In the Zone or Zoning Out? Tracking Behavioral and Neural Fluctuations During Sustained Attention
Michael Esterman,Sarah Noonan,Sarah Noonan,Monica D. Rosenberg,Joseph DeGutis,Joseph DeGutis +5 more
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TLDR
A novel task is introduced, along with innovative analysis procedures that probe the relationships between reaction time (RT) variability, attention lapses, and intrinsic brain activity, and represent an important step forward in linking intrinsicbrain activity to behavioral phenomena.Abstract:
Despite growing recognition that attention fluctuates from moment-to-moment during sustained performance, prevailing analysis strategies involve averaging data across multiple trials or time points, treating these fluctuations as noise. Here, using alternative approaches, we clarify the relationship between ongoing brain activity and performance fluctuations during sustained attention. We introduce a novel task (the gradual onset continuous performance task), along with innovative analysis procedures that probe the relationships between reaction time (RT) variability, attention lapses, and intrinsic brain activity. Our results highlight 2 attentional states-a stable, less error-prone state ("in the zone"), characterized by higher default mode network (DMN) activity but during which subjects are at risk of erring if DMN activity rises beyond intermediate levels, and a more effortful mode of processing ("out of the zone"), that is less optimal for sustained performance and relies on activity in dorsal attention network (DAN) regions. These findings motivate a new view of DMN and DAN functioning capable of integrating seemingly disparate reports of their role in goal-directed behavior. Further, they hold potential to reconcile conflicting theories of sustained attention, and represent an important step forward in linking intrinsic brain activity to behavioral phenomena.read more
Citations
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Performance and Eye Metrics Correlates to Out-of-the-zone Sustained Attention in GradCPT:
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Anticorrelated inter-network electrophysiological activity varies dynamically with attentional performance and behavioral states
Aaron Kucyi,Amy L. Daitch,Omri Raccah,Baotian Zhao,Chao Zhang,Michael Esterman,Michael Esterman,Michael Zeineh,Casey H. Halpern,Kai Zhang,Jianguo Zhang,Josef Parvizi +11 more
TL;DR: On a finer timescale, greater lagged, but not zero-lag, anticorrelation between DAN and DMN activity was associated with better attentional performance and this findings have implications for interpreting antagonistic network relationships and confirm the behavioral importance of time-lagged inter-network interactions.
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Attentional fluctuations and the temporal organization of memory
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