these works were also less intelligible, and so it is not clear whether activity reflected effort or intelligibility differences. We used functional magnetic resonance imaging to assess the degree to which spoken sentences were processed under distraction and whether this depended on speech quality even when intelligibility of degraded speech was matched to that of clear speech (close to 100%). On each trial, male and female human participants either attended to a sentence or to a concurrent multiple object tracking (MOT) task that imposed parametric cognitive load. Activity in bilateral anterior insula reflected task demands; during the MOT task, activity increased as cognitive load increased, and during speech listening, activity increased as speech became more degraded. In marked contrast, activity in bilateral anterior temporal cortex was speech selective and gated by attention when speech was degraded. In this region, performance of the MOT task with a trivial load blocked processing of degraded speech, whereas processing of clear speech was unaffected. As load increased, responses to clear speech in these areas declined, consistent with reduced capacity to process it. This result dissociates cognitive control from speech processing; substantially less cognitive control is required to process clear speech than is required to understand even very mildly degraded, 100% intelligible speech. Perceptual and control systems clearly interact dynamically during real-world speech comprehension.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Speech is often perfectly intelligible even when degraded, for example, by background sound, phone transmission, or hearing loss. How does degradation alter cognitive demands? Here, we use fMRI to demonstrate a novel and critical role for cognitive control in the processing of mildly degraded but perfectly intelligible speech. We compare speech that is matched for intelligibility but differs in putative control demands, dissociating cognitive control from speech processing. We also impose a parametric cognitive load during perception, dissociating processes that depend on tasks from those that depend on available capacity. Our findings distinguish between frontal and temporal contributions to speech perception and reveal a hidden cost to processing mildly degraded speech, underscoring the importance of cognitive control for everyday speech comprehension.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Harrison Ritz
- Brain and Mind Institute, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario N6A 3K7, Canada
- Department of Cognitive, Linguistic, and Psychological Sciences, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island 02912
| | - Conor J Wild
- Brain and Mind Institute, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario N6A 3K7, Canada
| | - Ingrid S Johnsrude
- Brain and Mind Institute, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario N6A 3K7, Canada
- Departments of Psychology and Communication Sciences and Disorders, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario N6A 3K7, Canada
| |
Collapse
|
9
|
Inter-Individual Variability in tDCS Effects: A Narrative Review on the Contribution of Stable, Variable, and Contextual Factors. Brain Sci 2022; 12:brainsci12050522. [PMID: 35624908 PMCID: PMC9139102 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci12050522] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/20/2022] [Revised: 04/08/2022] [Accepted: 04/14/2022] [Indexed: 01/27/2023] Open
Abstract
Due to its safety, portability, and cheapness, transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) use largely increased in research and clinical settings. Despite tDCS’s wide application, previous works pointed out inconsistent and low replicable results, sometimes leading to extreme conclusions about tDCS’s ineffectiveness in modulating behavioral performance across cognitive domains. Traditionally, this variability has been linked to significant differences in the stimulation protocols across studies, including stimulation parameters, target regions, and electrodes montage. Here, we reviewed and discussed evidence of heterogeneity emerging at the intra-study level, namely inter-individual differences that may influence the response to tDCS within each study. This source of variability has been largely neglected by literature, being results mainly analyzed at the group level. Previous research, however, highlighted that only a half—or less—of studies’ participants could be classified as responders, being affected by tDCS in the expected direction. Stable and variable inter-individual differences, such as morphological and genetic features vs. hormonal/exogenous substance consumption, partially account for this heterogeneity. Moreover, variability comes from experiments’ contextual elements, such as participants’ engagement/baseline capacity and individual task difficulty. We concluded that increasing knowledge on inter-dividual differences rather than undermining tDCS effectiveness could enhance protocols’ efficiency and reproducibility.
Collapse
|
10
|
Merkel C, Hopf J, Schoenfeld MA. Electrophysiological hallmarks of location‐based and object‐based visual multiple objects tracking. Eur J Neurosci 2022; 55:1200-1214. [DOI: 10.1111/ejn.15605] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/18/2021] [Accepted: 01/18/2022] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Christian Merkel
- Department of Neurology Otto‐von‐Guericke University Magdeburg Germany
| | - Jens‐Max Hopf
- Department of Neurology Otto‐von‐Guericke University Magdeburg Germany
- Department of Behavioral Neurology Leibniz Institute of Neurobiology Magdeburg Germany
| | - Mircea Ariel Schoenfeld
- Department of Neurology Otto‐von‐Guericke University Magdeburg Germany
- Department of Behavioral Neurology Leibniz Institute of Neurobiology Magdeburg Germany
- Kliniken Schmieder Heidelberg Germany
| |
Collapse
|
11
|
The structure of the superior and inferior parietal lobes predicts inter-individual suitability for virtual reality. Sci Rep 2021; 11:23688. [PMID: 34880322 PMCID: PMC8654954 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-02957-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/19/2021] [Accepted: 11/24/2021] [Indexed: 01/21/2023] Open
Abstract
The global virtual reality (VR) market is significantly expanding and being challenged with an increased demand owing to COVID-19. Unfortunately, VR is not useful for everyone due to large interindividual variability existing in VR suitability. To understand the neurobiological basis of this variability, we obtained neural structural and functional data from the participants using 3T magnetic resonance imaging. The participants completed one of two tasks (sports training or cognitive task) using VR, which differed in the time scale (months/minutes) and domain (motor learning/attention task). Behavioral results showed that some participants improved their motor skills in the real world after 1-month training in the virtual space or obtained high scores in the 3D attention task (high suitability for VR), whereas others did not (low suitability for VR). Brain structure analysis revealed that the structural properties of the superior and inferior parietal lobes contain information that can predict an individual’s suitability for VR.
Collapse
|
12
|
Chakraborty A, Tran TT, Silva AE, Giaschi D, Thompson B. Continuous theta burst TMS of area MT+ impairs attentive motion tracking. Eur J Neurosci 2021; 54:7289-7300. [PMID: 34591329 DOI: 10.1111/ejn.15480] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/09/2021] [Revised: 09/16/2021] [Accepted: 09/20/2021] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Attentive motion tracking deficits measured using multiple object tracking (MOT) tasks have been identified in a number of neurodevelopmental disorders such as amblyopia and autism. These deficits are often attributed to the abnormal development of high-level attentional networks. However, neuroimaging evidence from amblyopia suggests that reduced MOT performance can be explained by impaired function in motion-sensitive area MT+ alone. To test the hypothesis that a subtle disruption of MT+ function could cause MOT impairment, we assessed whether continuous theta burst stimulation (cTBS) of MT+ influenced MOT task accuracy in individuals with normal vision. The MOT stimulus consisted of four target and four distractor dots and was presented at ±10° eccentricity (right/left hemifield). fMRI-guided cTBS was applied to left MT+. Participants (n = 13, age: 27 ± 3) attended separate active and sham cTBS sessions where the MOT task was completed before, 5-min post- and 30-min post-cTBS. Active cTBS significantly impaired MOT task accuracy relative to baseline for the right (stimulated) hemifield 5-min (10 ± 2% reduction) and 30-min (14 ± 3% reduction) post-stimulation. No impairment occurred within the left (control) hemifield after active cTBS or for either hemifield after sham cTBS. These results highlight the importance of lower level motion processing for MOT, suggesting that a minor disruption of MT+ function alone is sufficient to cause a deficit in MOT performance.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Arijit Chakraborty
- School of Optometry and Vision Science, Faculty of Science, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada.,Chicago College of Optometry, Midwestern University, Downers Grove, Illinois, USA
| | - Tiffany T Tran
- School of Optometry and Vision Science, Faculty of Science, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada
| | - Andrew E Silva
- School of Optometry and Vision Science, Faculty of Science, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada
| | - Deborah Giaschi
- Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, University of British Columbia/B.C. Children's Hospital, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Benjamin Thompson
- School of Optometry and Vision Science, Faculty of Science, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada.,Centre for Eye and Vision Research (CEVR), Hong Kong, China.,Liggins Institute, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
| |
Collapse
|
13
|
Hu L, Wang C, Talhelm T, Zhang X. Distinguishing the neural mechanism of attentional control and working memory in feature-based attentive tracking. Psychophysiology 2020; 58:e13726. [PMID: 33278041 DOI: 10.1111/psyp.13726] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/28/2020] [Revised: 09/06/2020] [Accepted: 10/29/2020] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Surface features are an important component in attentive tracking. However, the neural mechanisms underlying how features affect attentive tracking remain unknown. The present fMRI study addressed this issue by manipulating the intragroup feature complexity and intergroup feature similarity. In particular, this study distinguished the different neural mechanisms of intragroup feature complexity and intergroup feature similarity by investigating the roles of attentional control and working memory in dynamic feature-based attentive tracking. Behavioral and neuroimaging evidence showed that when targets are distinct from distractors, the intragroup feature complexity of the targets, rather than that of the distractors, mainly increases the visual working memory load and significantly activates the frontoparietal cortical circuit. Thus, the involvement of working memory in feature-based attentive tracking is modulated by goal-directed attention control. In addition, when targets are similar to distractors, the intergroup feature similarity (i.e., target-distractor similarity) mainly affects the allocation of attention. Specifically, target-distractor similarity affects the goal-directed attention toward the targets in a stimulus-driven way and induces an interaction between the ventral and dorsal attention networks.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Luming Hu
