RESUMEN

Salient objects often capture attention in a purely exogenous way, followed by inhibition of their locations after a period. Yet, the neural circuits underlying the exogenous attention remain underspecified. Seidel Malkinson et al. explore this by uncovering large-scale cortical gradients associated with exogenous attention within the human cortex.

Asunto(s)

RESUMEN

Attention can be covertly shifted to peripheral stimuli to improve their processing. However, attention is also then inhibited against returning to the previously attended location; thus, both detection and discrimination of a stimulus presented at that location decrease (the inhibition of return [IOR] effect). The after-effect of the covert orienting hypothesis postulates a close link between attention shifting, IOR, and oculomotor control. The fixation offset, which improves the generation of saccades, decreases IOR in detection tasks, suggesting a close link between IOR and oculomotor control. However, according to some alternative views (e.g., the input-based IOR hypothesis and the object files segregation/integration hypothesis), IOR may be related to some sensory rather than motor processes. Some studies support that view and show that IOR may occur differently in detection and discrimination tasks and that oculomotor processes do not affect IOR in tasks where manual responses are required and eye movements are suppressed. Two experiments presented in this article show that removing the fixation point decreases manual IOR in detection and discrimination tasks. The results are discussed in terms of various theoretical approaches.

RESUMEN

Humans coordinate their eye, head, and body movements to gather information from a dynamic environment while maximizing reward and minimizing biomechanical and energetic costs. However, such natural behavior is not possible in traditional experiments employing head/body restraints and artificial, static stimuli. Therefore, it is unclear to what extent mechanisms of fixation selection discovered in lab studies, such as inhibition-of-return (IOR), influence everyday behavior. To address this gap, participants performed nine real-world tasks, including driving, visually searching for an item, and building a Lego set, while wearing a mobile eye tracker (169 recordings; 26.6 h). Surprisingly, in all tasks, participants most often returned to what they just viewed and saccade latencies were shorter preceding return than forward saccades, i.e., consistent with facilitation, rather than inhibition, of return. We hypothesize that conservation of eye and head motor effort ("laziness") contributes. Correspondingly, we observed center biases in fixation position and duration relative to the head's orientation. A model that generates scanpaths by randomly sampling these distributions reproduced all return phenomena we observed, including distinct 3-fixation sequences for forward versus return saccades. After controlling for orbital eccentricity, one task (building a Lego set) showed evidence for IOR. This, along with small discrepancies between model and data, indicates that the brain balances minimization of motor costs with maximization of rewards (e.g., accomplished by IOR and other mechanisms) and that the optimal balance varies according to task demands. Supporting this account, the orbital range of motion used in each task traded off lawfully with fixation duration.

Asunto(s)

RESUMEN

There is some evidence for attentional biases in individuals with chronic pain (CP). Cultural and linguistic differences might affect the manifestation of these processes across populations. However, such attentional biases have not been explored in the Arabic-speaking population. The current study investigated these attentional biases and possible associations with resilience. Two matched groups of Arabic-speaking participants with (58) and without (58) CP were recruited from Jordan and the United Kingdom. They completed emotionally modified versions of the Posner cueing and Stroop tasks, alongside questionnaires. Significant group differences were found for the Posner task, with the CP group exhibiting disengagement revealed by the inhibition of return (IOR) effect for sensory pain-related cues compared to delayed disengagement for the other cue types. The control group showed IOR across cue types. No group differences were found on the Stroop task. The CP group had lower resilience scores than healthy controls, and resilience moderated performance on the Posner task. The study provides preliminary evidence about the attentional processes in the Arabic population; the speed of disengagement is affected in the CP group with early disengagement for sensory pain-related information compared to affect pain and neutral stimuli. Furthermore, resilience levels in the CP and control group moderated the performance on the Posner task, suggesting that it influences attentional allocation. This study can help in understanding how the phenomenon of attention bias intertwines with the cultural and linguistic factors. Future research should further explore attentional dynamics across different time points in this population and the modulatory effect of resilience.

