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Sookprao P, Benjasupawan K, Phangwiwat T, Chatnuntawech I, Lertladaluck K, Gutchess A, Chunharas C, Itthipuripat S. Conflicting Sensory Information Sharpens the Neural Representations of Early Selective Visuospatial Attention. J Neurosci 2024; 44:e2012232024. [PMID: 38955488 PMCID: PMC11326869 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.2012-23.2024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/18/2023] [Revised: 06/19/2024] [Accepted: 06/25/2024] [Indexed: 07/04/2024] Open
Abstract
Adaptive behaviors require the ability to resolve conflicting information caused by the processing of incompatible sensory inputs. Prominent theories of attention have posited that early selective attention helps mitigate cognitive interference caused by conflicting sensory information by facilitating the processing of task-relevant sensory inputs and filtering out behaviorally irrelevant information. Surprisingly, many recent studies that investigated the role of early selective attention on conflict mitigation have failed to provide positive evidence. Here, we examined changes in the selectivity of early visuospatial attention in male and female human subjects performing an attention-cueing Eriksen flanker task, where they discriminated the shape of a visual target surrounded by congruent or incongruent distractors. We used the inverted encoding model to reconstruct spatial representations of visual selective attention from the topographical patterns of amplitude modulations in alpha band oscillations in scalp EEG (∼8-12 Hz). We found that the fidelity of the alpha-based spatial reconstruction was significantly higher in the incongruent compared with the congruent condition. Importantly, these conflict-related modulations in the reconstruction fidelity occurred at a much earlier time window than those of the lateralized posterior event-related potentials associated with target selection and distractor suppression processes, as well as conflict-related modulations in the frontocentral negative-going wave and midline-frontal theta oscillations (∼3-7 Hz), thought to track executive control functions. Taken together, our data suggest that conflict resolution is supported by the cascade of neural processes underlying early selective visuospatial attention and frontal executive functions that unfold over time.
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Affiliation(s)
- Panchalee Sookprao
- Neuroscience Center for Research and Innovation (NX), Learning Institute, King Mongkut's University of Technology Thonburi, Bangkok 10140, Thailand
- Chula Neuroscience Center, King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital, Thai Red Cross Society, Bangkok 10330, Thailand
- Cognitive Clinical and Computational Neuroscience Center of Excellence, Department of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok 10330, Thailand
- SCG Digital Office, Bangkok 10800, Thailand
| | - Kanyarat Benjasupawan
- Neuroscience Center for Research and Innovation (NX), Learning Institute, King Mongkut's University of Technology Thonburi, Bangkok 10140, Thailand
- Chula Neuroscience Center, King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital, Thai Red Cross Society, Bangkok 10330, Thailand
- Cognitive Clinical and Computational Neuroscience Center of Excellence, Department of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok 10330, Thailand
| | - Tanagrit Phangwiwat
- Neuroscience Center for Research and Innovation (NX), Learning Institute, King Mongkut's University of Technology Thonburi, Bangkok 10140, Thailand
- Big Data Experience Center (BX), Department of Computer Engineering, King Mongkut's University of Technology Thonburi, Bangkok 10600, Thailand
- Computer Engineering Department, King Mongkut's University of Technology Thonburi, Bangkok 10140, Thailand
| | - Itthi Chatnuntawech
- National Nanotechnology Center, National Science and Technology Development Agency, Pathum Thani 12120, Thailand
| | - Kanda Lertladaluck
- Neuroscience Center for Research and Innovation (NX), Learning Institute, King Mongkut's University of Technology Thonburi, Bangkok 10140, Thailand
| | - Angela Gutchess
- Department of Psychology, Neuroscience Program, Volen National Center for Complex Systems, Brandeis University, Waltham, Massachusetts 02453
| | - Chaipat Chunharas
- Chula Neuroscience Center, King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital, Thai Red Cross Society, Bangkok 10330, Thailand
- Cognitive Clinical and Computational Neuroscience Center of Excellence, Department of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok 10330, Thailand
| | - Sirawaj Itthipuripat
- Neuroscience Center for Research and Innovation (NX), Learning Institute, King Mongkut's University of Technology Thonburi, Bangkok 10140, Thailand
- Big Data Experience Center (BX), Department of Computer Engineering, King Mongkut's University of Technology Thonburi, Bangkok 10600, Thailand
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2
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Smith P, Ulrich R. The neutral condition in conflict tasks: On the violation of the midpoint assumption in reaction time trends. Q J Exp Psychol (Hove) 2024; 77:1023-1043. [PMID: 37674259 PMCID: PMC11032635 DOI: 10.1177/17470218231201476] [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: 11/17/2022] [Revised: 06/21/2023] [Accepted: 06/25/2023] [Indexed: 09/08/2023]
Abstract