- Department of Psychology and Research Centre of Aeronautic Psychology and Behavior, Beihang University, Beijing, China.,Beijing Key Laboratory of Applied Experimental Psychology, National Demonstration Centre for Experimental Psychology Education, Faculty of Psychology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
| | - Chundi Wang
- Department of Psychology and Research Centre of Aeronautic Psychology and Behavior, Beihang University, Beijing, China
| | - Thomas Talhelm
- Booth School of Business, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - Xuemin Zhang
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Applied Experimental Psychology, National Demonstration Centre for Experimental Psychology Education, Faculty of Psychology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China.,State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning and IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
| |
Collapse
|
14
|
Benoit JJ, Roudaia E, Johnson T, Love T, Faubert J. The neuropsychological profile of professional action video game players. PeerJ 2020; 8:e10211. [PMID: 33240605 PMCID: PMC7678459 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.10211] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/21/2020] [Accepted: 09/28/2020] [Indexed: 01/12/2023] Open
Abstract
In the past 20 years, there has been growing research interest in the association between video games and cognition. Although many studies have found that video game players are better than non-players in multiple cognitive domains, other studies failed to replicate these results. Until now, the vast majority of studies defined video game players based on the number of hours an individual spent playing video games, with relatively few studies focusing on video game expertise using performance criteria. In the current study, we sought to examine whether individuals who play video games at a professional level in the esports industry differ from amateur video game players in their cognitive and learning abilities. We assessed 14 video game players who play in a competitive league (Professional) and 16 casual video game players (Amateur) on set of standard neuropsychological tests evaluating processing speed, attention, memory, executive functions, and manual dexterity. We also examined participants' ability to improve performance on a dynamic visual attention task that required tracking multiple objects in three-dimensions (3D-MOT) over five sessions. Professional players showed the largest performance advantage relative to Amateur players in a test of visual spatial memory (Spatial Span), with more modest benefits in a test of selective and sustained attention (d2 Test of Attention), and test of auditory working memory (Digit Span). Professional players also showed better speed thresholds in the 3D-MOT task overall, but the rate of improvement with training did not differ in the two groups. Future longitudinal studies of elite video game experts are required to determine whether the observed performance benefits of professional gamers may be due to their greater engagement in video game play, or due to pre-existing differences that promote achievement of high performance in action video games.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Julie Justine Benoit
- Department of Psychology, Université de Montréal, Montréal, Québec, Canada
- Faubert Lab, École d’Optométrie, Université de Montréal, Montréal, Québec, Canada
| | | | - Taylor Johnson
- Infinite Esports and Entertainment, Frisco, TX, United-States
| | - Trevor Love
- Infinite Esports and Entertainment, Frisco, TX, United-States
| | - Jocelyn Faubert
- Faubert Lab, École d’Optométrie, Université de Montréal, Montréal, Québec, Canada
| |
Collapse
|
15
|
Strong RW, Alvarez GA. Hemifield-specific control of spatial attention and working memory: Evidence from hemifield crossover costs. J Vis 2020; 20:24. [PMID: 32841317 PMCID: PMC7453044 DOI: 10.1167/jov.20.8.24] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Attentional tracking and working memory tasks are often performed better when targets are divided evenly between the left and right visual hemifields, rather than contained within a single hemifield (Alvarez & Cavanagh, 2005; Delvenne, 2005). However, this bilateral field advantage does not provide conclusive evidence of hemifield-specific control of attention and working memory, because it can be explained solely from hemifield-limited spatial interference at early stages of visual processing. If control of attention and working memory is specific to each hemifield, maintaining target information should become more difficult as targets move between the two hemifields. Observers in the present study maintained targets that moved either within or between the left and right hemifields, using either attention (Experiment 1) or working memory (Experiment 2). Maintaining spatial information was more difficult when target items moved between the hemifields compared with when target items moved within their original hemifields, consistent with hemifield-specific control of spatial attention and working memory. However, this pattern was not found for maintaining identity information (e.g., color) in working memory (Experiment 3). Together, these results provide evidence that control of spatial attention and working memory is specific to each hemifield, and that hemifield-specific control is a unique signature of spatial processing.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Roger W Strong
- Department of Psychology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA.,Institute for Technology in Psychiatry, McLean Hospital, Belmont, MA, USA.,Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - George A Alvarez
- Department of Psychology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
| |
Collapse
|
16
|
Rouhinen S, Siebenhühner F, Palva JM, Palva S. Spectral and Anatomical Patterns of Large-Scale Synchronization Predict Human Attentional Capacity. Cereb Cortex 2020; 30:5293-5308. [DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhaa110] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/03/2020] [Revised: 03/31/2020] [Accepted: 04/05/2020] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Abstract
The capacity of visual attention determines how many visual objects may be perceived at any moment. This capacity can be investigated with multiple object tracking (MOT) tasks, which have shown that it varies greatly between individuals. The neuronal mechanisms underlying capacity limits have remained poorly understood. Phase synchronization of cortical oscillations coordinates neuronal communication within the fronto-parietal attention network and between the visual regions during endogenous visual attention. We tested a hypothesis that attentional capacity is predicted by the strength of pretarget synchronization within attention-related cortical regions. We recorded cortical activity with magneto- and electroencephalography (M/EEG) while measuring attentional capacity with MOT tasks and identified large-scale synchronized networks from source-reconstructed M/EEG data. Individual attentional capacity was correlated with load-dependent strengthening of theta (3–8 Hz), alpha (8–10 Hz), and gamma-band (30–120 Hz) synchronization that connected the visual cortex with posterior parietal and prefrontal cortices. Individual memory capacity was also preceded by crossfrequency phase–phase and phase–amplitude coupling of alpha oscillation phase with beta and gamma oscillations. Our results show that good attentional capacity is preceded by efficient dynamic functional coupling and decoupling within brain regions and across frequencies, which may enable efficient communication and routing of information between sensory and attentional systems.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Santeri Rouhinen
- Neuroscience Center Unit, Helsinki Institute of Life Science, University of Helsinki, Helsinki FI-00014, Finland
- BioMag Laboratory Unit, HUS Medical Imaging Center, Helsinki FI-00029, Finland
| | - Felix Siebenhühner
- Neuroscience Center Unit, Helsinki Institute of Life Science, University of Helsinki, Helsinki FI-00014, Finland
| | - J Matias Palva
- Neuroscience Center Unit, Helsinki Institute of Life Science, University of Helsinki, Helsinki FI-00014, Finland
- Centre for Cognitive Neuroscience Unit, Institute of Neuroscience and Psychology, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8Q8, UK
- Department of Neuroscience and Biomedical Engineering, Aalto University, Espoo FI-00076, Finland
| | - Satu Palva
- Neuroscience Center Unit, Helsinki Institute of Life Science, University of Helsinki, Helsinki FI-00014, Finland
- Centre for Cognitive Neuroscience Unit, Institute of Neuroscience and Psychology, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8Q8, UK
| |
Collapse
|
17
|
Bland NS, Mattingley JB, Sale MV. Gamma coherence mediates interhemispheric integration during multiple object tracking. J Neurophysiol 2020; 123:1630-1644. [PMID: 32186427 DOI: 10.1152/jn.00755.2019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Our ability to track the paths of multiple visual objects moving between the hemifields requires effective integration of information between the two cerebral hemispheres. Coherent neural oscillations in the gamma band (35-70 Hz) are hypothesized to drive this information transfer. Here we manipulated the need for interhemispheric integration using a novel multiple object tracking (MOT) task in which stimuli either moved between the two visual hemifields, requiring interhemispheric integration, or moved within separate visual hemifields. We used electroencephalography (EEG) to measure interhemispheric coherence during the task. Human observers (21 women; 20 men) were poorer at tracking objects between versus within hemifields, reflecting a cost of interhemispheric integration. Critically, gamma coherence was greater in trials requiring interhemispheric integration, particularly between sensors over parieto-occipital areas. In approximately half of the participants, the observed cost of integration was associated with a failure of the cerebral hemispheres to become coherent in the gamma band. Moreover, individual differences in this integration cost correlated with endogenous gamma coherence at these same sensors, although with generally opposing relationships for the real and imaginary part of coherence. The real part (capturing synchronization with a near-zero phase lag) benefited between-hemifield tracking; imaginary coherence was detrimental. Finally, instantaneous phase coherence over the tracking period uniquely predicted between-hemifield tracking performance, suggesting that effective integration benefits from sustained interhemispheric synchronization. Our results show that gamma coherence mediates interhemispheric integration during MOT and add to a growing body of work demonstrating that coherence drives communication across cortically distributed neural networks.NEW & NOTEWORTHY Using a multiple object tracking paradigm, we were able to manipulate the need for interhemispheric integration on a per-trial basis, while also having an objective measure of integration efficacy (i.e., tracking performance). We show that tracking performance reflects a cost of integration, which correlates with individual differences in interhemispheric EEG coherence. Gamma coherence appears to uniquely benefit between-hemifield tracking, predicting performance both across participants and across trials.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Nicholas S Bland
