When a moving target is tracked visually, spatial and temporal predictions are used to circumvent the neural delay required for the visuomotor processing. In particular, the internally generated predictions must be synchronized with the external stimulus during continuous tracking. We examined the utility of a circular visual-tracking paradigm for assessment of predictive timing, using normal human subjects. Disruptions of gaze–target synchronization were associated with anticipatory saccades that caused the gaze to be temporarily ahead of the target along the circular trajectory. These anticipatory saccades indicated preserved spatial prediction but suggested impaired predictive timing. We quantified gaze–target synchronization with several indices, whose distributions across subjects were such that instances of extremely poor performance were identifiable outside the margin of error determined by test–retest measures. Because predictive timing is an important element of attention functioning, the visual-tracking paradigm and dynamic synchronization indices described here may be useful for attention assessment.

Performance measures of predictive visual tracking accurately reflect impaired attention due to acute sleep deprivation and provide a promising approach for assessing readiness in personnel serving in diverse occupational areas, including flight and ground support crews.

The hippocampal formation is a highly plastic brain region that is sensitive to stress. It receives extensive noradrenergic projections, and noradrenaline is released in the hippocampus in response to stressor exposure. The hippocampus expresses particularly high levels of the α 1D adrenergic receptor (ADR) and we have previously demonstrated that α 1d ADR mRNA expression in the rat hippocampus is modulated by corticosterone. One of the defining features of a stress response is activation of the hypothalamic pituitary adrenal (HPA) axis, resulting in the release of corticosterone from the adrenal glands. However, the effect of stress on hippocampal expression of α 1d ADR mRNA has not been determined. In this study, male rats were exposed to inescapable tail shock, loud noise or restraint, and the effect on α 1d ADR mRNA expression in the hippocampus was determined by semi-quantitative in situ hybridization. All three stressors resulted in a rapid upregulation of α 1d ADR mRNA in the dentate gyrus, with expression peaking at approximately 90 minutes after the start of the stressor. Physical activity has previously been reported to counteract some of the effects of stress that occur within the dentate gyrus. However, 6 weeks of voluntary wheel running in rats did not prevent the restraint stress-induced increase in α 1d ADR mRNA expression in the dentate gyrus. Although the function of the α 1D ADR in the dentate gyrus is not known, these data provide further evidence for a close interaction between stress and the noradrenergic system in the hippocampus.