Asunto(s)

RESUMEN

In the Posner cueing paradigm, the early attentional capture and subsequent inhibition of return (IOR) of attention to the same location, although they are microscale phenomena measured in milliseconds, seem to encapsulate the interaction between two fundamental dimensions of behavior - engaging in and sustaining activity versus withdrawing from and inhibiting activity. In the field of differential psychology, the dynamics of reciprocal relations between these behavioral dimensions have been thought to be determined by central nervous system properties that constitute an individual's temperament. Yet the research on any differential effects of temperament on visuospatial orienting is rather sparse and has produced ambiguous results. Here, we used saccadic responses to measure whether individual differences in reactivity as a temperamental trait might affect orienting of visuospatial attention on discrimination cueing tasks. Our results suggested that, in individuals with lower reactivity, attentional capture took place at a short stimulus onset asynchrony (SOA), producing a facilitatory cueing effect, which was not the case in those who were higher in reactivity. We explain and discuss these results with the Regulative Theory of Temperament.

Asunto(s)

RESUMEN

We explore the world by constantly shifting our focus of attention toward salient stimuli and then disengaging from them in search of new ones. The alpha rhythm (8-13 Hz) has been suggested as a pivotal neural substrate of these attentional shifts, due to its local synchronization and desynchronization that suppress irrelevant cortical areas and facilitate relevant areas, a phenomenon called alpha lateralization. Whether alpha lateralization tracks the focus of attention from orienting toward a salient stimulus to disengaging from it is still an open question. We addressed it by leveraging the phenomenon of inhibition of return (IOR), consisting of an initial facilitation in response times (RTs) for stimuli appearing at an exogenously cued location, followed by a suppression of that location. Our behavioral data from human participants showed a typical IOR effect with both early facilitation and subsequent inhibition. In contrast, alpha lateralized in the cued direction after the behavioral facilitation effect and never re-lateralized compatibly with the behavioral inhibition. Furthermore, we analyzed the interaction between alpha lateralization and microsaccades: while alpha was lateralized toward the cued location, microsaccades were mostly oriented away from it. Crucially, the two phenomena showed a significant positive correlation. These results indicate that alpha lateralization reflects primarily the processing of salient stimuli, challenging the view that alpha lateralization is directly involved in exogenous attentional orienting per se. We discuss the relevance of the present findings for an oculomotor account of alpha lateralization as a modulator of cortical excitability in preparation of a saccade.

Asunto(s)

RESUMEN

An increasing number of studies show that attentional shifting is a primary contributor during the process of learning to read. However, it remains unclear what is the relationship between attentional shifting and word-reading ability in adult readers whose reading skills have matured. More fundamentally, how attentional shifting affects individuals' reading ability remains poorly understood. To address these issues, we grouped adult readers by the level of Chinese character reading and examined the time course of attentional shifting by setting up multiple stimulus-onset asynchronies (SOAs) in the Posner cue-target paradigm. Based on the phonological mediation hypothesis, we also measured multiple abilities involving phonological processing (i.e., rapid automatic naming and phonological awareness). Results showed that compared with adults at the high reading level, adults at the low reading level showed a selective impairment of attentional disengagement. Rapid automatic naming of Chinese characters played a partially mediating role in the association between attentional shifting and word reading. These results provided evidence for the phonological mediation hypothesis, and suggest that attentional shifting affects word reading by influencing phonological processing in adult Chinese readers.

Asunto(s)

RESUMEN

Social cues, such as eye gaze and pointing fingers, can increase the prioritisation of specific locations for cognitive processing. A previous study using a manual reaching task showed that, although both gaze and pointing cues altered target prioritisation (reaction times [RTs]), only pointing cues affected action execution (trajectory deviations). These differential effects of gaze and pointing cues on action execution could be because the gaze cue was conveyed through a disembodied head; hence, the model lacked the potential for a body part (i.e., hands) to interact with the target. In the present study, the image of a male gaze model, whose gaze direction coincided with two potential target locations, was centrally presented. The model either had his arms and hands extended underneath the potential target locations, indicating the potential to act on the targets (Experiment 1), or had his arms crossed in front of his chest, indicating the absence of potential to act (Experiment 2). Participants reached to a target that followed a nonpredictive gaze cue at one of three stimulus onset asynchronies. RTs and reach trajectories of the movements to cued and uncued targets were analysed. RTs showed a facilitation effect for both experiments, whereas trajectory analysis revealed facilitatory and inhibitory effects, but only in Experiment 1 when the model could potentially act on the targets. The results of this study suggested that when the gaze model had the potential to interact with the cued target location, the model's gaze affected not only target prioritisation but also movement execution.

