scholarly journals Pushing attention to one side: Force field adaptation alters neural correlates of orienting and disengagement of spatial attention

2018 ◽  
Vol 49 (1) ◽  
pp. 120-136
Author(s):  
Eva‐Maria Reuter ◽  
Jason B. Mattingley ◽  
Ross Cunnington ◽  
Stephan Riek ◽  
Timothy J. Carroll
Keyword(s):  
Force Field ◽  
Spatial Attention ◽  
Neural Correlates ◽  
Side Force ◽  
Force Field Adaptation

scholarly journals Increase in weighting of vision vs. proprioception associated with force field adaptation

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brandon M. Sexton ◽  
Yang Liu ◽  
Hannah J. Block
Keyword(s):  
Force Field ◽  
Position Sense ◽  
Multisensory Perception ◽  
Hand Position ◽  
Null Field ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Force Field Adaptation ◽  
Perceptual Changes ◽  
The Brain ◽  
Straight Ahead

AbstractHand position can be encoded by vision, via an image on the retina, and proprioception (position sense), via sensors in the joints and muscles. The brain is thought to weight and combine available sensory estimates to form an integrated multisensory estimate of hand position with which to guide movement. Force field adaptation, a form of cerebellum-dependent motor learning in which reaches are systematically adjusted to compensate for a somatosensory perturbation, is associated with both motor and proprioceptive changes. The cerebellum has connections with parietal regions thought to be involved in multisensory integration; however, it is unknown if force adaptation is associated with changes in multisensory perception. One possibility is that force adaptation affects all relevant sensory modalities similarly, such that the brain’s weighting of vision vs. proprioception is maintained. Alternatively, the somatosensory perturbation might be interpreted as proprioceptive unreliability, resulting in vision being up-weighted relative to proprioception. We assessed visuo-proprioceptive weighting with a perceptual estimation task before and after subjects performed straight-ahead reaches grasping a robotic manipulandum. Each subject performed one session with a clockwise or counter-clockwise velocity-dependent force field, and one session in a null field to control for perceptual changes not specific to force adaptation. Subjects increased their weight of vision vs. proprioception in the force field session relative to the null field session, regardless of force field direction, in the straight-ahead dimension (F1,44 = 5.13, p = 0.029). This suggests that force field adaptation is associated with an increase in the brain’s weighting of vision vs. proprioception.

scholarly journals The effect of sequence learning on sensorimotor adaptation

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yang Liu ◽  
Hannah J. Block
Keyword(s):  
Force Field ◽  
Sequence Learning ◽  
Target Position ◽  
Random Order ◽  
Neural Substrates ◽  
Skill Learning ◽  
Sensorimotor Learning ◽  
Sensorimotor Adaptation ◽  
Sequence Information ◽  
Force Field Adaptation

AbstractMotor skill learning involves both sensorimotor adaptation (calibrating the response to task dynamics and kinematics), and sequence learning (executing the task elements in the correct order at the necessary speed). These processes typically occur together in natural behavior and share much in common, such as working memory demands, development, and possibly neural substrates. However, sensorimotor and sequence learning are usually studied in isolation in research settings, for example as force field adaptation or serial reaction time tasks (SRTT), respectively. It is therefore unclear whether having predictive sequence information during sensorimotor adaptation would facilitate performance, perhaps by improving sensorimotor planning, or if it would impair performance, perhaps by occupying neural resources needed for sensorimotor learning. Here we evaluated adaptation to a distance-dependent force field in two different SRTT contexts: In Experiment 1, 28 subjects reached between 4 targets in a sequenced or random order. In Experiment 2, 40 subjects reached to one target, but 3 force field directions were applied in a sequenced or random order. We did not observe any consistent influence of target position sequence on force field adaptation in Experiment 1. However, sequencing of force field directions facilitated sensorimotor adaptation and retention in Experiment 2. This is inconsistent with the idea that sensorimotor and sequence learning share neural resources in any mutually exclusive fashion. These findings indicate that under certain conditions, perhaps especially when the sequence is related to the sensorimotor perturbation itself as in Experiment 2, sequence learning may interact with sensorimotor learning in a facilitatory manner.

scholarly journals Sensory and decisional components of endogenous attention are dissociable

2019 ◽  
Vol 122 (4) ◽  
pp. 1538-1554 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sanjna Banerjee ◽  
Shrey Grover ◽  
Suhas Ganesh ◽  
Devarajan Sridharan
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Spatial Attention ◽  
Behavioral Model ◽  
Neural Correlates ◽  
Endogenous Attention ◽  
Perceptual Sensitivity ◽  
Spatial Choice ◽  
Attention Task ◽  
Choice Bias ◽  
Differential Risk