- School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.,Queensland Brain Institute, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
| | - Jason B Mattingley
- Queensland Brain Institute, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.,School of Psychology, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
| | - Martin V Sale
- School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.,Queensland Brain Institute, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
| |
Collapse
|
18
|
Mäki-Marttunen V, Hagen T, Laeng B, Espeseth T. Distinct Neural Mechanisms Meet Challenges in Dynamic Visual Attention due to Either Load or Object Spacing. J Cogn Neurosci 2020; 32:65-84. [DOI: 10.1162/jocn_a_01469] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/25/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
When engaged in dynamic visuospatial tasks, the brain copes with perceptual and cognitive processing challenges. During multiple-object tracking (MOT), the number of objects to be tracked (i.e., load) imposes attentional demands, but so does spatial interference from irrelevant objects (i.e., close encounters). Presently, it is not clear whether the effect of load on accuracy solely depends on the number of close encounters. If so, the same cognitive and physiological mechanisms deal with increasing load by preparing for and dealing with spatial interference. However, this has never been directly tested. Such knowledge is important to understand the neurophysiology of dynamic visual attention and resolve conflicting views within visual cognition concerning sources of capacity limitations. We varied the processing challenge in MOT task in two ways: the number of targets and the minimum spatial proximity between targets and distractors. In a first experiment, we measured task-induced pupil dilations and saccades during MOT. In a separate cohort, we measured fMRI activity. In both cohorts, increased load and close encounters (i.e., close spatial proximity) led to reduced accuracy in an additive manner. Load was associated with pupil dilations, whereas close encounters were not. Activity in dorsal attentional areas and frequency of saccades were proportionally larger both with higher levels of load and close encounters. Close encounters recruited additionally ventral attentional areas that may reflect orienting mechanisms. The activity in two brainstem nuclei, ventral tegmental area/substantia nigra and locus coeruleus, showed clearly dissociated patterns. Our results constitute convergent evidence indicating that different mechanisms underlie processing challenges due to load and object spacing.
Collapse
|
19
|
Romeas T, Chaumillon R, Labbé D, Faubert J. Combining 3D-MOT With Sport Decision-Making for Perceptual-Cognitive Training in Virtual Reality. Percept Mot Skills 2019; 126:922-948. [DOI: 10.1177/0031512519860286] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
This study introduces a virtual life-sized perceptual-cognitive training paradigm that combines three-dimensional multiple object tracking (3D-MOT) with motor (Experiment 1) or perceptual (Experiment 2) sport decision-making tasks. We sought to assess the impact of training on task performance and determine optimal training conditions for improvement and learning. Fifty-seven participants were randomly assigned to one of four training conditions (isolated 3D-MOT, 3D-MOT combined with a decision-making task, consolidated 3D-MOT later combined with a decision-making task, and isolated decision-making task). We evaluated task performance using speed thresholds, success rate (%), and reaction time (s). Findings were that the dual-task paradigm was associated with performance beyond chance level on both 3D-MOT and decision-making tasks despite an important dual-task cost. Interestingly, the results seemed to favor consolidated 3D-MOT training over simultaneous 3D-MOT training when combined with a motor decision-making task but not when combined with a perceptual decision-making task. The number of shared attentional resources in the nature of the additional task (i.e., perceptual or motor decision-making) seems to be key in interpreting the dual-task interference. These findings must be considered when designing representative multitask perceptual-cognitive training.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Thomas Romeas
- Department of Software and IT Engineering, École de technologie supérieure, Montreal, QC, Canada
- Faubert Lab, School of Optometry, Université de Montréal, Montreal, QC, Canada
- Faubert Applied Research Center, Montreal, QC, Canada
- Institut national du sport du Québec, Montreal, QC, Canada
| | - Romain Chaumillon
- Faubert Lab, School of Optometry, Université de Montréal, Montreal, QC, Canada
| | - David Labbé
- Department of Software and IT Engineering, École de technologie supérieure, Montreal, QC, Canada
- Laboratoire de recherche en imagerie et orthopédie, Centre de recherche du Centre hospitalier de l'Université de Montréal, Montreal, QC, Canada
| | - Jocelyn Faubert
- Faubert Lab, School of Optometry, Université de Montréal, Montreal, QC, Canada
- Faubert Applied Research Center, Montreal, QC, Canada
| |
Collapse
|
20
|
Praß M, de Haan B. Multi-target attention and visual short-term memory capacity are closely linked in the intraparietal sulcus. Hum Brain Mapp 2019; 40:3589-3605. [PMID: 31056819 PMCID: PMC6767774 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.24618] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/26/2018] [Revised: 04/18/2019] [Accepted: 04/22/2019] [Indexed: 11/06/2022] Open
Abstract
The existing literature suggests a critical role for both the right intraparietal sulcus (IPS) and the right temporo‐parietal junction (TPJ) in our ability to attend to multiple simultaneously‐presented lateralized targets (multi‐target attention), and the failure of this ability in extinction patients. Currently, however, the precise role of each of these areas in multi‐target attention is unclear. In this study, we combined the theory of visual attention (TVA) with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) guided continuous theta burst stimulation (cTBS) in neurologically healthy subjects to directly investigate the role of the right IPS and TPJ in multi‐target attention. Our results show that cTBS at an area of the right IPS associated with multi‐target attention elicits a reduction of visual short‐term memory capacity. This suggests that the right IPS is associated with a general capacity‐limited encoding mechanism that is engaged regardless of whether targets have to be attended or remembered. Curiously, however, cTBS to the right IPS failed to elicit extinction‐like behavior in our study, supporting previous suggestions that different areas of the right IPS may provide different contributions to multi‐target attention. CTBS to the right TPJ failed to induce a change in either TVA parameters or extinction‐like behavior.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Maren Praß
- Division of Neuropsychology, Center of Neurology, Hertie-Institute for Clinical Brain Research, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Bianca de Haan
- Division of Neuropsychology, Center of Neurology, Hertie-Institute for Clinical Brain Research, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany.,Division of Psychology, Department of Life Sciences, College of Health and Life Sciences, Brunel University London, Uxbridge, UK
| |
Collapse
|
21
|
Qiu F, Pi Y, Liu K, Zhu H, Li X, Zhang J, Wu Y. Neural efficiency in basketball players is associated with bidirectional reductions in cortical activation and deactivation during multiple-object tracking task performance. Biol Psychol 2019; 144:28-36. [PMID: 30902565 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2019.03.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/24/2018] [Revised: 02/15/2019] [Accepted: 03/15/2019] [Indexed: 01/23/2023]
Abstract
Although sports expertise has been shown to have transferable cognitive benefits, it is unclear how motor expertise influences brain activity during perceptual-cognitive tasks. The aim of the present study was to investigate whether improved perceptual-cognitive behavioral task performance in individuals with well-developed motor skills is associated with characteristic cortical activation and deactivation. Blood oxygenation-level dependent (BOLD) functional MRI (fMRI) was conducted in 23 athletes and 24 age- and education-matched non-athletes performing a multiple object tracking (MOT) task with graded levels of attentional load (two, three, or four targets). Compared to non-athletes, athletes had better performance in the three- and four-target conditions of the MOT task. Less activation of the left frontal eye field (FEF) and bilateral anterior intraparietal sulcus (aIPS) and less deactivation in the bilateral medial superior frontal gyrus (mSFG) were observed in athletes compared to non-athletes. Importantly, as the attentional load was increased, differences in deactivation of the left middle temporal gyrus (MTG) between athletes and non-athletes became larger. Behavioral performance in the high attentional load condition correlated negatively with activation in the left FEF and right aIPS, and correlated positively with that in the mSFG and left MTG. Better performance in elite athletes may transfer from the sport domain to a general cognitive domain owing to higher neural efficiency, which may be represented by a bidirectional reduction phenomenon encompassing both reduced activation of areas associated with task execution and reduced deactivation of areas associated with irrelevant information processing.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Fanghui Qiu
- School of Kinesiology, Shanghai University of Sport, Shanghai, China
| | - Yanling Pi
- Shanghai Punan Hospital of Pudong New District, Shanghai, China
| | - Ke Liu
- Shanghai Punan Hospital of Pudong New District, Shanghai, China
| | - Hua Zhu
- School of Kinesiology, Shanghai University of Sport, Shanghai, China
| | - Xuepei Li
- School of Kinesiology, Shanghai University of Sport, Shanghai, China
| | - Jian Zhang
- School of Kinesiology, Shanghai University of Sport, Shanghai, China
| | - Yin Wu
- School of Economics and Management, Shanghai University of Sport, Shanghai, China.
