scholarly journals The effects of task‐irrelevant threatening stimuli on orienting‐ and executive attentional processes under cognitive load

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andras N. Zsidó ◽  
Diana T. Stecina ◽  
Rebecca Cseh ◽  
Michael C. Hout
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Load ◽  
Attentional Processes ◽  
Task Irrelevant ◽  
Threatening Stimuli

scholarly journals Auditory Working Memory Load Impairs Visual Ventral Stream Processing: Toward a Unified Model of Attentional Load

2010 ◽  
Vol 22 (3) ◽  
pp. 437-446 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jane Klemen ◽  
Christian Büchel ◽  
Mira Bühler ◽  
Mareike M. Menz ◽  
Michael Rose
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Cognitive Control ◽  
Cognitive Load ◽  
Human Performance ◽  
Memory Load ◽  
Matching Task ◽  
Load Theory ◽  
Attentional Load ◽  
Relevant Task ◽  
Task Irrelevant

Attentional interference between tasks performed in parallel is known to have strong and often undesired effects. As yet, however, the mechanisms by which interference operates remain elusive. A better knowledge of these processes may facilitate our understanding of the effects of attention on human performance and the debilitating consequences that disruptions to attention can have. According to the load theory of cognitive control, processing of task-irrelevant stimuli is increased by attending in parallel to a relevant task with high cognitive demands. This is due to the relevant task engaging cognitive control resources that are, hence, unavailable to inhibit the processing of task-irrelevant stimuli. However, it has also been demonstrated that a variety of types of load (perceptual and emotional) can result in a reduction of the processing of task-irrelevant stimuli, suggesting a uniform effect of increased load irrespective of the type of load. In the present study, we concurrently presented a relevant auditory matching task [n-back working memory (WM)] of low or high cognitive load (1-back or 2-back WM) and task-irrelevant images at one of three object visibility levels (0%, 50%, or 100%). fMRI activation during the processing of the task-irrelevant visual stimuli was measured in the lateral occipital cortex and found to be reduced under high, compared to low, WM load. In combination with previous findings, this result is suggestive of a more generalized load theory, whereby cognitive load, as well as other types of load (e.g., perceptual), can result in a reduction of the processing of task-irrelevant stimuli, in line with a uniform effect of increased load irrespective of the type of load.

scholarly journals Auditory attention alterations in migraine: a behavioral and MEG/EEG study

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rémy Masson ◽  
Yohana Lévêque ◽  
Geneviève Demarquay ◽  
Hesham ElShafei ◽  
Lesly Fornoni ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Event Related Potentials ◽  
Orienting Response ◽  
List Type ◽  
Top Down ◽  
Attention Task ◽  
Bottom Up ◽  
Attentional Processes ◽  
Related Potentials ◽  
The Right ◽  
Task Irrelevant

AbstractObjectivesTo evaluate alterations of top-down and/or bottom-up attention in migraine and their cortical underpinnings.Methods19 migraineurs between attacks and 19 matched control participants performed a task evaluating jointly top-down and bottom-up attention, using visually-cued target sounds and unexpected task-irrelevant distracting sounds. Behavioral responses and MEG/EEG were recorded. Event-related potentials and fields (ERPs/ERFs) were processed and source reconstruction was applied to ERFs.ResultsAt the behavioral level, neither top-down nor bottom-up attentional processes appeared to be altered in migraine. However, migraineurs presented heightened evoked responses following distracting sounds (orienting component of the N1 and Re-Orienting Negativity, RON) and following target sounds (orienting component of the N1), concomitant to an increased recruitment of the right temporo-parietal junction. They also displayed an increased effect of the cue informational value on target processing resulting in the elicitation of a negative difference (Nd).ConclusionsMigraineurs appear to display increased bottom-up orienting response to all incoming sounds, and an enhanced recruitment of top-down attention.SignificanceThe interictal state in migraine is characterized by an exacerbation of the orienting response to attended and unattended sounds. These attentional alterations might participate to the peculiar vulnerability of the migraine brain to all incoming stimuli.HighlightsMigraineurs performed as well as healthy participants in an attention task.However, EEG markers of both bottom-up and top-down attention are increased.Migraine is also associated with a facilitated recruitment of the right temporo-parietal junction.

scholarly journals Higher availability of α4β2 nicotinic receptors (nAChRs) in dorsal ACC is linked to more efficient interference control

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Swann Pichon ◽  
Garibotto Valentina ◽  
Wissmeyer Michael ◽  
Seimbille Yann ◽  
Lia Antico ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptors ◽  
Attentional Control ◽  
Acetylcholine Receptors ◽  
Anterior Cingulate ◽  
Interference Control ◽  
Dorsal Anterior Cingulate Cortex ◽  
Behavioral Measures ◽  
Attentional Processes ◽  
Task Irrelevant ◽  
Male Subjects

Nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) are widely distributed in the human brain and play an important role in the neuromodulation of brain networks implicated in attentional processes. Previous work in humans showed that heteromeric α4β2 nAChRs are abundant in the cingulo-insular network underlying attentional control. It has been proposed that cholinergic neuromodulation by α4β2 nAChRs is involved in attentional control during demanding tasks, when additional resources are needed to minimize interference from task-irrelevant stimuli and focus on task-relevant stimuli. Here we investigate the link between the availability of α4β2 nAChRs in the cingulo-insular network and behavioral measures of interference control using two versions of the Stroop paradigm, a task known to recruit cingulo-insular areas. We used a previously published PET dataset acquired 24 non-smoking male subjects in the context of a larger study which investigated the brain distribution of nAChRs in two clinical groups using 2-[(18)F]F-A-85380 PET. We found that higher availability of α4β2 nAChRs in the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) predicted better interference control independently of group and age. In line with animal models, our results support the view that the availability of α4β2 nAChRs in the dorsal ACC is linked with more efficient attentional control.

scholarly journals The effect of mood on food versus non-food interference among females who are high and low on emotional eating

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hilla Sambal ◽  
Cara Bohon ◽  
Noam Weinbach
Keyword(s):  
Mood Induction ◽  
Emotional Eating ◽  
Flanker Task ◽  
Interference Control ◽  
Attentional Processes ◽  
Mood Manipulation ◽  
Attentional Interference ◽  
Underlying Mechanisms ◽  
Task Irrelevant ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Background Emotional eating refers to overeating triggered by emotional experiences and may cause significant psychological distress and health problems. Thus, it is important to better understand its underlying mechanisms. The study examined if the ability to ignore task-irrelevant information, namely, interference control, is modulated by mood and exposure to food stimuli among females who are high and low on emotional eating. Method The study’s sample included 80 women who were high (N = 40) or low (N = 40) on an emotional eating scale. Participants were divided to a negative or neutral mood induction group. Following the mood induction, they completed a food-flanker task that allowed assessing attentional interference caused by food and non-food stimuli separately. Results The low emotional eating group had significantly greater food compared to non-food interference, suggesting difficulty at ignoring food stimuli while attending a neutral target. In the high emotional eating group, there was no difference between food and non-food interference. However, higher levels of emotional eating predicted lower levels of food interference. Conclusion The pattern of results suggests a food-avoidance attentional tendency among those with higher levels of emotional eating. The mood manipulation did not influence food-related interference in either group. The lack of an effect of mood on food-related interference questions the impact of negative emotions on basic attentional processes among individuals with emotional eating.

When moderate mental workload and driving are mutually beneficial

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fatima Maria Felisberti ◽  
Thiago P Fernandes
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Load ◽  
Cognitive Performance ◽  
Cognitive Processing ◽  
Mental Workload ◽  
Cognitive Task ◽  
Attentional Processes ◽  
Subsequent Performance ◽  
Short Period ◽  
Driving Task ◽  
Lane Keeping

Background: High cognitive load during driving is often disruptive and one of the main causes of road accidents. Surprisingly, we know little about the effect (if any) of cognitive load immediately before driving, and even less about the effect of driving (with its own cognitive load) on subsequent performance in cognitive tasks. Method: The effect of cognitive load on a subsequent driving task was examined in Study 1 (n = 31). Participants completed a battery of cognitive tests with low or moderate cognitive demands and their driving performance on a simulator was assessed on two consecutive days (speed, distance from the car ahead, and lane keeping ability). Study 2 (n = 98) examined the effect of a cognitively demanding driving task on the performance of follow up cognitive task, the multi-source interference task (MSIT). In that study, accuracy, and reaction time to MSIT were compared in two conditions: no driving vs post-driving.Results: A moderate level of cognitive load pre-driving led to a modest increase in the distance kept from the car ahead, while a demanding period of driving led to a significant increase in cognitive performance when compared to the control condition (e.g., prior driving).Conclusion: The findings suggest that increases in cognitive processing during periods of demanding mental activity mobilise attentional processes which are likely to remain active for a short period of time benefiting subsequent cognitive performance.