Endogenous cueing of attention enhances sensory processing of the attended stimulus (perceptual sensitivity) and prioritizes information from the attended location for guiding behavioral decisions (spatial choice bias). Here, we test whether sensitivity and bias effects of endogenous spatial attention are under the control of common or distinct mechanisms. Human observers performed a multialternative visuospatial attention task with probabilistic spatial cues. Observers’ behavioral choices were analyzed with a recently developed multidimensional signal detection model (the m-ADC model). The model effectively decoupled the effects of spatial cueing on sensitivity from those on spatial bias and revealed striking dissociations between them. Sensitivity was highest at the cued location and not significantly different among uncued locations, suggesting a spotlight-like allocation of sensory resources at the cued location. On the other hand, bias varied systematically with cue validity, suggesting a graded allocation of decisional priority across locations. Cueing-induced modulations of sensitivity and bias were uncorrelated within and across subjects. Bias, but not sensitivity, correlated with key metrics of prioritized decision-making, including reaction times and decision optimality indices. In addition, we developed a novel metric, differential risk curvature, for distinguishing bias effects of attention from those of signal expectation. Differential risk curvature correlated selectively with m-ADC model estimates of bias but not with estimates of sensitivity. Our results reveal dissociable effects of endogenous attention on perceptual sensitivity and choice bias in a multialternative choice task and motivate the search for the distinct neural correlates of each. NEW & NOTEWORTHY Attention is often studied as a unitary phenomenon. Yet, attention can both enhance the perception of important stimuli (sensitivity) and prioritize such stimuli for decision-making (bias). Employing a multialternative spatial attention task with probabilistic cueing, we show that attention affects sensitivity and bias through dissociable mechanisms. Specifically, the effects on sensitivity alone match the notion of an attentional “spotlight.” Our behavioral model enables quantifying component processes of attention, and identifying their respective neural correlates.

Neural Correlates of the Automatic and Goal-Driven Biases in Orienting Spatial Attention

2004 ◽  
Vol 92 (3) ◽  
pp. 1728-1737 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jillian H. Fecteau ◽  
Andrew H. Bell ◽  
Douglas P. Munoz
Keyword(s):  
Superior Colliculus ◽  
Spatial Attention ◽  
Neural Activity ◽  
Inhibition Of Return ◽  
Neural Correlates ◽  
Behavioral Pattern ◽  
Visual Object ◽  
Related Activity ◽  
Superior Colliculi ◽  
New Locations

How do stimuli in the environment interact with the goals of observers? We addressed this question by showing that the relevance of an abruptly appearing visual object (cue) changes how observers orient attention toward a subsequent object (target) and how this target is represented in the activity of neurons in the superior colliculus. Initially after the appearance of the cue, attention is driven to its locus. This capture of attention is followed by a second bias in orienting attention, where observers preferentially orient to new locations in the visual scene—an effect called inhibition of return. In the superior colliculus, these two automatic biases in orienting attention were associated with changes in neural activity linked to the appearance of the target—relatively stronger activity linked to the capture of attention and weaker activity linked to inhibition of return. This behavioral pattern changes when the cue predicts the upcoming location of the target—the benefit associated with the capture of attention is enhanced and inhibition of return is reduced. These goal-driven changes in behavior were associated with an increase in pretarget- and target-related activity. Taken together, the goals of observers modify stimulus-driven changes in neural activity with both signals represented in the salience maps of the superior colliculi.

Abnormal sensorimotor control, but intact force field adaptation, in multiple sclerosis subjects with no clinical disability

2008 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 330-342 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maura Casadio ◽  
Vittorio Sanguineti ◽  
Pietro Morasso ◽  
Claudio Solaro
Keyword(s):  
Multiple Sclerosis ◽  
Force Field ◽  
Movement Execution ◽  
Familiarization Phase ◽  
Control Subjects ◽  
Deceleration Phase ◽  
Adaptive Capabilities ◽  
Field Control ◽  
Force Field Adaptation ◽  
And Control

In MS subjects with no clinical disability, we assessed sensorimotor organization and their ability to adapt to an unfamiliar dynamical environment. Eleven MS subjects performed reaching movements while a robot generated a speed-dependent force field. Control and adaptation performance were compared with that of an equal number of control subjects. During a familiarization phase, when the robot generated no forces, the movements of MS subjects were more curved, displayed greater and more variable directional errors and a longer deceleration phase. During the force field phase, both MS and control subjects gradually learned to predict the robot-generated forces. The rates of adaptation were similar, but MS subjects showed a greater variability in responding to the force field. These results suggest that MS subjects have a preserved capability of learning to predict the effects of the forces, but make greater errors when actually using such predictions to generate movements. Inaccurate motor commands are then compensated later in the movement through an extra amount of sensory-based corrections. This indicates that early in the disease MS subjects have intact adaptive capabilities, but impaired movement execution. Multiple Sclerosis 2008; 14: 330—342. http://msj.sagepub.com

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