| |
Collapse
|
22
|
Wang C, Hu L, Hu S, Xu Y, Zhang X. Functional specialization for feature-based and symmetry-based groupings in multiple object tracking. Cortex 2018; 108:265-275. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2018.09.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/03/2018] [Revised: 05/12/2018] [Accepted: 09/05/2018] [Indexed: 10/28/2022]
|
23
|
Chow A, Giaschi D, Thompson B. Dichoptic Attentive Motion Tracking is Biased Toward the Nonamblyopic Eye in Strabismic Amblyopia. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2018; 59:4572-4580. [DOI: 10.1167/iovs.18-25236] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Amy Chow
- Optometry and Vision Science, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada
| | - Deborah Giaschi
- Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Benjamin Thompson
- Optometry and Vision Science, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada
- Optometry and Vision Science, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
| |
Collapse
|
24
|
Wolf K, Galeano Weber E, van den Bosch JJF, Volz S, Nöth U, Deichmann R, Naumer MJ, Pfeiffer T, Fiebach CJ. Neurocognitive Development of the Resolution of Selective Visuo-Spatial Attention: Functional MRI Evidence From Object Tracking. Front Psychol 2018; 9:1106. [PMID: 30100887 PMCID: PMC6074837 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2018.01106] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/11/2018] [Accepted: 06/11/2018] [Indexed: 01/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Our ability to select relevant information from the environment is limited by the resolution of attention – i.e., the minimum size of the region that can be selected. Neural mechanisms that underlie this limit and its development are not yet understood. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was performed during an object tracking task in 7- and 11-year-old children, and in young adults. Object tracking activated canonical fronto-parietal attention systems and motion-sensitive area MT in children as young as 7 years. Object tracking performance improved with age, together with stronger recruitment of parietal attention areas and a shift from low-level to higher-level visual areas. Increasing the required resolution of spatial attention – which was implemented by varying the distance between target and distractors in the object tracking task – led to activation increases in fronto-insular cortex, medial frontal cortex including anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and supplementary motor area, superior colliculi, and thalamus. This core circuitry for attentional precision was recruited by all age groups, but ACC showed an age-related activation reduction. Our results suggest that age-related improvements in selective visual attention and in the resolution of attention are characterized by an increased use of more functionally specialized brain regions during the course of development.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Kerstin Wolf
- Department of Psychology, Goethe University Frankfurt, Frankfurt am Main, Germany.,Institute of Psychology, University of Education Karlsruhe, Karlsruhe, Germany.,IDeA Center for Individual Development and Adaptive Education, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
| | - Elena Galeano Weber
- Department of Psychology, Goethe University Frankfurt, Frankfurt am Main, Germany.,IDeA Center for Individual Development and Adaptive Education, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
| | | | - Steffen Volz
- Brain Imaging Center, Goethe University Frankfurt, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
| | - Ulrike Nöth
- Brain Imaging Center, Goethe University Frankfurt, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
| | - Ralf Deichmann
- Brain Imaging Center, Goethe University Frankfurt, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
| | - Marcus J Naumer
- Institute of Medical Psychology, Goethe University Frankfurt, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
| | - Till Pfeiffer
- Institute of Psychology, University of Education Karlsruhe, Karlsruhe, Germany
| | - Christian J Fiebach
- Department of Psychology, Goethe University Frankfurt, Frankfurt am Main, Germany.,IDeA Center for Individual Development and Adaptive Education, Frankfurt am Main, Germany.,Brain Imaging Center, Goethe University Frankfurt, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
| |
Collapse
|
25
|
Engagement of the motor system in position monitoring: reduced distractor suppression and effects of internal representation quality on motor kinematics. Exp Brain Res 2018; 236:1445-1460. [PMID: 29546652 PMCID: PMC5937884 DOI: 10.1007/s00221-018-5234-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/05/2017] [Accepted: 03/12/2018] [Indexed: 11/04/2022]
Abstract
The position monitoring task is a measure of divided spatial attention in which participants track the changing positions of one or more objects, attempting to represent positions with as much precision as possible. Typically precision of representations declines with each target object added to participants’ attention load. Since the motor system requires precise representations of changing target positions, we investigated whether position monitoring would be facilitated by increasing engagement of the motor system. Using motion capture, we recorded the positions of participants’ index finger during pointing responses. Participants attempted to monitor the changing positions of between one and four target discs as they moved randomly around a large projected display. After a period of disc motion, all discs disappeared and participants were prompted to report the final position of one of the targets, either by mouse click or by pointing to the final perceived position on the screen. For mouse click responses, precision declined with attentional load. For pointing responses, precision declined only up to three targets and remained at the same level for four targets, suggesting obligatory attention to all four objects for loads above two targets. Kinematic profiles for pointing responses for highest and lowest loads showed greater motor adjustments during the point, demonstrating that, like external environmental task demands, the quality of internal representations affects motor kinematics. Specifically, these adjustments reflect the difficulty of both pointing to very precisely represented locations as well as keeping representations distinct from one another.
Collapse
|
26
|
Bland NS, Mattingley JB, Sale MV. No Evidence for Phase-Specific Effects of 40 Hz HD-tACS on Multiple Object Tracking. Front Psychol 2018; 9:304. [PMID: 29593608 PMCID: PMC5854687 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2018.00304] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/24/2017] [Accepted: 02/23/2018] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Phase synchronization drives connectivity between neural oscillators, providing a flexible mechanism through which information can be effectively and selectively routed between task-relevant cortical areas. The ability to keep track of objects moving between the left and right visual hemifields, for example, requires the integration of information between the two cerebral hemispheres. Both animal and human studies have suggested that coherent (or phase-locked) gamma oscillations (30–80 Hz) might underlie this ability. While most human evidence has been strictly correlational, high-density transcranial alternating current stimulation (HD-tACS) has been used to manipulate ongoing interhemispheric gamma phase relationships. Previous research showed that 40 Hz tACS delivered bilaterally over human motion complex could bias the perception of a bistable ambiguous motion stimulus (Helfrich et al., 2014). Specifically, this work showed that in-phase (0° offset) stimulation boosted endogenous interhemispheric gamma coherence and biased perception toward the horizontal (whereby visual tokens moved between visual hemifields—requiring interhemispheric integration). By contrast, anti-phase (180° offset) stimulation decreased interhemispheric gamma coherence and biased perception toward the vertical (whereby tokens moved within separate visual hemifields). Here we devised a multiple object tracking arena comprised of four quadrants whereby discrete objects moved either entirely within the left and right visual hemifields, or could cross freely between visual hemifields, thus requiring interhemispheric integration. Using the same HD-tACS montages as Helfrich et al. (2014), we found no phase-specific effect of 40 Hz stimulation on overall tracking performance. While tracking performance was generally lower during between-hemifield trials (presumably reflecting a cost of integration), this difference was unchanged by in- vs. anti-phase stimulation. Our null results could be due to a failure to reliably modulate coherence in our study, or that our task does not rely as heavily on this network of coherent gamma oscillations as other visual integration paradigms.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Nicholas S Bland
- Queensland Brain Institute, University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD, Australia
| | - Jason B Mattingley
- Queensland Brain Institute, University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD, Australia.,School of Psychology, University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD, Australia
| | - Martin V Sale
- Queensland Brain Institute, University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD, Australia.,School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD, Australia
| |
Collapse
|
27
|
Greenwood PM, Blumberg EJ, Scheldrup MR. Hypothesis for cognitive effects of transcranial direct current stimulation: Externally- and internally-directed cognition. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2018; 86:226-238. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2017.11.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/14/2017] [Revised: 11/13/2017] [Accepted: 11/14/2017] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
|
28
|
Nummenmaa L, Oksama L, Glerean E, Hyönä J. Cortical Circuit for Binding Object Identity and Location During Multiple-Object Tracking. Cereb Cortex 2018; 27:162-172. [PMID: 27913430 PMCID: PMC5939196 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhw380] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/13/2016] [Accepted: 11/12/2016] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Sustained multifocal attention for moving targets requires binding object identities with their locations. The brain mechanisms of identity-location binding during attentive tracking have remained unresolved. In 2 functional magnetic resonance imaging experiments, we measured participants’ hemodynamic activity during attentive tracking of multiple objects with equivalent (multiple-object tracking) versus distinct (multiple identity tracking, MIT) identities. Task load was manipulated parametrically. Both tasks activated large frontoparietal circuits. MIT led to significantly increased activity in frontoparietal and temporal systems subserving object recognition and working memory. These effects were replicated when eye movements were prohibited. MIT was associated with significantly increased functional connectivity between lateral temporal and frontal and parietal regions. We propose that coordinated activity of this network subserves identity-location binding during attentive tracking.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Lauri Nummenmaa
