Asymmetric Attention Networks: The Case of Children

Abstract

Visuospatial attention-networks are represented in both hemispheres, with right-hemisphere dominance in adults. Little is known about the lateralization of the attentional-networks in children. To assess the lateralization of attentional-networks in children aged 5 years, performance on a Lateralized-Attention-Network-Test specifically designed for children (LANT-C) was compared with performance on the Attention-Network-Test for children (ANT-C). Participants were 82 children, aged 5-6 years (55% boys, middle-class, mainstream schooling). They were examined with both the ANT-C and the LANT-C along with evaluation of intelligence and attention questionnaires. Multiple analysis of variance showed a main effect for network, with high efficiency for orienting and lower executive efficiency (accuracy; p < .001; η2 = .282). An effect for procedure, elucidated higher efficiency in the ANT-C relatively to the LANT-C (accuracy; p < .01; η2 = .097). A procedure × network interaction effect was also found, showing that this procedure difference is present in the alerting and executive networks (accuracy; p < .05; η2 = .096). LANT-C analysis showed a left visual-field advantage in alerting, (accuracy; p < .05; η2 = .066), while executing with the right hand benefitted executive performance (response-time; p < .05; η2 = .06). Results extend previous findings manifesting a right-hemisphere advantage in children's alerting-attention, pointing to the importance of lateralization of brain function to the understanding of the integrity of attention-networks in children.

Brainstem as a developmental gateway to social attention

“…Children were presented with three arrows and were instructed to press either the left or right mouse key in response to the corresponding direction of a central arrow. An ANT session consisted of three experimental blocks with 144 Alerting, Orienting and Executive Control network trials (detailed procedure in Yaakoby‐Rotem & Geva, ). Participants’ gaze toward the target stimuli was recorded.…”

“…The ANT is a highly established computerized task that measures attention to visual stimuli in adults (Fan, McCandliss, Sommer, Raz, & Posner, 2002) and children (Rothbart & Rueda, 2005;Yaakoby-Rotem & Geva, 2014). Children were presented with three arrows and were instructed to press either the left or right mouse key in response to the corresponding direction of a central arrow.…”

Hemispheric functional segregation facilitates target detection during sustained visuospatial attention

“…The asymmetry in visuospatial attention arises early in development (Yaakoby‐Rotem & Geva, 2014) as a result of several complex interactions between genetic and ontogenetic factors (Güntürkün & Ocklenburg, 2017; Schaafsma et al, 2009) as well as non‐genetic mechanisms such as biomechanical bias (e.g., handedness) and visual scanning bias (e.g., due to cultural habits associated with reading and writing practices) (see, e.g., Mendonça et al, 2020; Rinaldi et al, 2020). Adult neurologically normal human individuals commonly exhibit a right hemisphere dominance in the control of visuospatial attention (Bowers & Heilman, 1980; Jewell & McCourt, 2000).…”

“…The asymmetry in visuospatial attention arises early in development(Yaakoby-Rotem & Geva, 2014) as a result of several complex interactions between genetic and ontogenetic factors(Güntürkün & Ocklenburg, 2017;Schaafsma et al, 2009) as well as non-geneticF I G U R E 4 (a,b) Incremental threshold (i.e., inverse of the density of connections, with zero corresponding to the fully connected graph) for the conversion of correlation matrices to adjacency matrices shows strikingly similar patterns for attention to left (a) and attention to right (b), with slightly lower thresholds for the latter condition (c, as expected due the overall higher FC strength during attention to left). (d,e) The similar organization of the FC patterns is confirmed by the network-to-network correlation matrices during attention to left (d) and attention to right (e), whose average is not significantly different (f) F I G U R E 3 (a) Intra-and inter-hemispheric FC calculated on the visual network (VIS) seed confirms the asymmetric patterns and reveal a predominant role of the right visual network during attention to left compared with attention to right, that is, R vis $L and R vis $R individually different (*q FDR < .05) across the two conditions (see text).…”