Although the relation between congruent and incongruent conditions in conflict tasks has been the primary focus of cognitive control studies, the neutral condition is often set as a baseline directly between the two conditions. However, empirical evidence suggests that the average neutral reaction time (RT) is not placed evenly between the two opposing conditions. This article set out to establish two things: First, to reinforce the informative nature of the neutral condition and second, to highlight how it can be useful for modelling. We explored how RT in the neutral condition of conflict tasks (Stroop, Flanker, and Simon Tasks) deviated from the predictions of current diffusion models. Current diffusion models of conflict tasks predict a neutral RT that is the average of the congruent and incongruent RT, called the midpoint assumption. To investigate this, we first conducted a cursory limited search that recorded the average RT's of conflict tasks with neutral conditions. Upon finding evidence of a midpoint assumption violation which showed a larger disparity between average neutral and incongruent RT, we tested the previously mentioned conflict tasks with two different sets of stimuli to establish the robustness of the effect. The midpoint assumption violation is sometimes inconsistent with the prediction of diffusion models of conflict processing (e.g., the Diffusion Model of Conflict), suggesting possible elaborations of such models.
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Affiliation(s)
- Parker Smith
- Fachbereich Psychologie, Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Rolf Ulrich
- Fachbereich Psychologie, Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
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3
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Lee PS, Sewell DK. A revised diffusion model for conflict tasks. Psychon Bull Rev 2024; 31:1-31. [PMID: 37507646 PMCID: PMC10867079 DOI: 10.3758/s13423-023-02288-0] [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] [Accepted: 03/25/2023] [Indexed: 07/30/2023]
Abstract
The recently developed diffusion model for conflict tasks (DMC) Ulrich et al. (Cognitive Psychology, 78, 148-174, 2015) provides a good account of data from all standard conflict tasks (e.g., Stroop, Simon, and flanker tasks) within a common evidence accumulation framework. A central feature of DMC's processing dynamics is that there is an initial phase of rapid accumulation of distractor evidence that is then selectively withdrawn from the decision mechanism as processing continues. We argue that this assumption is potentially troubling because it could be viewed as implying qualitative changes in the representation of distractor information over the time course of processing. These changes suggest more than simple inhibition or suppression of distractor information, as they involve evidence produced by distractor processing "changing sign" over time. In this article, we (a) develop a revised DMC (RDMC) whose dynamics operate strictly within the limits of inhibition/suppression (i.e., evidence strength can change monotonically, but cannot change sign); (b) demonstrate that RDMC can predict the full range of delta plots observed in the literature (i.e., both positive-going and negative-going); and (c) show that the model provides excellent fits to Simon and flanker data used to benchmark the original DMC at both the individual and group level. Our model provides a novel account of processing differences across Simon and flanker tasks. Specifically, that they differ in how distractor information is processed on congruent trials, rather than incongruent trials: congruent trials in the Simon task show relatively slow attention shifting away from distractor information (i.e., location) while complete and rapid attention shifting occurs in the flanker task. Our new model highlights the importance of considering dynamic interactions between top-down goals and bottom-up stimulus effects in conflict processing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ping-Shien Lee
- School of Psychology, University of Queensland, QLD 4072, St. Lucia, Australia.
| | - David K Sewell
- School of Psychology, University of Queensland, QLD 4072, St. Lucia, Australia
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4
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Bräutigam LC, Leuthold H, Mackenzie IG, Mittelstädt V. Exploring behavioral adjustments of proportion congruency manipulations in an Eriksen flanker task with visual and auditory distractor modalities. Mem Cognit 2024; 52:91-114. [PMID: 37548866 PMCID: PMC10806239 DOI: 10.3758/s13421-023-01447-x] [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] [Accepted: 07/07/2023] [Indexed: 08/08/2023]
Abstract
The present study investigated global behavioral adaptation effects to conflict arising from different distractor modalities. Three experiments were conducted using an Eriksen flanker paradigm with constant visual targets, but randomly varying auditory or visual distractors. In Experiment 1, the proportion of congruent to incongruent trials was varied for both distractor modalities, whereas in Experiments 2A and 2B, this proportion congruency (PC) manipulation was applied to trials with one distractor modality (inducer) to test potential behavioral transfer effects to trials with the other distractor modality (diagnostic). In all experiments, mean proportion congruency effects (PCEs) were present in trials with a PC manipulation, but there was no evidence of transfer to diagnostic trials in Experiments 2A and 2B. Distributional analyses (delta plots) provided further evidence for distractor modality-specific global behavioral adaptations by showing differences in the slope of delta plots with visual but not auditory distractors when increasing the ratio of congruent trials. Thus, it is suggested that distractor modalities constrain global behavioral adaptation effects due to the learning of modality-specific memory traces (e.g., distractor-target associations) and/or the modality-specific cognitive control processes (e.g., suppression of modality-specific distractor-based activation). Moreover, additional analyses revealed partial transfer of the congruency sequence effect across trials with different distractor modalities suggesting that distractor modality may differentially affect local and global behavioral adaptations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Linda C Bräutigam
- Department of Psychology, University of Tübingen, Schleichstrasse 4, 72076, Tübingen, Germany.