- Turku PET Centre, University of Turku, Turku, Finland.,Department of Psychology, University of Turku, Turku, Finland
| | | | - Erico Glerean
- Department of Neuroscience and Biomedical Engineering, School of Science, Aalto University, Espoo, Finland.,Advanced Magnetic Imaging Centre, Aalto Neuroimaging, School of Science, Aalto University, Espoo, Finland
| | - Jukka Hyönä
- Department of Psychology, University of Turku, Turku, Finland
| |
Collapse
|
29
|
Wahn B, König P. Can Limitations of Visuospatial Attention Be Circumvented? A Review. Front Psychol 2017; 8:1896. [PMID: 29163278 PMCID: PMC5665179 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2017.01896] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/17/2017] [Accepted: 10/12/2017] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
In daily life, humans are bombarded with visual input. Yet, their attentional capacities for processing this input are severely limited. Several studies have investigated factors that influence these attentional limitations and have identified methods to circumvent them. Here, we provide a review of these findings. We first review studies that have demonstrated limitations of visuospatial attention and investigated physiological correlates of these limitations. We then review studies in multisensory research that have explored whether limitations in visuospatial attention can be circumvented by distributing information processing across several sensory modalities. Finally, we discuss research from the field of joint action that has investigated how limitations of visuospatial attention can be circumvented by distributing task demands across people and providing them with multisensory input. We conclude that limitations of visuospatial attention can be circumvented by distributing attentional processing across sensory modalities when tasks involve spatial as well as object-based attentional processing. However, if only spatial attentional processing is required, limitations of visuospatial attention cannot be circumvented by distributing attentional processing. These findings from multisensory research are applicable to visuospatial tasks that are performed jointly by two individuals. That is, in a joint visuospatial task requiring object-based as well as spatial attentional processing, joint performance is facilitated when task demands are distributed across sensory modalities. Future research could further investigate how applying findings from multisensory research to joint action research may facilitate joint performance. Generally, findings are applicable to real-world scenarios such as aviation or car-driving to circumvent limitations of visuospatial attention.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Basil Wahn
- Institute of Cognitive Science, Universität Osnabrück, Osnabrück, Germany
| | - Peter König
- Institute of Cognitive Science, Universität Osnabrück, Osnabrück, Germany.,Institut für Neurophysiologie und Pathophysiologie, Universitätsklinikum Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany
| |
Collapse
|
30
|
Studying visual attention using the multiple object tracking paradigm: A tutorial review. Atten Percept Psychophys 2017; 79:1255-1274. [DOI: 10.3758/s13414-017-1338-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 62] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
|
31
|
Wang H, Crewther SG, Liang M, Laycock R, Yu T, Alexander B, Crewther DP, Wang J, Yin Z. Impaired Activation of Visual Attention Network for Motion Salience Is Accompanied by Reduced Functional Connectivity between Frontal Eye Fields and Visual Cortex in Strabismic Amblyopia. Front Hum Neurosci 2017; 11:195. [PMID: 28484381 PMCID: PMC5399630 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2017.00195] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/19/2016] [Accepted: 04/03/2017] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Strabismic amblyopia is now acknowledged to be more than a simple loss of acuity and to involve alterations in visually driven attention, though whether this applies to both stimulus-driven and goal-directed attention has not been explored. Hence we investigated monocular threshold performance during a motion salience-driven attention task involving detection of a coherent dot motion target in one of four quadrants in adult controls and those with strabismic amblyopia. Psychophysical motion thresholds were impaired for the strabismic amblyopic eye, requiring longer inspection time and consequently slower target speed for detection compared to the fellow eye or control eyes. We compared fMRI activation and functional connectivity between four ROIs of the occipital-parieto-frontal visual attention network [primary visual cortex (V1), motion sensitive area V5, intraparietal sulcus (IPS) and frontal eye fields (FEF)], during a suprathreshold version of the motion-driven attention task, and also a simple goal-directed task, requiring voluntary saccades to targets randomly appearing along a horizontal line. Activation was compared when viewed monocularly by controls and the amblyopic and its fellow eye in strabismics. BOLD activation was weaker in IPS, FEF and V5 for both tasks when viewing through the amblyopic eye compared to viewing through the fellow eye or control participants' non-dominant eye. No difference in V1 activation was seen between the amblyopic and fellow eye, nor between the two eyes of control participants during the motion salience task, though V1 activation was significantly less through the amblyopic eye than through the fellow eye and control group non-dominant eye viewing during the voluntary saccade task. Functional correlations of ROIs within the attention network were impaired through the amblyopic eye during the motion salience task, whereas this was not the case during the voluntary saccade task. Specifically, FEF showed reduced functional connectivity with visual cortical nodes during the motion salience task through the amblyopic eye, despite suprathreshold detection performance. This suggests that the reduced ability of the amblyopic eye to activate the frontal components of the attention networks may help explain the aberrant control of visual attention and eye movements in amblyopes.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Hao Wang
- Key Laboratory of Visual Damage and Regeneration and Restoration of Chongqing, Southwest Eye Hospital/Southwest Hospital, Third Military Medical UniversityChongqing, China
| | - Sheila G Crewther
- Faculty of Science, School of Psychological Science, Technology and Engineering, La Trobe UniversityMelbourne, VIC, Australia
| | - Minglong Liang
- Department of Radiology, Southwest Hospital, Third Military Medical UniversityChongqing, China
| | - Robin Laycock
- Faculty of Science, School of Psychological Science, Technology and Engineering, La Trobe UniversityMelbourne, VIC, Australia
| | - Tao Yu
- Key Laboratory of Visual Damage and Regeneration and Restoration of Chongqing, Southwest Eye Hospital/Southwest Hospital, Third Military Medical UniversityChongqing, China
| | - Bonnie Alexander
- Faculty of Science, School of Psychological Science, Technology and Engineering, La Trobe UniversityMelbourne, VIC, Australia.,Murdoch Children's Research InstituteMelbourne, VIC, Australia
| | - David P Crewther
- Centre for Human Psychophysiology, Swinburne University of TechnologyMelbourne, VIC, Australia
| | - Jian Wang
- Department of Radiology, Southwest Hospital, Third Military Medical UniversityChongqing, China
| | - Zhengqin Yin
- Key Laboratory of Visual Damage and Regeneration and Restoration of Chongqing, Southwest Eye Hospital/Southwest Hospital, Third Military Medical UniversityChongqing, China
| |
Collapse
|
32
|
Lapierre MD, Cropper SJ, Howe PDL. Shared processing in multiple object tracking and visual working memory in the absence of response order and task order confounds. PLoS One 2017; 12:e0175736. [PMID: 28410383 PMCID: PMC5391939 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0175736] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/11/2016] [Accepted: 03/30/2017] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
To understand how the visual system represents multiple moving objects and how those representations contribute to tracking, it is essential that we understand how the processes of attention and working memory interact. In the work described here we present an investigation of that interaction via a series of tracking and working memory dual-task experiments. Previously, it has been argued that tracking is resistant to disruption by a concurrent working memory task and that any apparent disruption is in fact due to observers making a response to the working memory task, rather than due to competition for shared resources. Contrary to this, in our experiments we find that when task order and response order confounds are avoided, all participants show a similar decrease in both tracking and working memory performance. However, if task and response order confounds are not adequately controlled for we find substantial individual differences, which could explain the previous conflicting reports on this topic. Our results provide clear evidence that tracking and working memory tasks share processing resources.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Mark D. Lapierre
- Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia
| | - Simon J. Cropper
- Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia
- * E-mail:
| | - Piers D. L. Howe
- Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia
| |
Collapse
|
33
|
Merkel C, Hopf JM, Schoenfeld MA. Spatio-temporal dynamics of attentional selection stages during multiple object tracking. Neuroimage 2017; 146:484-491. [PMID: 27810524 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2016.10.046] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/18/2016] [Revised: 10/24/2016] [Accepted: 10/27/2016] [Indexed: 10/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Subjects can visually track several moving items simultaneously, a fact that is difficult to explain by classical attention models. Previous work revealed that building a global shape based on the spatial position of the tracked items improves performance. Here we investigated the involved neural processes and the role of attention. A task-irrelevant probe stimulus was presented during multiple objects tracking at a fixed spatial location. Depending on the tracked item's trajectories the probe appeared either outside, inside, or on the edge of aforementioned global shape. Event-related potentials to the probe stimulus revealed two subsequent stages of attentional selection during multiple object tracking. After 100ms attention was deployed on the edge/boundary of the figure formed by the tracked items. In the following 80ms, attention spread from the outline to the full figure. These findings clarify the eminent contribution of attentional mechanisms in multiple objects tracking.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Christian Merkel
- Department of Neurology, Otto-von-Guericke University, Magdeburg, Germany.