Asunto(s)

RESUMEN

Action control theories assume that upon responding to a stimulus response and stimulus features are integrated into a short episodic memory trace; repeating any component spurs on retrieval, affecting subsequent performance. The resulting so-called "binding effects" are reliably observed in discrimination tasks. In contrast, in localization performance, these effects are absent and only inhibition of return (IOR) emerges - a location change benefit. Affective information has been found to modulate binding effects; yet a modulation of IOR has led to mixed results, with many finding no influence at all. In the current study, participants discriminated letters (Experiment 1) or localized dots (Experiment 2) on a touchpad in prime-probe sequences. During the prime display two images - one with fruits and one with a spider - appeared, one of which spatially congruent with the to-be-touched area. In the discrimination task, previously touching a spider compared to a fruit slowed down response repetitions. In contrast, the localization task only showed IOR. This suggests that task-irrelevant valence is integrated with the response and affects subsequent responses due to retrieval. However, this is not ubiquitous but depends on task type. The results shed further light on the impact of affective information on actions.

Asunto(s)

RESUMEN

When acting jointly, individuals often attend and respond to the same object or spatial location in complementary ways (e.g., when passing a mug, one person grasps its handle with a precision grip; the other receives it with a whole-hand grip). At the same time, the spatial relation between individuals' actions affects attentional orienting: one is slower to attend and respond to locations another person previously acted upon than to alternate locations ("social inhibition of return", social IOR). Achieving joint goals (e.g., passing a mug), however, often requires complementary return responses to a co-actor's previous location. This raises the question of whether attentional orienting, and hence the social IOR, is affected by the (joint) goal our actions are directed at. The present study addresses this question. Participants responded to cued locations on a computer screen, taking turns with a virtual co-actor. They pursued either an individual goal or performed complementary actions with the co-actor, in pursuit of a joint goal. Four experiments showed that the social IOR was significantly modulated when participant and co-actor pursued a joint goal. This suggests that attentional orienting is affected not only by the spatial but also by the social relation between two agents' actions. Our findings thus extend research on interpersonal perception-action effects, showing that the way another agent's perceived action shapes our own depends on whether we share a joint goal with that agent.

RESUMEN

"Inhibition of return" (IOR) was originally described in the field of spatial attention, but it has also been observed in random number generation tasks. Subjects showed a tendency of "repetition avoidance," which can be considered as equivalent to IOR in another cognitive domain. As temporal factors have been suspected to play an important role in random number generation, we aimed to examine how such factors might influence regularities such as repetition avoidance in random number generation tasks. Participants were instructed to verbally generate a sequence of numbers at a certain pace, that is, with either 0.5, 1.5, 3 or 4 s between each response. Each number in the sequence should have the same probability of appearance and should be independent from the others. However, it was observed that the human-generated sequences differed drastically from computer-simulated pseudo-random sequences. The distribution of the repetition gap, which indicates how many different numbers are reported between two identical numbers in the generated sequences, showed a "three-phase" characteristic: a phase of avoidance of the same number, an oscillatory component for coming back to the same number, and finally an exponential decay of number selection frequencies. This three-phase characteristic was independent of the time interval between responses. These observations indicate an item-based process in random number generation, making a time-based control in this task rather unlikely as has been hypothetically assumed.

Asunto(s)

RESUMEN

When exogenously cued, attention reflexively reorients towards the cued position. After a brief dwelling time, attention is released and then persistently inhibited from returning to this position for up to three seconds, a phenomenon coined 'inhibition of return' (IOR). This inhibitory interpretation has shaped our understanding of the spatio-temporal dynamics of the attentional spotlight after an exogenous visual cue for more than three decades. However, a recent theory refines this traditional view and predicts that attention rhythmically alternates between possible target locations at a theta frequency, implying occasional returns of attention to the cued position. Unfortunately, previous IOR studies have only probed performance at a few, temporally wide-spread cue-target onset asynchronies (CTOAs) rendering a comparison of these contradictory predictions impossible. We therefore used a temporally fine-grained adaptation of the Posner paradigm with 25 equally and densely spaced CTOAs, which yielded a robust IOR effect in the reaction time difference between valid and invalidly cued trials. We modelled the time course of this effect across CTOAs as a linear or exponential decay (traditional IOR model), sinusoidal rhythm (rhythmic model) and a combination of both (hybrid model). Model comparison by means of goodness-of-fit indices provided strong evidence in favor of traditional IOR models, and against theta-rhythmic attentional sampling contributing to IOR. This finding was supported by an FFT analysis, which also revealed no significant theta rhythm. We therefore conclude that the spatio-temporal dynamics of attention following an exogenous cue cannot be explained by rhythmic attentional sampling.