| | - Hartmut Leuthold
- Department of Psychology, University of Tübingen, Schleichstrasse 4, 72076, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Ian G Mackenzie
- Department of Psychology, University of Tübingen, Schleichstrasse 4, 72076, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Victor Mittelstädt
- Department of Psychology, University of Tübingen, Schleichstrasse 4, 72076, Tübingen, Germany
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Griggs MA, Parr B, Vandegrift NS, Jelsone-Swain L. The effect of acute exercise on attentional control and theta power in young adults. Exp Brain Res 2023; 241:2509-2520. [PMID: 37670008 DOI: 10.1007/s00221-023-06660-3] [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: 12/02/2022] [Accepted: 06/26/2023] [Indexed: 09/07/2023]
Abstract
Exercise has a profound impact on one's health, and it is becoming increasingly accepted that exercise also benefits cognitive functioning. Yet, the neural mechanism for which cognitive enhancement occurs is less understood. Therefore, the purpose of our study was to experimentally test whether an acute exercise activity was able to increase theta power and behavioral performance during an executive functioning attentional control task. Participants were randomly assigned to either a stationary-bike exercise or a resting control condition. Thereafter, they completed the Eriksen flanker task, and most participants completed this while EEG data were recorded. From the flanker task data, we demonstrated an interaction effect from both accuracy and reaction time measurements. Importantly, the exercise group was more accurate than the control group in incongruent trials. From the EEG data, theta power was overall higher in the exercise group, especially during the congruent trials, compared to controls. Our results add to the limited but growing body of research that suggests acute exercise produces a general increase in theta power, which in turn may play a role in enhancing cognitive performance. These results, combined with previous research, could have widespread implications in multiple settings such as in the investigation of a biomarker of physical fitness, neurorehabilitation, and in education.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mark A Griggs
- Department of Psychology, University of South Carolina Aiken, 471 University Pkwy, Aiken, SC, 29801, USA
| | - Brian Parr
- Department of Exercise Science, University of South Carolina Aiken, 471 University Pkwy, Aiken, SC, 29801, USA
| | - Nathan S Vandegrift
- Department of Psychology, University of South Carolina Aiken, 471 University Pkwy, Aiken, SC, 29801, USA
| | - Laura Jelsone-Swain
- Department of Psychology, University of South Carolina Aiken, 471 University Pkwy, Aiken, SC, 29801, USA.
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6
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Perceptual confusion makes a significant contribution to the conflict effect: Insight from the flanker task and the majority function task. CURRENT PSYCHOLOGY 2023. [DOI: 10.1007/s12144-023-04318-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/19/2023]
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7
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Koob V, Mackenzie I, Ulrich R, Leuthold H, Janczyk M. The role of task-relevant and task-irrelevant information in congruency sequence effects: Applying the diffusion model for conflict tasks. Cogn Psychol 2023; 140:101528. [PMID: 36584549 DOI: 10.1016/j.cogpsych.2022.101528] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/11/2022] [Revised: 11/15/2022] [Accepted: 11/15/2022] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
Abstract
In conflict tasks, such as the Simon, Eriksen flanker, or Stroop task, the congruency effect is often reduced after an incongruent compared to a congruent trial: the congruency sequence effect (CSE). It was suggested that the CSE may reflect increased processing of task-relevant information and/or suppression of task-irrelevant information after experiencing an incongruent relative to a congruent trial. In the present study, we contribute to this discussion by applying the Diffusion Model for Conflict tasks (DMC) framework in the context of CSEs to flanker and Simon tasks. We argue that DMC independently models the task-relevant and task-irrelevant information and thus is a first good candidate for disentangling their unique contributions. As a first approach, we fitted DMC conjointly or separately to previously congruent or incongruent trials, using four empirical flanker and two Simon data sets. For the flanker task, we fitted the classical DMC version. For the Simon task, we fitted a generalized DMC version which allows the task-irrelevant information to undershoot when swinging back to zero. After considering the model fits, we present a second approach, where we implemented a cognitive control mechanism to simulate the influence of increased processing of task-relevant information or increased suppression of task-irrelevant information. Both approaches demonstrate that the suppression of task-irrelevant information is essential to create the typical CSE pattern. Increased processing of task-relevant information, however, could rarely describe the CSE accurately.