| | - Jens-Max Hopf
- Department of Neurology, Otto-von-Guericke University, Magdeburg, Germany; Department of Behavioral Neurology, Leibniz-Institute for Neurobiology, Magdeburg, Germany
| | - Mircea Ariel Schoenfeld
- Department of Neurology, Otto-von-Guericke University, Magdeburg, Germany; Department of Behavioral Neurology, Leibniz-Institute for Neurobiology, Magdeburg, Germany; Kliniken Schmieder Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany
| |
Collapse
|
34
|
Cross-Modal Attention Effects in the Vestibular Cortex during Attentive Tracking of Moving Objects. J Neurosci 2016; 36:12720-12728. [PMID: 27821579 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.2480-16.2016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/04/2016] [Revised: 10/26/2016] [Accepted: 10/29/2016] [Indexed: 01/13/2023] Open
Abstract
The midposterior fundus of the Sylvian fissure in the human brain is central to the cortical processing of vestibular cues. At least two vestibular areas are located at this site: the parietoinsular vestibular cortex (PIVC) and the posterior insular cortex (PIC). It is now well established that activity in sensory systems is subject to cross-modal attention effects. Attending to a stimulus in one sensory modality enhances activity in the corresponding cortical sensory system, but simultaneously suppresses activity in other sensory systems. Here, we wanted to probe whether such cross-modal attention effects also target the vestibular system. To this end, we used a visual multiple-object tracking task. By parametrically varying the number of tracked targets, we could measure the effect of attentional load on the PIVC and the PIC while holding the perceptual load constant. Participants performed the tracking task during functional magnetic resonance imaging. Results show that, compared with passive viewing of object motion, activity during object tracking was suppressed in the PIVC and enhanced in the PIC. Greater attentional load, induced by increasing the number of tracked targets, was associated with a corresponding increase in the suppression of activity in the PIVC. Activity in the anterior part of the PIC decreased with increasing load, whereas load effects were absent in the posterior PIC. Results of a control experiment show that attention-induced suppression in the PIVC is stronger than any suppression evoked by the visual stimulus per se. Overall, our results suggest that attention has a cross-modal modulatory effect on the vestibular cortex during visual object tracking. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT In this study we investigate cross-modal attention effects in the human vestibular cortex. We applied the visual multiple-object tracking task because it is known to evoke attentional load effects on neural activity in visual motion-processing and attention-processing areas. Here we demonstrate a load-dependent effect of attention on the activation in the vestibular cortex, despite constant visual motion stimulation. We find that activity in the parietoinsular vestibular cortex is more strongly suppressed the greater the attentional load on the visual tracking task. These findings suggest cross-modal attentional modulation in the vestibular cortex.
Collapse
|
35
|
Dørum ES, Alnæs D, Kaufmann T, Richard G, Lund MJ, Tønnesen S, Sneve MH, Mathiesen NC, Rustan ØG, Gjertsen Ø, Vatn S, Fure B, Andreassen OA, Nordvik JE, Westlye LT. Age-related differences in brain network activation and co-activation during multiple object tracking. Brain Behav 2016; 6:e00533. [PMID: 27843692 PMCID: PMC5102637 DOI: 10.1002/brb3.533] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/09/2016] [Revised: 05/05/2016] [Accepted: 06/04/2016] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Multiple object tracking (MOT) is a powerful paradigm for measuring sustained attention. Although previous fMRI studies have delineated the brain activation patterns associated with tracking and documented reduced tracking performance in aging, age-related effects on brain activation during MOT have not been characterized. In particular, it is unclear if the task-related activation of different brain networks is correlated, and also if this coordination between activations within brain networks shows differential effects of age. METHODS We obtained fMRI data during MOT at two load conditions from a group of younger (n = 25, mean age = 24.4 ± 5.1 years) and older (n = 21, mean age = 64.7 ± 7.4 years) healthy adults. Using a combination of voxel-wise and independent component analysis, we investigated age-related differences in the brain network activation. In order to explore to which degree activation of the various brain networks reflect unique and common mechanisms, we assessed the correlations between the brain networks' activations. RESULTS Behavioral performance revealed an age-related reduction in MOT accuracy. Voxel and brain network level analyses converged on decreased load-dependent activations of the dorsal attention network (DAN) and decreased load-dependent deactivations of the default mode networks (DMN) in the old group. Lastly, we found stronger correlations in the task-related activations within DAN and within DMN components for younger adults, and stronger correlations between DAN and DMN components for older adults. CONCLUSION Using MOT as means for measuring attentional performance, we have demonstrated an age-related attentional decline. Network-level analysis revealed age-related alterations in network recruitment consisting of diminished activations of DAN and diminished deactivations of DMN in older relative to younger adults. We found stronger correlations within DMN and within DAN components for younger adults and stronger correlations between DAN and DMN components for older adults, indicating age-related alterations in the coordinated network-level activation during attentional processing.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Erlend S Dørum
- Sunnaas Rehabilitation Hospital HT Nesodden Norway; NORMENT KG Jebsen Centre for Psychosis Research Division of Mental Health and Addiction Oslo University Hospital & Institute of Clinical Medicine University of Oslo Oslo Norway; Department of Psychology University of Oslo Oslo Norway
| | - Dag Alnæs
- NORMENT KG Jebsen Centre for Psychosis Research Division of Mental Health and Addiction Oslo University Hospital & Institute of Clinical Medicine University of Oslo Oslo Norway
| | - Tobias Kaufmann
- NORMENT KG Jebsen Centre for Psychosis Research Division of Mental Health and Addiction Oslo University Hospital & Institute of Clinical Medicine University of Oslo Oslo Norway
| | - Geneviève Richard
- Sunnaas Rehabilitation Hospital HT Nesodden Norway; NORMENT KG Jebsen Centre for Psychosis Research Division of Mental Health and Addiction Oslo University Hospital & Institute of Clinical Medicine University of Oslo Oslo Norway; Department of Psychology University of Oslo Oslo Norway
| | - Martina J Lund
- NORMENT KG Jebsen Centre for Psychosis Research Division of Mental Health and Addiction Oslo University Hospital & Institute of Clinical Medicine University of Oslo Oslo Norway
| | - Siren Tønnesen
- NORMENT KG Jebsen Centre for Psychosis Research Division of Mental Health and Addiction Oslo University Hospital & Institute of Clinical Medicine University of Oslo Oslo Norway
| | | | - Nina C Mathiesen
- NORMENT KG Jebsen Centre for Psychosis Research Division of Mental Health and Addiction Oslo University Hospital & Institute of Clinical Medicine University of Oslo Oslo Norway
| | - Øyvind G Rustan
- NORMENT KG Jebsen Centre for Psychosis Research Division of Mental Health and Addiction Oslo University Hospital & Institute of Clinical Medicine University of Oslo Oslo Norway
| | - Øivind Gjertsen
- Department of Radiology Oslo University Hospital Oslo Norway
| | - Sigurd Vatn
- Department of Geriatric Medicine Oslo University Hospital Oslo Norway
| | - Brynjar Fure
- Department of Geriatric Medicine Oslo University Hospital Oslo Norway
| | - Ole A Andreassen
- NORMENT KG Jebsen Centre for Psychosis Research Division of Mental Health and Addiction Oslo University Hospital & Institute of Clinical Medicine University of Oslo Oslo Norway
| | | | - Lars T Westlye
- NORMENT KG Jebsen Centre for Psychosis Research Division of Mental Health and Addiction Oslo University Hospital & Institute of Clinical Medicine University of Oslo Oslo Norway; Department of Psychology University of Oslo Oslo Norway
| |
Collapse
|
36
|
Emrich SM, Johnson JS, Sutterer DW, Postle BR. Comparing the Effects of 10-Hz Repetitive TMS on Tasks of Visual STM and Attention. J Cogn Neurosci 2016; 29:286-297. [PMID: 27626224 DOI: 10.1162/jocn_a_01043] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/04/2022]
Abstract
Numerous studies have demonstrated that visual STM (VSTM) and attention are tightly linked processes that share a number of neuroanatomical substrates. Here, we used repetitive TMS (rTMS) along with simultaneous EEG to examine the causal relationship between intraparietal sulcus functioning and performance on tasks of attention and VSTM. Participants performed two tasks in which they were required to attend to or remember colored items over a brief interval, with 10-Hz rTMS applied on some of the trials. Although no overall behavioral changes were observed across either task, rTMS did affect individual performance on both the attention and VSTM tasks in a manner that was predicted by individual differences in baseline performance. Furthermore, rTMS also affected ongoing oscillations in the alpha and beta bands, and these changes were related to the observed change in behavioral performance. The results reveal a causal relationship between intraparietal sulcus activity and tasks measuring both visual attention and VSTM.
