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Journal of Integrative Neuroscience Mar 2021This article describes neural models of attention. Since attention is not a disembodied process, the article explains how brain processes of consciousness, learning,... (Review)
Review
This article describes neural models of attention. Since attention is not a disembodied process, the article explains how brain processes of consciousness, learning, expectation, attention, resonance, and synchrony interact. These processes show how attention plays a critical role in dynamically stabilizing perceptual and cognitive learning throughout our lives. Classical concepts of object and spatial attention are replaced by mechanistically precise processes of prototype, boundary, and surface attention. Adaptive resonances trigger learning of bottom-up recognition categories and top-down expectations that help to classify our experiences, and focus prototype attention upon the patterns of critical features that predict behavioral success. These feature-category resonances also maintain the stability of these learned memories. Different types of resonances induce functionally distinct conscious experiences during seeing, hearing, feeling, and knowing that are described and explained, along with their different attentional and anatomical correlates within different parts of the cerebral cortex. All parts of the cerebral cortex are organized into layered circuits. Laminar computing models show how attention is embodied within a canonical laminar neocortical circuit design that integrates bottom-up filtering, horizontal grouping, and top-down attentive matching. Spatial and motor processes obey matching and learning laws that are computationally complementary to those obeyed by perceptual and cognitive processes. Their laws adapt to bodily changes throughout life, and do not support attention or conscious states.
Topics: Attention; Brain; Cognition; Consciousness; Humans; Learning; Models, Theoretical
PubMed: 33834707
DOI: 10.31083/j.jin.2021.01.406 -
Current Opinion in Psychology Jun 2021Reward-associated objects receive preferential attention, reflecting a bias in information processing that develops automatically following associative learning.... (Review)
Review
Reward-associated objects receive preferential attention, reflecting a bias in information processing that develops automatically following associative learning. Mounting evidence suggests that such value-driven attention operates abnormally in certain psychopathologies, with attentional biases for reward-associated objects being either exaggerated or blunted compared to healthy controls. Here, I review the evidence linking value-driven attention to psychopathology, including drug addiction, depression, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), compulsivity, and impulsive and risky decision-making. I conclude by offering an integrative framework for conceptualizing the link between value-driven attention and psychopathology, along with suggestions for future research into this burgeoning area of investigation, including research on object attachment.
Topics: Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity; Attentional Bias; Humans; Impulsive Behavior; Psychopathology; Reward
PubMed: 32818794
DOI: 10.1016/j.copsyc.2020.07.010 -
Experimental Psychology Nov 2021We evaluated the interaction of emotion, interoceptive awareness (IA), and attention using an attentional blink (AB) task. Healthy undergraduates completed a cardiac...
We evaluated the interaction of emotion, interoceptive awareness (IA), and attention using an attentional blink (AB) task. Healthy undergraduates completed a cardiac awareness task and, based on previously validated cut scores, were classified as high or average perceivers ( = 19 in each group; matched on age and gender). Participants completed an AB task with counterbalanced emotional and/or neutral lexical stimuli as the first target (T1) and/or the second target (T2). Both high and average perceivers exhibited retroactive interference in conditions where T2 immediately followed T1. However, only the average perceivers exhibited a significant blink effect: They reported T2 inaccurately in trials in which one intervening stimulus occurred between T1 and T2. High perceivers exhibited their best performance in trials where both targets were emotional; average perceivers exhibited their worst performance in these trials. These results contribute to a small but growing literature that suggests IA and exteroceptive attention are related systems.
Topics: Attention; Attentional Blink; Emotions; Humans; Photic Stimulation
PubMed: 35258364
DOI: 10.1027/1618-3169/a000539 -
Journal of Physiological Anthropology Sep 2020Saccadic eye movements can allude to emotional states and visual attention. Recent studies have shown that microsaccadic responses (i.e., small fixational eye movements)... (Review)
Review
Saccadic eye movements can allude to emotional states and visual attention. Recent studies have shown that microsaccadic responses (i.e., small fixational eye movements) reflect advanced brain activity during attentional and cognitive tasks. Moreover, the microsaccadic activity related to emotional attention provides new insights into this field. For example, emotional pictures attenuate the microsaccadic rate, and microsaccadic responses to covert attention occur in the direction opposite to a negative emotional target. However, the effects of various emotional events on microsaccadic activity remain debatable. This review introduces visual attention and eye movement studies that support findings on the modulation of microsaccadic responses to emotional events, comparing them with typical microsaccadic responses. This review also discusses the brain neuronal mechanisms governing microsaccadic responses to the attentional shifts triggered by emotion-related stimuli. It is hard to reveal the direct brain pathway of the microsaccadic modulation, especially in advanced (e.g., sustained anger, envy, distrust, guilt, frustration, delight, attraction, trust, and love), but also in basic human emotions (i.e., anger, disgust, fear, happiness, sadness, and surprise). However, non-human primates and human studies can uncover the possible brain pathways of emotional attention and microsaccades, thus providing future research directions. In particular, the facilitated (or reduced) attention is common evidence that microsaccadic activities change under a variety of social modalities (e.g., cognition, music, mental illness, and working memory) that elicit emotions and feelings.
