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Gonçalves ÓF, Rêgo G, Conde T, Leite J, Carvalho S, Lapenta OM, Boggio PS. Mind Wandering and Task-Focused Attention: ERP Correlates. Sci Rep 2018; 8:7608. [PMID: 29765144 PMCID: PMC5953943 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-26028-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/24/2017] [Accepted: 05/03/2018] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Previous studies looking at how Mind Wandering (MW) impacts performance in distinct Focused Attention (FA) systems, using the Attention Network Task (ANT), showed that the presence of pure MW thoughts did not impact the overall performance of ANT (alert, orienting and conflict) performance. However, it still remains unclear if the lack of interference of MW in the ANT, reported at the behavioral level, has a neurophysiological correspondence. We hypothesize that a distinct cortical processing may be required to meet attentional demands during MW. The objective of the present study was to test if, given similar levels of ANT performance, individuals predominantly focusing on MW or FA show distinct cortical processing. Thirty-three healthy participants underwent an EEG high-density acquisition while they were performing the ANT. MW was assessed following the ANT using an adapted version of the Resting State Questionnaire (ReSQ). The following ERP’s were analyzed: pN1, pP1, P1, N1, pN, and P3. At the behavioral level, participants were slower and less accurate when responding to incongruent than to congruent targets (conflict effect), benefiting from the presentation of the double (alerting effect) and spatial (orienting effect) cues. Consistent with the behavioral data, ERP’s waves were discriminative of distinct attentional effects. However, these results remained true irrespective of the MW condition, suggesting that MW imposed no additional cortical demand in alert, orienting, and conflict attention tasks.
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Affiliation(s)
- Óscar F Gonçalves
- Psychological Neuroscience Laboratory- CIPsi, School of Psychology, University of Minho, Braga, Portugal. .,Spaulding Neuromodulation Center, Department of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital and Massachusetts General Hospital. Harvard Medical School, Boston, USA. .,Social and Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, Center for Health and Biological Sciences, Mackenzie Presbyterian University, São Paulo, Brazil.
| | - Gabriel Rêgo
- Social and Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, Center for Health and Biological Sciences, Mackenzie Presbyterian University, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Tatiana Conde
- Social and Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, Center for Health and Biological Sciences, Mackenzie Presbyterian University, São Paulo, Brazil.,Faculdade de Psicologia, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal
| | - Jorge Leite
- Psychological Neuroscience Laboratory- CIPsi, School of Psychology, University of Minho, Braga, Portugal.,Spaulding Neuromodulation Center, Department of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital and Massachusetts General Hospital. Harvard Medical School, Boston, USA.,Portucalense Institute for Human Development (INPP), Universidade Portucalense, Porto, Portugal
| | - Sandra Carvalho
- Psychological Neuroscience Laboratory- CIPsi, School of Psychology, University of Minho, Braga, Portugal.,Spaulding Neuromodulation Center, Department of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital and Massachusetts General Hospital. Harvard Medical School, Boston, USA
| | - Olívia Morgan Lapenta
- Social and Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, Center for Health and Biological Sciences, Mackenzie Presbyterian University, São Paulo, Brazil.,The MARCS Institute for Brain, Behaviour & Development, Western Sydney University, Penrith, Australia
| | - Paulo S Boggio
- Social and Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, Center for Health and Biological Sciences, Mackenzie Presbyterian University, São Paulo, Brazil
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Ross V, Vossen AY, Smulders FTY, Ruiter RAC, Brijs T, Brijs K, Wets G, Jongen EMM. Measuring working memory load effects on electrophysiological markers of attention orienting during a simulated drive. ERGONOMICS 2018; 61:429-443. [PMID: 28689462 DOI: 10.1080/00140139.2017.1353708] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/14/2016] [Accepted: 07/05/2017] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
Intersection accidents result in a significant proportion of road fatalities, and attention allocation likely plays a role. Attention allocation may depend on (limited) working memory (WM) capacity. Driving is often combined with tasks increasing WM load, consequently impairing attention orienting. This study (n = 22) investigated WM load effects on event-related potentials (ERPs) related to attention orienting. A simulated driving environment allowed continuous lane-keeping measurement. Participants were asked to orient attention covertly towards the side indicated by an arrow, and to respond only to moving cars appearing on the attended side by pressing a button. WM load was manipulated using a concurrent memory task. ERPs showed typical attentional modulation (cue: contralateral negativity, LDAP; car: N1, P1, SN and P3) under low and high load conditions. With increased WM load, lane-keeping performance improved, while dual task performance degraded (memory task: increased error rate; orienting task: increased false alarms, smaller P3). Practitioner Summary: Intersection driver-support systems aim to improve traffic safety and flow. However, in-vehicle systems induce WM load, increasing the tendency to yield. Traffic flow reduces if drivers stop at inappropriate times, reducing the effectiveness of systems. Consequently, driver-support systems could include WM load measurement during driving in the development phase.