Collapse
|
37
|
Ferrara K, Hoffman JE, O’Hearn K, Landau B. Constraints on Multiple Object Tracking in Williams Syndrome: How Atypical Development Can Inform Theories of Visual Processing. JOURNAL OF COGNITION AND DEVELOPMENT 2016. [DOI: 10.1080/15248372.2016.1195389] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
|
38
|
Brain Activation of Identity Switching in Multiple Identity Tracking Task. PLoS One 2015; 10:e0145489. [PMID: 26699865 PMCID: PMC4689547 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0145489] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/07/2014] [Accepted: 12/06/2015] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
When different objects switch identities in the multiple identity tracking (MIT) task, viewers need to rebind objects’ identity and location, which requires attention. This rebinding helps people identify the regions targets are in (where they need to focus their attention) and inhibit unimportant regions (where distractors are). This study investigated the processing of attentional tracking after identity switching in an adapted MIT task. This experiment used three identity-switching conditions: a target-switching condition (where the target objects switched identities), a distractor-switching condition (where the distractor objects switched identities), and a no-switching condition. Compared to the distractor-switching condition, the target-switching condition elicited greater activation in the frontal eye fields (FEF), intraparietal sulcus (IPS), and visual cortex. Compared to the no-switching condition, the target-switching condition elicited greater activation in the FEF, inferior frontal gyrus (pars orbitalis) (IFG-Orb), IPS, visual cortex, middle temporal lobule, and anterior cingulate cortex. Finally, the distractor-switching condition showed greater activation in the IFG-Orb compared to the no-switching condition. These results suggest that, in the target-switching condition, the FEF and IPS (the dorsal attention network) might be involved in goal-driven attention to targets during attentional tracking. In addition, in the distractor-switching condition, the activation of the IFG-Orb may indicate salient change that pulls attention away automatically.
Collapse
|
39
|
The effects of tDCS upon sustained visual attention are dependent on cognitive load. Neuropsychologia 2015; 80:1-8. [PMID: 26556389 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2015.11.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/07/2015] [Revised: 07/23/2015] [Accepted: 11/06/2015] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
Abstract
Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) modulates the excitability of neuronal responses and consequently can affect performance on a variety of cognitive tasks. However, the interaction between cognitive load and the effects of tDCS is currently not well-understood. We recorded the performance accuracy of participants on a bilateral multiple object tracking task while undergoing bilateral stimulation assumed to enhance (anodal) and decrease (cathodal) neuronal excitability. Stimulation was applied to the posterior parietal cortex (PPC), a region inferred to be at the centre of an attentional tracking network that shows load-dependent activation. 34 participants underwent three separate stimulation conditions across three days. Each subject received (1) left cathodal / right anodal PPC tDCS, (2) left anodal / right cathodal PPC tDCS, and (3) sham tDCS. The number of targets-to-be-tracked was also manipulated, giving a low (one target per visual field), medium (two targets per visual field) or high (three targets per visual field) tracking load condition. It was found that tracking performance at high attentional loads was significantly reduced in both stimulation conditions relative to sham, and this was apparent in both visual fields, regardless of the direction of polarity upon the brain's hemispheres. We interpret this as an interaction between cognitive load and tDCS, and suggest that tDCS may degrade attentional performance when cognitive networks become overtaxed and unable to compensate as a result. Systematically varying cognitive load may therefore be a fruitful direction to elucidate the effects of tDCS upon cognitive functions.
Collapse
|
40
|
Covert enaction at work: Recording the continuous movements of visuospatial attention to visible or imagined targets by means of Steady-State Visual Evoked Potentials (SSVEPs). Cortex 2015; 74:31-52. [PMID: 26615517 DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2015.10.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/06/2014] [Revised: 06/19/2015] [Accepted: 10/19/2015] [Indexed: 01/23/2023]
Abstract
Whereas overt visuospatial attention is customarily measured with eye tracking, covert attention is assessed by various methods. Here we exploited Steady-State Visual Evoked Potentials (SSVEPs) - the oscillatory responses of the visual cortex to incoming flickering stimuli - to record the movements of covert visuospatial attention in a way operatively similar to eye tracking (attention tracking), which allowed us to compare motion observation and motion extrapolation with and without eye movements. Observers fixated a central dot and covertly tracked a target oscillating horizontally and sinusoidally. In the background, the left and the right halves of the screen flickered at two different frequencies, generating two SSVEPs in occipital regions whose size varied reciprocally as observers attended to the moving target. The two signals were combined into a single quantity that was modulated at the target frequency in a quasi-sinusoidal way, often clearly visible in single trials. The modulation continued almost unchanged when the target was switched off and observers mentally extrapolated its motion in imagery, and also when observers pointed their finger at the moving target during covert tracking, or imagined doing so. The amplitude of modulation during covert tracking was ∼25-30% of that measured when observers followed the target with their eyes. We used 4 electrodes in parieto-occipital areas, but similar results were achieved with a single electrode in Oz. In a second experiment we tested ramp and step motion. During overt tracking, SSVEPs were remarkably accurate, showing both saccadic-like and smooth pursuit-like modulations of cortical responsiveness, although during covert tracking the modulation deteriorated. Covert tracking was better with sinusoidal motion than ramp motion, and better with moving targets than stationary ones. The clear modulation of cortical responsiveness recorded during both overt and covert tracking, identical for motion observation and motion extrapolation, suggests to include covert attention movements in enactive theories of mental imagery.
Collapse
|
41
|
Giaschi D, Chapman C, Meier K, Narasimhan S, Regan D. The effect of occlusion therapy on motion perception deficits in amblyopia. Vision Res 2015; 114:122-34. [DOI: 10.1016/j.visres.2015.05.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/09/2014] [Revised: 05/07/2015] [Accepted: 05/26/2015] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
|
42
|
Neural correlates of multiple object tracking strategies. Neuroimage 2015; 118:63-73. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2015.06.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/04/2014] [Revised: 04/13/2015] [Accepted: 06/02/2015] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
|
43
|
Functional connectivity indicates differential roles for the intraparietal sulcus and the superior parietal lobule in multiple object tracking. Neuroimage 2015; 123:129-37. [PMID: 26299796 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2015.08.029] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/04/2015] [Revised: 07/21/2015] [Accepted: 08/13/2015] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Attentive tracking requires sustained object-based attention, rather than passive vigilance or rapid attentional shifts to brief events. Several theories of tracking suggest a mechanism of indexing objects that allows for attentional resources to be directed toward the moving targets. Imaging studies have shown that cortical areas belonging to the dorsal frontoparietal attention network increase BOLD-signal during multiple object tracking (MOT). Among these areas, some studies have assigned IPS a particular role in object indexing, but the neuroimaging evidence has been sparse. In the present study, we tested participants on a continuous version of the MOT task in order to investigate how cortical areas engage in functional networks during attentional tracking. Specifically, we analyzed the data using eigenvector centrality mapping (ECM) analysis, which provides estimates of individual voxels' connectedness with hub-like parts of the functional network. The results obtained using permutation based voxel-wise statistics support the proposed role for the IPS in object indexing as this region displayed increased centrality during tracking as well as increased functional connectivity with both prefrontal and visual perceptual cortices. In contrast, the opposite pattern was observed for the SPL, with decreasing centrality, as well as reduced functional connectivity with the visual and frontal cortices, in agreement with a hypothesized role for SPL in attentional shifts. These findings provide novel evidence that IPS and SPL serve different functional roles during MOT, while at the same time being highly engaged during tracking as measured by BOLD-signal changes.
Collapse
|
44
|
Abstract
How does the visual system realize dynamic tracking? This topic has become popular within cognitive science in recent years. The classical theory argues that multiple object tracking is accomplished via pre-attention visual indexes as part of a cognitively impenetrable low-level visual system. The present research aimed to investigate whether and how tracking processes are influenced by facial expressions that convey abundant social information about one’s mental state and situated environment. The results showed that participants tracked fearful faces more effectively than neutral faces. However, this advantage was only present under the low-attentional load condition, and distractor face emotion did not impact tracking performance. These findings imply that visual tracking is not driven entirely by low-level vision and encapsulated by high-level representations; rather, that facial expressions, a kind of social information, are able to influence dynamic tracking. Furthermore, the effect of fearful expressions on multiple face tracking is mediated by the availability of attentional resources.