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Affiliation(s)
- Valentin Koob
- Department of Psychology, University of Bremen, 28359 Bremen, Germany.
| | - Ian Mackenzie
- Department of Psychology, University of Tübingen, 72076 Tübingen, Germany
| | - Rolf Ulrich
- Department of Psychology, University of Tübingen, 72076 Tübingen, Germany
| | - Hartmut Leuthold
- Department of Psychology, University of Tübingen, 72076 Tübingen, Germany
| | - Markus Janczyk
- Department of Psychology, University of Bremen, 28359 Bremen, Germany
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Zhang H, Yang S, Qiao Y, Ge Q, Tang Y, Northoff G, Zang Y. Default mode network mediates low-frequency fluctuations in brain activity and behavior during sustained attention. Hum Brain Mapp 2022; 43:5478-5489. [PMID: 35903957 PMCID: PMC9704793 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.26024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/09/2022] [Revised: 07/02/2022] [Accepted: 07/10/2022] [Indexed: 01/15/2023] Open
Abstract
The low-frequency (<0.1 Hz) fluctuation in sustained attention attracts enormous interest in cognitive neuroscience and clinical research since it always leads to cognitive and behavioral lapses. What is the source of the spontaneous fluctuation in sustained attention in neural activity, and how does the neural fluctuation relate to behavioral fluctuation? Here, we address these questions by collecting and analyzing two independent fMRI and behavior datasets. We show that the neural (fMRI) fluctuation in a key brain network, the default-mode network (DMN), mediate behavioral (reaction time) fluctuation during sustained attention. DMN shows the increased amplitude of fluctuation, which correlates with the behavioral fluctuation in a similar frequency range (0.01-0.1 Hz) but not in the lower (<0.01 Hz) or higher (>0.1 Hz) frequency range. This was observed during both auditory and visual sustained attention and was replicable across independent datasets. These results provide a novel insight into the neural source of attention-fluctuation and extend the former concept that DMN was deactivated in cognitive tasks. More generally, our findings highlight the temporal dynamic of the brain-behavior relationship.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hang Zhang
- Centre for Cognition and Brain DisordersThe Affiliated Hospital of Hangzhou Normal UniversityHangzhouZhejiangChina
- Institute of Psychological ScienceHangzhou Normal UniversityHangzhouZhejiangChina
- Zhejiang Key Laboratory for Research in Assessment of Cognitive ImpairmentHangzhouZhejiangChina
| | - Shi‐You Yang
- Centre for Cognition and Brain DisordersThe Affiliated Hospital of Hangzhou Normal UniversityHangzhouZhejiangChina
- Institute of Psychological ScienceHangzhou Normal UniversityHangzhouZhejiangChina
- Zhejiang Key Laboratory for Research in Assessment of Cognitive ImpairmentHangzhouZhejiangChina
| | - Yang Qiao
- Centre for Cognition and Brain DisordersThe Affiliated Hospital of Hangzhou Normal UniversityHangzhouZhejiangChina
- Institute of Psychological ScienceHangzhou Normal UniversityHangzhouZhejiangChina
- Zhejiang Key Laboratory for Research in Assessment of Cognitive ImpairmentHangzhouZhejiangChina
| | - Qiu Ge
- Centre for Cognition and Brain DisordersThe Affiliated Hospital of Hangzhou Normal UniversityHangzhouZhejiangChina
- Institute of Psychological ScienceHangzhou Normal UniversityHangzhouZhejiangChina
- Zhejiang Key Laboratory for Research in Assessment of Cognitive ImpairmentHangzhouZhejiangChina
| | - Yi‐Yuan Tang
- College of Health SolutionsArizona State UniversityTempeArizonaUSA
| | - Georg Northoff
- Centre for Cognition and Brain DisordersThe Affiliated Hospital of Hangzhou Normal UniversityHangzhouZhejiangChina
- Institute of Mental Health ResearchUniversity of OttawaOttawaCanada
| | - Yu‐Feng Zang
- Centre for Cognition and Brain DisordersThe Affiliated Hospital of Hangzhou Normal UniversityHangzhouZhejiangChina
- Institute of Psychological ScienceHangzhou Normal UniversityHangzhouZhejiangChina
- Zhejiang Key Laboratory for Research in Assessment of Cognitive ImpairmentHangzhouZhejiangChina
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Hassett TC, Hampton RR. Control of Attention in Rhesus Monkeys Measured Using a Flanker Task. Atten Percept Psychophys 2022; 84:2155-2166. [PMID: 35174464 PMCID: PMC9885799 DOI: 10.3758/s13414-022-02452-z] [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] [Accepted: 01/28/2022] [Indexed: 02/01/2023]
Abstract