Topics: Attention; Brain; Emotions; Fear; Fixation, Ocular; Humans; Mental Disorders; Saccades
PubMed: 32887665
DOI: 10.1186/s40101-020-00238-6 -
Translational Psychiatry Nov 2019Attention is the gate through which sensory information enters our conscious experiences. Oftentimes, patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) complain of... (Review)
Review
Attention is the gate through which sensory information enters our conscious experiences. Oftentimes, patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) complain of concentration difficulties that negatively impact their day-to-day function, and these attention problems are not alleviated by current first-line treatments. In spite of attention's influence on many aspects of cognitive and emotional functioning, and the inclusion of concentration difficulties in the diagnostic criteria for MDD, the focus of depression as a disease is typically on mood features, with attentional features considered less of an imperative for investigation. Here, we summarize the breadth and depth of findings from the cognitive neurosciences regarding the neural mechanisms supporting goal-directed attention in order to better understand how these might go awry in depression. First, we characterize behavioral impairments in selective, sustained, and divided attention in depressed individuals. We then discuss interactions between goal-directed attention and other aspects of cognition (cognitive control, perception, and decision-making) and emotional functioning (negative biases, internally-focused attention, and interactions of mood and attention). We then review evidence for neurobiological mechanisms supporting attention, including the organization of large-scale neural networks and electrophysiological synchrony. Finally, we discuss the failure of current first-line treatments to alleviate attention impairments in MDD and review evidence for more targeted pharmacological, brain stimulation, and behavioral interventions. By synthesizing findings across disciplines and delineating avenues for future research, we aim to provide a clearer outline of how attention impairments may arise in the context of MDD and how, mechanistically, they may negatively impact daily functioning across various domains.
Topics: Attentional Bias; Brain; Depressive Disorder, Major; Emotions; Humans; Neuropsychological Tests; Precision Medicine; Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors
PubMed: 31699968
DOI: 10.1038/s41398-019-0616-1 -
Psychological Research Feb 2021'Hyperfocus' is a phenomenon that reflects one's complete absorption in a task, to a point where a person appears to completely ignore or 'tune out' everything else.... (Review)
Review
'Hyperfocus' is a phenomenon that reflects one's complete absorption in a task, to a point where a person appears to completely ignore or 'tune out' everything else. Hyperfocus is most often mentioned in the context of autism, schizophrenia, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, but research into its effect on cognitive and neural functioning is limited. We propose that hyperfocus is a critically important aspect of cognition, particularly with regard to clinical populations, and that it warrants significant investigation. Hyperfocus, though ostensibly self-explanatory, is poorly defined within the literature. In many cases, hyperfocus goes undefined, relying on the assumption that the reader inherently knows what it entails. Thus, there is no single consensus to what constitutes hyperfocus. Moreover, some studies do not refer to hyperfocus by name, but describe processes that may be related. In this paper, we review how hyperfocus (as well as possibly related phenomena) has been defined and measured, the challenges associated with hyperfocus research, and assess how hyperfocus affects both neurotypical and clinical populations. Using this foundation, we provide constructive criticism about previously used methods and analyses. We also propose an operational definition of hyperfocus for researchers to use moving forward.
Topics: Adult; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Attention; Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity; Attentional Bias; Autistic Disorder; Biomedical Research; Cognition; Female; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; Schizophrenia
PubMed: 31541305
DOI: 10.1007/s00426-019-01245-8 -
Psychonomic Bulletin & Review Dec 2020From playing basketball to ordering at a food counter, we frequently and effortlessly coordinate our attention with others towards a common focus: we look at the ball,... (Review)
Review
From playing basketball to ordering at a food counter, we frequently and effortlessly coordinate our attention with others towards a common focus: we look at the ball, or point at a piece of cake. This non-verbal coordination of attention plays a fundamental role in our social lives: it ensures that we refer to the same object, develop a shared language, understand each other's mental states, and coordinate our actions. Models of joint attention generally attribute this accomplishment to gaze coordination. But are visual attentional mechanisms sufficient to achieve joint attention, in all cases? Besides cases where visual information is missing, we show how combining it with other senses can be helpful, and even necessary to certain uses of joint attention. We explain the two ways in which non-visual cues contribute to joint attention: either as enhancers, when they complement gaze and pointing gestures in order to coordinate joint attention on visible objects, or as modality pointers, when joint attention needs to be shifted away from the whole object to one of its properties, say weight or texture. This multisensory approach to joint attention has important implications for social robotics, clinical diagnostics, pedagogy and theoretical debates on the construction of a shared world.