Asunto(s)

RESUMEN

Inhibition of return (IOR) has proved to be weakened by audiovisual integration because of the increased perceptual salience of targets. Although other audiovisual interactions, such as crossmodal correspondence, have also been shown to facilitate attentional processes, to the best of our knowledge, no study has investigated the interaction between crossmodal correspondence and IOR. The present study employed Posner's spatial cueing paradigm and manipulated the cue validity, crossmodal correspondence congruency and time interval of auditory and visual stimuli (AV interval) to explore the effect of crossmodal correspondence on the IOR effect. The behavioral results showed a reduced IOR effect under the correspondence congruency condition in contrast to the correspondence incongruency condition at the AV interval of 200 ms, whereas at an AV interval of 80 ms, the decreased IOR effect under crossmodal correspondence congruency was eliminated. The electrophysiological results showed a reduced amplitude difference in P2 between valid and invalid cue conditions when the crossmodal correspondence effect decreased the IOR effect. The present study provided the first evidence of the weakened effect of the crossmodal correspondence effect on the IOR effect, which could be eliminated by audiovisual integration.

Asunto(s)

RESUMEN

The three-factor model argues that the spatial orienting benefit triggered by the cue, the spatial selection benefit of cue-target matching, and the detection cost of distinguishing the cue from the target contribute to the measured inhibition of return (IOR) effect. According to the three-factor model, the spatial selection benefit dominates the occurrence of the IOR effect in the discrimination task, while the detection cost is negligible. The present study verified the three-factor model in the discrimination task under the cue-target paradigm by manipulating the spatial location and nonspatial feature consistency of the cue and the target as well as the promotion or hindrance of attentional disengagement from the cued location with a central reorienting cue. The results indicated that the three factors of the three-factor model contributed to the measured IOR effect in the discrimination task. Interestingly, the IOR effect was stable when the cue and target were perfectly repeated and attention was maintained at the cued location, implying that detection cost was not a negligible factor. The current study supported the contribution of all three factors in the three-factor model to the measured IOR effect; however, we argue that the role of detection cost in the discrimination task under different paradigms should be further refined.

Asunto(s)

RESUMEN

Previous studies have shown that rewards weaken visual inhibition of return (IOR). However, the specific mechanisms underlying the influence of rewards on cross-modal IOR remain unclear. Based on the Posner exogenous cue-target paradigm, the present study was conducted to investigate the effect of rewards on exogenous spatial cross-modal IOR in both visual cue with auditory target (VA) and auditory cue with visual target (AV) conditions. The results showed the following: in the AV condition, the IOR effect size in the high-reward condition was significantly lower than that in the low-reward condition. However, in the VA condition, there was no significant IOR in either the high- or low-reward condition and there was no significant difference between the two conditions. In other words, the use of rewards modulated exogenous spatial cross-modal IOR with visual targets; specifically, high rewards may have weakened IOR in the AV condition. Taken together, our study extended the effect of rewards on IOR to cross-modal attention conditions and demonstrated for the first time that higher motivation among individuals under high-reward conditions weakened the cross-modal IOR with visual targets. Moreover, the present study provided evidence for future research on the relationship between reward and attention.

Asunto(s)

RESUMEN

Visual inhibition of return (IOR) is a mechanism for preventing attention from returning to previously examined spatial locations. Previous studies have found that auditory stimuli presented simultaneously with a visual target can reduce or even eliminate the visual IOR. However, the mechanism responsible for decreased visual IOR accompanied by auditory stimuli is unclear. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging, we aimed to investigate how auditory stimuli reduce visual IOR. Behaviorally, we found that the visual IOR accompanying auditory stimuli was significant but smaller than the visual IOR. Neurally, only in the validly cued trials, the superior temporal gyrus showed increased neural coupling with the intraparietal sulcus, presupplementary motor area, and some other areas in audiovisual conditions compared with visual conditions. These results suggest that the reduction in visual IOR by the simultaneous auditory stimuli may be due to a dual mechanism: rescuing the suppressed visual salience and facilitating response initiation. Our results support crossmodal interactions can occur across multiple neural levels and cognitive processing stages. This study provides a new perspective for understanding attention-orienting networks and response initiation based on crossmodal information.

