Beyond time and space: The effect of a lateralized sustained attention task and brain stimulation on spatial and selective attention

Abstract

The Theory of Visual Attention (TVA) provides a mathematical formalisation of the "biased competition" account of visual attention. Applying this model to individual performance in a free recall task allows the estimation of 5 independent attentional parameters: visual short-term memory (VSTM) capacity, speed of information processing, perceptual threshold of visual detection; attentional weights representing spatial distribution of attention (spatial bias), and the top-down selectivity index. While the TVA focuses on selection in space, complementary accounts of attention describe how attention is maintained over time, and how temporal processes interact with selection. A growing body of evidence indicates that different facets of attention interact and share common neural substrates. The aim of the current study was to modulate a spatial attentional bias via transfer effects, based on a mechanistic understanding of the interplay between spatial, selective and temporal aspects of attention. Specifically, we examined here: (i) whether a single administration of a lateralized sustained attention task could prime spatial orienting and lead to transferable changes in attentional weights (assigned to the left vs right hemi-field) and/or other attentional parameters assessed within the framework of TVA (Experiment 1); (ii) whether the effects of such spatial-priming on TVA parameters could be further enhanced by bi-parietal high frequency transcranial random noise stimulation (tRNS) (Experiment 2). Our results demonstrate that spatial attentional bias, as assessed within the TVA framework, was primed by sustaining attention towards the right hemi-field, but this spatial-priming effect did not occur when sustaining attention towards the left. Furthermore, we show that bi-parietal high-frequency tRNS combined with the rightward spatial-priming resulted in an increased attentional selectivity. To conclude, we present a novel, theory-driven method for attentional modulation providing important insights into how the spatial and temporal processes in attention interact with attentional selection.

Suboptimal Engagement of High-Level Cortical Regions Predicts Random-Noise-Related Gains in Sustained Attention

“…The effect of tRNS, at least when applied within the 0.75-mA to 2-mA range, is believed to be excitatory because of the fast-oscillating electrical fields putatively depolarizing neurons irrespective of the current polarity (Fertonani & Miniussi, 2017; Terney, Chaieb, Moliadze, Antal, & Paulus, 2008; but see Parkin, Bhandari, Glen, & Walsh, 2019). Studies have demonstrated the potential for tRNS to modulate a range of capacities from motor (Terney et al, 2008) and sensory (van der Groen & Wenderoth, 2016), to cognitive abilities such as arithmetic learning (Snowball et al, 2013), selective attention (Shalev, De Wandel, Dockree, Demeyere, & Chechlacz, 2018), adaptive reasoning (Brem et al, 2018), and procedural learning (Frank, Harty, Kluge, & Cohen Kadosh, 2018).…”

Eyes wide open: regulation of arousal by temporal expectations

“…To our knowledge, we present the first evidence for perceptual benefits of temporal expectation in CPT independent of motor preparation. Our tasks placed no emphasis on motor performance: In Experiment 1, we used a task that yielded individual differences in perceptual parameters by using forward and backward masking (Shalev, De Wandel, Dockree, Demeyere, & Chechlacz, 2017;Shalev et al, 2016;Shalev, Humphreys, & Demeyere, 2018;Shalev, Vangkilde, et al, 2019). In Experiment 2, participants performed fine perceptual discriminations.…”

Dissociable Catecholaminergic Modulation of Visual Attention: Differential Effects of Catechol-O-Methyltransferase and Dopamine Beta-Hydroxylase Genes on Visual Attention

“…The mathematical implementation of the TVA model enables estimation of five theoretical parameters: visual short-term memory capacity, processing speed, perceptual threshold, spatial bias and top-down selectivity index (see methods section for full details; Bundesen, 1990, Kyllingsbaek, 2006; Kyllingsbaek et al, 2011). Importantly, it has been previously shown that attentional selectivity and capacity measures derived in accordance with the TVA model are unrelated to sustained attention measures (McAvinue et al, 2012, Shalev et al, 2018a). This ensures that the tasks employed here indeed provide measures of distinct, independent attention functions.…”