Collapse
|
45
|
Blumberg EJ, Peterson MS, Parasuraman R. Enhancing multiple object tracking performance with noninvasive brain stimulation: a causal role for the anterior intraparietal sulcus. Front Syst Neurosci 2015; 9:3. [PMID: 25698943 PMCID: PMC4318277 DOI: 10.3389/fnsys.2015.00003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/20/2014] [Accepted: 01/09/2015] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Multiple object tracking (MOT) is a complex task recruiting a distributed network of brain regions. There are also marked individual differences in MOT performance. A positive causal relationship between the anterior intraparietal sulcus (AIPS), an integral region in the MOT attention network and inter-individual variation in MOT performance has not been previously established. The present study used transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), a form of non-invasive brain stimulation, in order to examine such a causal link. Active anodal stimulation was applied to the right AIPS and the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) (and sham stimulation), an area associated with working memory (but not MOT) while participants completed a MOT task. Stimulation to the right AIPS significantly improved MOT accuracy more than the other two conditions. The results confirm a causal role of the AIPS in the MOT task and illustrate that tDCS has the ability to improve MOT performance.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Eric J Blumberg
- Arch Lab, Department of Psychology, George Mason University Fairfax, VA, USA
| | - Matthew S Peterson
- Arch Lab, Department of Psychology, George Mason University Fairfax, VA, USA
| | - Raja Parasuraman
- Arch Lab, Department of Psychology, George Mason University Fairfax, VA, USA
| |
Collapse
|
46
|
Szinte M, Carrasco M, Cavanagh P, Rolfs M. Attentional trade-offs maintain the tracking of moving objects across saccades. J Neurophysiol 2015; 113:2220-31. [PMID: 25609111 DOI: 10.1152/jn.00966.2014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/02/2014] [Accepted: 01/13/2015] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
In many situations like playing sports or driving a car, we keep track of moving objects, despite the frequent eye movements that drastically interrupt their retinal motion trajectory. Here we report evidence that transsaccadic tracking relies on trade-offs of attentional resources from a tracked object's motion path to its remapped location. While participants covertly tracked a moving object, we presented pulses of coherent motion at different locations to probe the allocation of spatial attention along the object's entire motion path. Changes in the sensitivity for these pulses showed that during fixation attention shifted smoothly in anticipation of the tracked object's displacement. However, just before a saccade, attentional resources were withdrawn from the object's current motion path and reflexively drawn to the retinal location the object would have after saccade. This finding demonstrates the predictive choice the visual system makes to maintain the tracking of moving objects across saccades.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Martin Szinte
- Allgemeine und Experimentelle Psychologie, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Munich, Germany;
| | - Marisa Carrasco
- Department of Psychology, Center for Neural Science, New York University, New York, New York
| | - Patrick Cavanagh
- Laboratoire Psychologie de la Perception, Université Paris Descartes, Sorbonne Paris Cité, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique Unité Mixte de Recherche 8242, Paris, France; and
| | - Martin Rolfs
- Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience and Department of Psychology, Humboldt Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| |
Collapse
|
47
|
Alnæs D, Kaufmann T, Richard G, Duff EP, Sneve MH, Endestad T, Nordvik JE, Andreassen OA, Smith SM, Westlye LT. Attentional load modulates large-scale functional brain connectivity beyond the core attention networks. Neuroimage 2015; 109:260-72. [PMID: 25595500 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2015.01.026] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/23/2014] [Revised: 01/05/2015] [Accepted: 01/06/2015] [Indexed: 01/08/2023] Open
Abstract
In line with the notion of a continuously active and dynamic brain, functional networks identified during rest correspond with those revealed by task-fMRI. Characterizing the dynamic cross-talk between these network nodes is key to understanding the successful implementation of effortful cognitive processing in healthy individuals and its breakdown in a variety of conditions involving aberrant brain biology and cognitive dysfunction. We employed advanced network modeling on fMRI data collected during a task involving sustained attentive tracking of objects at two load levels and during rest. Using multivariate techniques, we demonstrate that attentional load levels can be significantly discriminated, and from a resting-state condition, the accuracy approaches 100%, by means of estimates of between-node functional connectivity. Several network edges were modulated during task engagement: The dorsal attention network increased connectivity with a visual node, while decreasing connectivity with motor and sensory nodes. Also, we observed a decoupling between left and right hemisphere dorsal visual streams. These results support the notion of dynamic network reconfigurations based on attentional effort. No simple correspondence between node signal amplitude change and node connectivity modulations was found, thus network modeling provides novel information beyond what is revealed by conventional task-fMRI analysis. The current decoding of attentional states confirms that edge connectivity contains highly predictive information about the mental state of the individual, and the approach shows promise for the utilization in clinical contexts.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Dag Alnæs
- Department of Psychology, University of Oslo, Norway
| | - Tobias Kaufmann
- Norwegian Centre for Mental Disorders Research (NORMENT), KG Jebsen Centre for Psychosis Research, Division of Mental Health and Addiction, Oslo University Hospital, Norway
| | - Geneviève Richard
- Norwegian Centre for Mental Disorders Research (NORMENT), KG Jebsen Centre for Psychosis Research, Division of Mental Health and Addiction, Oslo University Hospital, Norway
| | - Eugene P Duff
- FMRIB Centre, Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Oxford, UK
| | | | - Tor Endestad
- Department of Psychology, University of Oslo, Norway
| | | | - Ole A Andreassen
- Norwegian Centre for Mental Disorders Research (NORMENT), KG Jebsen Centre for Psychosis Research, Division of Mental Health and Addiction, Oslo University Hospital, Norway
| | - Stephen M Smith
- FMRIB Centre, Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Oxford, UK
| | - Lars T Westlye
- Department of Psychology, University of Oslo, Norway; Norwegian Centre for Mental Disorders Research (NORMENT), KG Jebsen Centre for Psychosis Research, Division of Mental Health and Addiction, Oslo University Hospital, Norway.
| |
Collapse
|
48
|
Scimeca JM, Franconeri SL. Selecting and tracking multiple objects. WILEY INTERDISCIPLINARY REVIEWS. COGNITIVE SCIENCE 2014; 6:109-118. [DOI: 10.1002/wcs.1328] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/28/2013] [Revised: 06/20/2014] [Accepted: 11/07/2014] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Jason M. Scimeca
- Department of Cognitive, Linguistic, and Psychological Sciences; Brown University; Providence RI USA
| | | |
Collapse
|
49
|
Howe PDL, Ferguson A. The Identity-Location Binding Problem. Cogn Sci 2014; 39:1622-45. [PMID: 25444311 DOI: 10.1111/cogs.12204] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2013] [Revised: 08/14/2014] [Accepted: 09/02/2014] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
The binding problem is fundamental to visual perception. It is the problem of associating an object's visual properties with itself and not with some other object. The problem is made particular difficult because different properties of an object, such as its color, shape, size, and motion, are often processed independently, sometimes in different cortical areas. The results of these separate analyses have to be combined before the object can be seen as a single coherent entity as opposed to a collection of unconnected features. Visual bindings are typically initiated and updated in a serial fashion, one object at a time. Here, we show that one type of binding, location-identity bindings, can be updated in parallel. We do this by using two complementary techniques, the simultaneous-sequential paradigm and systems factorial technology. These techniques make different assumptions and rely on different behavioral measures, yet both came to the same conclusion.
Collapse
|
50
|
Within-hemifield competition in early visual areas limits the ability to track multiple objects with attention. J Neurosci 2014; 34:11526-33. [PMID: 25164651 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.0980-14.2014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 50] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
It is much easier to divide attention across the left and right visual hemifields than within the same visual hemifield. Here we investigate whether this benefit of dividing attention across separate visual fields is evident at early cortical processing stages. We measured the steady-state visual evoked potential, an oscillatory response of the visual cortex elicited by flickering stimuli, of moving targets and distractors while human observers performed a tracking task. The amplitude of responses at the target frequencies was larger than that of the distractor frequencies when participants tracked two targets in separate hemifields, indicating that attention can modulate early visual processing when it is divided across hemifields. However, these attentional modulations disappeared when both targets were tracked within the same hemifield. These effects were not due to differences in task performance, because accuracy was matched across the tracking conditions by adjusting target speed (with control conditions ruling out effects due to speed alone). To investigate later processing stages, we examined the P3 component over central-parietal scalp sites that was elicited by the test probe at the end of the trial. The P3 amplitude was larger for probes on targets than on distractors, regardless of whether attention was divided across or within a hemifield, indicating that these higher-level processes were not constrained by visual hemifield. These results suggest that modulating early processing stages enables more efficient target tracking, and that within-hemifield competition limits the ability to modulate multiple target representations within the hemifield maps of the early visual cortex.
Collapse
|