Asunto(s)

RESUMEN

The ability to respond quickly and accurately to spatial cues is of great importance to performance on any task where quick decision-making is required. The two main effects of spatial attention are priming, when a response to a target is facilitated after being cued at the same location, and inhibition of return (IOR), when the response to the target is slower to the cued area. Whether priming or IOR occurs is largely dependent on the length of the interval between the cue and the target. To determine whether these effects are relevant to dueling sports with deceptive actions we created a boxing-specific task that mimicked combinations of feints and punches. Altogether, we recruited 20 boxers and 20 non-boxers and found significantly longer reaction times to a punch thrown on the same side as a fake punch after a 600 ms interval, consistent with the IOR effect. We also found a moderate positive correlation between years of training and the magnitude of the IOR effect. This latter finding indicates that even athletes trained to avoid deception can be as susceptible as novices if the timing of the feint is right. Finally, our approach highlights the benefits of studying IOR using more sport specific settings, broadening the scope of the field.

Asunto(s)

RESUMEN

Inhibition of return (IOR) refers to slower responses to targets presented at previously cued locations. Contrasting target discrimination performance over various eye movement conditions has shown the level of activation of the reflexive oculomotor system determines the nature of the effect. Notably, an inhibitory effect of a cue nearer to the input end of the processing continuum is observed when the reflexive oculomotor system is actively suppressed, and an inhibitory effect nearer the output end of the processing continuum is observed when the reflexive oculomotor system is actively engaged. Furthermore, these two forms of IOR interact differently with the Simon effect. Drift diffusion modeling has suggested that two parameters can theoretically account for the speed-accuracy tradeoff rendered by the output-based form of IOR: increased threshold and decreased trial noise. In Experiment 1, we demonstrate that the threshold parameter best accounts for the output-based form of IOR by measuring it with intermixed discrimination and localization targets. Experiment 2 employed the response-signal methodology and showed that the output-based form has no effect on the accrual of information about the target's identity. These results converge with the response bias account for the output form of IOR.

RESUMEN

Inhibition of return (IOR) is a behavioural phenomenon characterised by longer response times (RTs) to stimuli presented at previously cued versus uncued locations. The neural mechanisms underlying IOR effects are not fully understood. Previous neurophysiological studies have identified a role of frontoparietal areas including posterior parietal cortex (PPC) in the generation of IOR, but the contribution of primary motor cortex (M1) has not been directly tested. The present study investigated the effects of single-pulse transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) over M1 on manual IOR in a key-press task where peripheral (left or right) targets followed a cue at the same or opposite location at different SOAs (100/300/600/1000 ms). In Experiment 1, TMS was applied over right M1 on a randomized 50% of trials. In Experiment 2, active or sham stimulation was provided in separate blocks. In the absence of TMS (non-TMS trials in Experiment 1 and sham trials in Experiment 2), evidence of IOR was observed in RTs at longer SOAs. In both experiments, IOR effects differed between TMS and non-TMS/sham conditions, but the effects of TMS were greater and statistically significant in Experiment 1 where TMS and non-TMS trials were randomly interspersed. The magnitude of motor-evoked potentials was not altered by the cue-target relationship in either experiment. These findings do not support a key role of M1 in the mechanisms of IOR but suggest the need for further research to elucidate the role of the motor system in manual IOR effects.

Asunto(s)

RESUMEN

Background and aims: This research aimed to characterize social information processing abilities in a population of regular nondisordered poker players compared to controls. Methods: Participants completed the Posner cueing paradigm task including social cues (faces) to assess attention allocation towards social stimuli, including the effect of the presentation time (subliminal vs supraliminal) and of the emotion displayed. The study included two groups of participants: 30 regular nondisordered poker players (those who played at least three times a week in Texas Hold'em poker games for at least three months) and 30 control participants (those who did not gamble or gambled less than once a month, whatever the game). Results: The group of regular nondisordered poker players displayed an enhancement of the inhibition of return during the Posner cueing task. This means that in valid trials, they took longer to respond to the already processed localization in supraliminal conditions compared to controls. However, our results did not evidence any particular engagement or disengagement attention abilities toward specific types of emotion. Discussion and Conclusions: These results suggest that regular nondisordered poker players displayed social information processing abilities, which may be due to the importance to efficiently process social information that can serve as tells in live poker. The observed enhancement of the inhibition of return may permit poker players to not process a localization that has already processed to save attentional resources. Further research regarding the establishment of the IOR in other forms of gambling and with non-social cues needs to be performed.

Asunto(s)