Does task-irrelevant colour information create extraneous cognitive load? Evidence from a learning task

2018 ◽  
Vol 72 (5) ◽  
pp. 1155-1163
Author(s):  
Paul Miller ◽  
Batel Hazan-Liran ◽  
Danielle Cohen
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Load ◽  
Cognitive Load Theory ◽  
Learning Task ◽  
Unrelated Word ◽  
Irrelevant Information ◽  
Extraneous Cognitive Load ◽  
Load Theory ◽  
Semantic Conflict ◽  
Learning Efficacy ◽  
Task Irrelevant

Previous studies have shown that task-irrelevant information impedes learning by creating extraneous cognitive load. But still open is whether such intrusion reflects a purely semantic phenomenon or whether it also stands for sheer perceptual interference. Using Cognitive Load Theory as a framework, this study aimed to answer this question by examining whether and how task-irrelevant colour information modifies extraneous cognitive load in relation to a new code-learning paradigm. For this purpose, university students were asked to learn, based on an example, associations between colour-related and colour-unrelated words and digits presented in black or in a mismatched ink colour. Evident costs in learning efficacy were found in learning the associations between words and digits for colour-related, but not for colour-unrelated, word stimuli. This suggests that interference by task-irrelevant information in learning stands for a mere semantic conflict. Implications of the findings for extraneous cognitive load on learning efficacy are discussed.

Counter-regulation in affective attentional biases: Evidence in the additional singleton paradigm

2018 ◽  
Vol 71 (5) ◽  
pp. 1209-1218 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dirk Wentura ◽  
Philipp Müller ◽  
Klaus Rothermund ◽  
Andreas Voss
Keyword(s):  
Positive Outcome ◽  
Affective Processing ◽  
Attentional Biases ◽  
Attentional Processes ◽  
Negative Valence ◽  
Motivational Influences ◽  
Positive Valence ◽  
Different Color ◽  
Future Outcomes ◽  
Task Irrelevant

We investigated motivational influences on affective processing biases; specifically, we were interested in whether anticipating positive versus negative future outcomes during goal pursuit affects attentional biases toward positive or negative stimuli. Attentional valence biases were assessed with the additional singleton task, with the task-irrelevant singleton colors being positive, negative or neutral. The motivational relevance of colors was established in a preceding task: In a balanced design, one color acquired positive valence by indicating the chance to win money, and a different color acquired negative valence by indicating the danger to lose money. Blocks of the additional singleton task were associated with either the chance of winning money (positive outcome focus) or the danger of losing money (negative outcome focus). We found an interaction of outcome focus and singleton valence in the accuracy rates, indicating an incongruency effect: Attentional capture was stronger for positive (negative) singletons in the negative (positive) outcome focus conditions. This result further corroborates the counter-regulation hypothesis, extending previous findings on the motivational top-down regulation of affective processing to the domain of early attentional processes.

Long-Term Negative Priming: Support for Retrieval of Prior Attentional Processes

2005 ◽  
Vol 58 (7) ◽  
pp. 1199-1224 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah Grison ◽  
Steven P. Tipper ◽  
Olivia Hewitt
Keyword(s):  
Negative Priming ◽  
Memory Trace ◽  
Irrelevant Information ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Priming Effects ◽  
Attentional Processes ◽  
Prime Display ◽  
Task Irrelevant ◽  
Over Time

Negative priming reveals that participants respond slowly to a probe target that was a task-irrelevant distractor in the preceding prime display (e.g., Tipper, 1985) and is thought to reflect processes mediating short-term behaviour. However, since the first surprising reports that negative priming is found with meaningless stimuli across delays of 30 days (e.g., DeSchepper & Treisman, 1996), researchers have questioned the existence of long-term negative priming effects. Because long-term negative priming could indicate that task-irrelevant information leaves a memory trace that impacts performance over time, such a finding is of immense theoretical importance. Indeed, the current research finds support for the existence of long-term negative priming as well as its generality across different stimuli and conditions. The authors propose that the initial processes that prevent response to irrelevant stimuli may be stored in memory, where retrieval of these processes can mediate behaviour over time.

scholarly journals Threat-induced Impulsivity in Go/Nogo Tasks: Relationships to Task-relevance of Emotional Stimuli and Virtual Proximity

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas Edward Gladwin ◽  
Martin Möbius ◽  
Matthijs Vink
Keyword(s):  
College Students ◽  
Task Design ◽  
Emotional Stimuli ◽  
Task Relevance ◽  
Future Studies ◽  
Commission Errors ◽  
Task Irrelevant ◽  
Impulsive Responding ◽  
Threatening Stimuli ◽  
Threat Stimuli

Threatening stimuli are thought to induce impulsive responses, but Emotional Go/Nogo task results are not in line with this. We extend previous research by comparing effects of task-relevance of emotional stimuli and virtual proximity. Four studies were performed to test this in healthy college students. When emotional stimuli were task-relevant, threat both increased commission errors and decreased RT, but this was not found when emotional stimuli were task-irrelevant. This was found in both between-subject and within-subject designs. These effects were found using a task version with equal go and nogo rates, but not with 90%-10% go-nogo rates. Proximity was found to increase threat-induced speeding, with task-relevant stimuli only, although effects on accuracy were less clear. Threat stimuli can thus induce impulsive responding, but effects depend on features of the task design. The results may be of use in understanding theoretically unexpected results involving threat and impulsivity and designing future studies.

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