At least three processes determine whether information we encounter is attended to or ignored. First, attentional capture occurs when attention is drawn automatically by "bottom up" processes, to distinctive, salient, rewarding, or unexpected stimuli when they enter our sensory field. Second, "top down" attentional control can direct cognitive processing towards goal-relevant targets. Third, selection history, operates through repeated exposure to a stimulus, particularly when associated with reward. Attentional control is measured using tasks that require subjects to selectively attend to goal-relevant stimuli in the face of distractions. In the Eriksen flanker task, human participants report which direction a centrally placed arrow is facing, while ignoring "flanking" arrows that may point in the opposite direction. Attentional control is evident to the extent that performance reflects only the direction of the central arrow. We describe four experiments in which we systematically assessed attentional control in rhesus monkeys using a flanker task. In Experiment 1, monkeys responded according to the identity of a central target, and accuracy and latency varied systematically with manipulations of flanking stimuli, validating our adaptation of the Eriksen flanker task. We then tested for converging evidence of attentional control across three experiments in which flanker performance was modulated by the distance separating targets from flankers (Experiment 2), luminance differences (Experiment 3), and differences in associative value (Experiment 4). The approach described is a new and reliable measure of attentional control in rhesus monkeys that can be applied to a wide range of situations with freely behaving animals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas C Hassett
- Department of Psychology, Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Emory University, 36 Eagle Row, Atlanta, GA, 30322, USA.
| | - Robert R Hampton
- Department of Psychology, Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Emory University, 36 Eagle Row, Atlanta, GA, 30322, USA
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Wilkerson GB, Nabhan DC, Perry TS. A Novel Approach to Assessment of Perceptual-Motor Efficiency and Training-Induced Improvement in the Performance Capabilities of Elite Athletes. Front Sports Act Living 2021; 3:729729. [PMID: 34661098 PMCID: PMC8517233 DOI: 10.3389/fspor.2021.729729] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/23/2021] [Accepted: 08/31/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Standard clinical assessments of mild traumatic brain injury are inadequate to detect subtle abnormalities that can be revealed by sophisticated diagnostic technology. An association has been observed between sport-related concussion (SRC) and subsequent musculoskeletal injury, but the underlying neurophysiological mechanism is not currently understood. A cohort of 16 elite athletes (10 male, 6 female), which included nine individuals who reported a history of SRC (5 male, 4 female) that occurred between 4 months and 8 years earlier, volunteered to participate in a 12-session program for assessment and training of perceptual-motor efficiency. Performance metrics derived from single- and dual-task whole-body lateral and diagonal reactive movements to virtual reality targets in left and right directions were analyzed separately and combined in various ways to create composite representations of global function. Intra-individual variability across performance domains demonstrated very good SRC history classification accuracy for the earliest 3-session phase of the program (Reaction Time Dispersion AUC = 0.841; Deceleration Dispersion AUC = 0.810; Reaction Time Discrepancy AUC = 0.825, Deceleration Discrepancy AUC = 0.794). Good earliest phase discrimination was also found for Composite Asymmetry between left and right movement directions (AUC = 0.778) and Excursion Average distance beyond the minimal body displacement necessary for virtual target deactivation (AUC = 0.730). Sensitivity derived from Youden's Index for the 6 global factors ranged from 67 to 89% and an identical specificity value of 86% for all of them. Median values demonstrated substantial improvement from the first 3-session phase to the last 3-session phase for Composite Asymmetry and Excursion Average. The results suggest that a Composite Asymmetry value ≥ 0.15 and an Excursion Average value ≥ 7 m, provide reasonable qualitative approximations for clinical identification of suboptimal perceptual-motor performance. Despite acknowledged study limitations, the findings support a hypothesized relationship between whole-body reactive agility performance and functional connectivity among brain networks subserving sensory perception, cognitive decision-making, and motor execution. A complex systems approach appears to perform better than traditional data analysis methods for detection of subtle perceptual-motor impairment, which has the potential to advance both clinical management of SRC and training for performance enhancement.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gary B Wilkerson
- Department of Health and Human Performance, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, Chattanooga, TN, United States
| | - Dustin C Nabhan
- Oslo Sports Trauma Research Center, Norwegian School of Sport Science, Oslo, Norway
| | - Tyler S Perry
- Orthopedics and Sports Medicine, Emory Healthcare, Atlanta, GA, United States