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Affiliation(s)
- Veerle Ross
- a School for Mobility Sciences, Transportation Research Institute (IMOB) , Hasselt University , Diepenbeek , Belgium
| | - Alexandra Y Vossen
- b Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging , University of Glasgow , Glasgow , UK
| | - Fren T Y Smulders
- c Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Department of Cognitive Neuroscience , Maastricht University , The Netherlands
| | - Robert A C Ruiter
- d Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Department of Work and Social Psychology , Maastricht University , Maastricht , The Netherlands
| | - Tom Brijs
- a School for Mobility Sciences, Transportation Research Institute (IMOB) , Hasselt University , Diepenbeek , Belgium
| | - Kris Brijs
- a School for Mobility Sciences, Transportation Research Institute (IMOB) , Hasselt University , Diepenbeek , Belgium
| | - Geert Wets
- a School for Mobility Sciences, Transportation Research Institute (IMOB) , Hasselt University , Diepenbeek , Belgium
| | - Ellen M M Jongen
- e Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences , Open University , Heerlen , The Netherlands
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Marzecová A, Widmann A, SanMiguel I, Kotz SA, Schröger E. Interrelation of attention and prediction in visual processing: Effects of task-relevance and stimulus probability. Biol Psychol 2017; 125:76-90. [PMID: 28257808 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2017.02.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/27/2016] [Revised: 02/23/2017] [Accepted: 02/27/2017] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
The potentially interactive influence of attention and prediction was investigated by measuring event-related potentials (ERPs) in a spatial cueing task with attention (task-relevant) and prediction (probabilistic) cues. We identified distinct processing stages of this interactive influence. Firstly, in line with the attentional gain hypothesis, a larger amplitude response of the contralateral N1, and Nd1 for attended gratings was observed. Secondly, conforming to the attenuation-by-prediction hypothesis, a smaller negativity in the time window directly following the peak of the N1 component for predicted compared to unpredicted gratings was observed. In line with the hypothesis that attention and prediction interface, unpredicted/unattended stimuli elicited a larger negativity at central-parietal sites, presumably reflecting an increased prediction error signal. Thirdly, larger P3 responses to unpredicted stimuli pointed to the updating of an internal model. Attention and prediction can be considered as differentiated mechanisms that may interact at different processing stages to optimise perception.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna Marzecová
- Institute of Psychology, University of Leipzig, Neumarkt 9-19, 04109 Leipzig, Germany; Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Stephanstraße 1A, 04103 Leipzig, Germany.
| | - Andreas Widmann
- Institute of Psychology, University of Leipzig, Neumarkt 9-19, 04109 Leipzig, Germany
| | - Iria SanMiguel
- Brainlab-Cognitive Neuroscience Research Group, Dept. of Clinical Psychology and Psychobiology, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain; Institute of Neurosciences, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain; Institut de Recerca Pediàtrica Hospital Sant Joan de Déu, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Sonja A Kotz
- Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Stephanstraße 1A, 04103 Leipzig, Germany; Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Department of Neuropsychology & Psychopharmacology, Maastricht University, Maastricht, Universiteitssingel 40, 6229 ER Maastricht, The Netherlands
| | - Erich Schröger
- Institute of Psychology, University of Leipzig, Neumarkt 9-19, 04109 Leipzig, Germany
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Meyberg S, Sommer W, Dimigen O. How microsaccades relate to lateralized ERP components of spatial attention: A co-registration study. Neuropsychologia 2017; 99:64-80. [PMID: 28254651 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2017.02.023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/26/2016] [Revised: 01/21/2017] [Accepted: 02/26/2017] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Covert shifts of attention that follow the presentation of a cue are associated with lateralized components in the event-related potential (ERP): the "early directing attention negativity" (EDAN) and the "anterior directing attention negativity" (ADAN). Traditionally, these shifts are thought to take place while gaze is fixated and, thus, in the absence of saccades. However, microsaccades of small amplitude (<1°) occur frequently and involuntarily also during fixation and are closely correlated with spatial attention. To investigate potential links between microsaccades and lateralized ERP components, we simultaneously recorded eye movements and ERPs in a spatial cueing task. As a first major result, we show that both the posterior EDAN and the orientation of microsaccades align more strongly with the location of the task-relevant part of the cue stimulus than with the direction of the attention shift indicated by that cue. A coupling between microsaccades and EDAN was also present on the single-trial level: The EDAN was largest when microsaccades were oriented toward the relevant cue, but absent when microsaccades were oriented away from it, suggesting that EDAN and microsaccades are generated by the same neural network, which selects relevant stimuli and orients behavior toward them. As a second major result, we show that small corneoretinal artifacts from microsaccades, which fall below conventional EOG rejection thresholds, contaminate the measurement of the ADAN. After correcting the EEG for microsaccade-related artifacts with an optimized variant of independent component analysis, ADAN was abolished at frontal sites, but a genuine ADAN was still present at central sites. Thus, the combined measurement of microsaccades and lateralized ERPs sheds new light onto cue-elicited shifts of covert attention.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Werner Sommer
- Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, 10099 Berlin, Germany
| | - Olaf Dimigen
- Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, 10099 Berlin, Germany
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Nessler D, Friedman D, Johnson R. A new account of the effect of probability on task switching: ERP evidence following the manipulation of switch probability, cue informativeness and predictability. Biol Psychol 2012; 91:245-62. [PMID: 22820040 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2012.07.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/24/2011] [Revised: 06/13/2012] [Accepted: 07/11/2012] [Indexed: 10/28/2022]
Abstract
This task-switching ERP study of 16 young participants investigated whether increased RT slowing on stay trials and faster RTs on switch trials for frequent than infrequent switching are explained by an activation or preparation account. The activation account proposes that task sets are maintained at a higher baseline activation level for frequent switching, necessitating increased task-set updating, as reflected by a larger and/or longer lasting early parietal positivity. The preparation account assumes advance (pre-cue) switch preparation (i.e., task-set reconfiguration), preceding stay and switch trials for frequent switching, as reflected by pre-cue and post-cue late parietal positivities. By and large, the data support the activation account. However, we also found increased, pre-cue task-set updating on frequent stay trials and pre-cue, task-set reconfiguration prior to predictable, frequent switches. These results lead us to propose an extended activation account to explain the effects of switch probability on the executive processes underlying task-switching behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Doreen Nessler
- Cognitive Electrophysiology Laboratory, Division of Cognitive Neuroscience, New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, NY 10032, United States.
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