Topics: Attention; Cues; Gestures; Humans; Perception; Social Interaction
PubMed: 32666194
DOI: 10.3758/s13423-020-01766-z -
Arquivos de Neuro-psiquiatria May 2022Sleep is a special physiological state that occurs cyclically. The probable role of sleep in our organic functions remains to be explored to clarify the impact of sleep...
BACKGROUND
Sleep is a special physiological state that occurs cyclically. The probable role of sleep in our organic functions remains to be explored to clarify the impact of sleep on brain functions. Sleep deprivation is known to affect all parts of the brain separately and independently, but further research is needed on the impact of sleep disorders on attention, particularly the specific types of attention that are most affected, and whether there is such a correlation.
OBJECTIVE
To conduct a systematic review of the possible correlation between sleep disorders and attentional performance.
METHODS
A systematic review and search at PubMed, SciELO, and Cochrane scientific databases for articles published in the last 10 years was carried out using the following keywords: sleep, attention, and attentional performance. Inclusion criteria were the use of attention tests and sleep disorders. Of the 1398 articles found, 15 were selected and included in this review.
RESULTS
The number of publications evaluating sleep and sleep disorders has increased, but is still limited. Of all the functions normally assessed, patients with sleep disorders perform worse on attention tasks, especially with sustained attention. However, these data require further investigation due to the complexity and diversity of the disorders, the small sample size of the included studies, and the fact that few studies used standardized tests.
CONCLUSIONS
Our findings indicate that the correlation between sleep and attention is strong but limited. Few studies are devoted exclusively to the extent to which sleep disorders interferes with attention.
Topics: Attention; Brain; Humans; Sleep; Sleep Wake Disorders
PubMed: 35476076
DOI: 10.1590/0004-282X-ANP-2021-0182 -
Schizophrenia Bulletin Sep 2019Recent evidence suggests that schizophrenia involves hyperfocusing, an unusually narrow but intense focusing of processing resources. This appears to contradict the... (Review)
Review
Recent evidence suggests that schizophrenia involves hyperfocusing, an unusually narrow but intense focusing of processing resources. This appears to contradict the classic idea that schizophrenia involves an impairment in the ability to focus on relevant information and filter irrelevant information. Here, we review one set of studies suggesting that attentional filtering is impaired in people with schizophrenia and another set of studies suggesting that attentional filtering is unimpaired or even enhanced in these individuals. Considerable evidence supports both conclusions, and we propose 3 potential ways of reconciling the conflicting evidence. First, impaired attentional filtering may occur primarily during periods of active psychosis, with hyperfocusing being a part of the broad pattern of cognitive impairment that persists independent of the level of positive symptoms. Second, schizophrenia may involve hyperfocusing in the visual modality and impaired attentional filtering in the auditory modality. Third, attention may be directed toward irrelevant inputs as a result of impaired executive control, and hyperfocusing on those inputs may be functionally equivalent to a failure of attentional filtering. Given the widespread clinical observations and first-person reports of impaired attentional filtering in schizophrenia, it will be important for future research to test these possibilities.
Topics: Attention; Cognitive Dysfunction; Cues; Dichotic Listening Tests; Humans; Memory, Short-Term; Prepulse Inhibition; Schizophrenia; Schizophrenic Psychology
PubMed: 31206163
DOI: 10.1093/schbul/sbz045 -
Current Opinion in Psychology Oct 2019Alzheimer's Disease (AD) is characteristically perceived as primarily being a disorder of episodic memory, with prominent attentional impairments more typically being... (Review)
Review
Alzheimer's Disease (AD) is characteristically perceived as primarily being a disorder of episodic memory, with prominent attentional impairments more typically being associated with other neurodegenerative conditions, such as Dementia with Lewy Bodies. However, attention is also affected early on in Alzheimer's, particularly in individuals with young onset and atypical syndromes. In addition, some initial symptoms that are apparently due to episodic memory loss may be secondary to failures of attentional processes. This review delineates the various attentional impairments that can be observed in patients with AD, and addresses them through the conceptual framework of attention proposed by Posner and Petersen. It also describes how current knowledge of the development of AD has influenced our understanding of how these deficits arise. Finally, there is a brief summary of the effects of current AD treatments on attentional processes, and how future pharmacological approaches might better target these deficits.
Topics: Adrenergic Neurons; Alzheimer Disease; Arousal; Attention; Humans; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Neural Pathways
PubMed: 30496975
DOI: 10.1016/j.copsyc.2018.11.002