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Effects of conflict trial proportion: A comparison of the Eriksen and Simon tasks. Atten Percept Psychophys 2020; 83:810-836. [PMID: 33269440 PMCID: PMC7884373 DOI: 10.3758/s13414-020-02164-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 09/16/2020] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Abstract
Two experiments examined global and local behavioral adaptation effects within and across the Eriksen task, where conflict is based on stimulus letter identities, and the Simon task, where conflict is based on stimulus and response locations. Trials of the two tasks were randomly intermixed, and the list-wide proportion of congruent trials was varied in both tasks (Experiment 1) or in just one task (Experiment 2). The global adaptation effect of list-wide congruency proportion (LWPC effect) was at least as large in the Simon task as in the Eriksen task. Likewise, the local adaptation effect of previous-trial congruency (Gratton effect) was at least as large in the Simon task as in the Eriksen task. In contrast to prior studies investigating transfer across Stroop and Simon tasks, there was no dissociation between global and local adaptation effects regarding their transfer across the different conflict tasks. In fact, both local and global adaptation effects appeared largely task-specific, because there was no or only little transfer of either Gratton effects or LWPC effects from the Eriksen to the Simon task or vice versa. On the whole, the results suggest that behavioral adaptation observed in the present design does not carry over from one of these tasks to the other, suggesting no involvement of a higher-order, task-general mechanism of cognitive control.
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Abstract
The Eriksen flanker task is a traditional conflict paradigm for studying the influence of task-irrelevant information on the processing of task-relevant information. In this task, participants are asked to respond to a visual target item (e.g., a letter) that is flanked by task-irrelevant items (e.g., also letters). Responses are typically faster and more accurate when the task-irrelevant information is response-congruent with the visual target than when it is incongruent. Several researchers have attributed the starting point of this flanker effect to poor selective filtering at a perceptual level (e.g., spotlight models), which subsequently produces response competition at post-perceptual stages. The present study examined whether a flanker-like effect could also be established within a bimodal analog of the flanker task with auditory irrelevant letters and visual target letters, which must be processed along different processing routes. The results of two experiments revealed that a flanker-like effect is also present with bimodal stimuli. In contrast to the unimodal flanker task, however, the effect only emerged when flankers and targets shared the same letter name, but not when they were different letters mapped onto the same response. We conclude that the auditory flankers can influence the time needed to recognize visual targets but do not directly activate their associated responses.
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Distractor probabilities modulate flanker task performance. Atten Percept Psychophys 2020; 83:866-881. [PMID: 33135099 DOI: 10.3758/s13414-020-02151-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 09/13/2020] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Abstract
Expectations about upcoming events help humans to effectively filter out potential distractors and respond more efficiently to task-relevant inputs. While previous work has emphasized the role of expectations about task-relevant inputs, less is known about the role that expectations play in suppressing specific distractors. To address this question, we manipulated the probabilities of different flanker configurations in the Eriksen flanker task. Across four studies, we found robust evidence for sensitivity to the probability of flankers, with an approximately logarithmic relationship between the likelihood of a particular flanker configuration and the accuracy of subjects' responses. Subjects were also sensitive to length of runs of repeated targets, but minimally sensitive to length of runs of repeated flankers. Two studies used chevron stimuli, and two used letters (confirming that results generalize with greater dissimilarity between stimuli). Expanding the set of stimuli (thus reducing the dominance of any one exemplar) eliminated the effect. Our findings suggest that expectations about distractors form in response to statistical regularities at multiple timescales, and that their effects are strongest when stimuli are geometrically similar and subjects are able to respond to trials quickly. Unexpected distractors could disrupt performance, most likely via a form of attentional capture. This work demonstrates how expectations can influence attention in complex cognitive settings, and illuminates the multiple, nested factors that contribute.
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