Attentional blink

About: Attentional blink is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 1346 publications have been published within this topic receiving 53064 citations. The topic is also known as: Attentional blinks.

Haptic and Auditory-Haptic Attentional Blink in Spatial and Object-Based Tasks.

Abstract: Dual-task performance depends on both modalities (e.g., vision, audition, haptics) and task types (spatial or object-based), and the order by which different task types are organized. Previous studies on haptic and especially auditory-haptic attentional blink (AB) are scarce, and the effect of task types and their order have not been fully explored. In this study, 96 participants, divided into four groups of task type combinations, identified auditory or haptic Target 1 (T1) and haptic Target 2 (T2) in rapid series of sounds and forces. We observed a haptic AB (i.e., the accuracy of identifying T2 increased with increasing stimulus onset asynchrony between T1 and T2) in spatial, object-based, and object-spatial tasks, but not in spatial-object task. Changing the modality of an object-based T1 from haptics to audition eliminated the AB, but similar haptic-to-auditory change of the modality of a spatial T1 had no effect on the AB (if it exists). Our findings fill a gap in the literature regarding the auditory-haptic AB, and substantiate the importance of modalities, task types and their order, and the interaction between them. These findings were explained by how the cerebral cortex is organized for processing spatial and object-based information in different modalities.

Training-induced Changes in the Dynamics of Attention as Reflected in Pupil Dilation

Abstract: One of the major topics in attention literature is the attentional blink AB, which demonstrates a limited ability to identify the second of two targets T1 and T2 when presented in close temporal succession 200-500 msec. Given that the effect has been thought of as robust and resistant to training for over two decades, one of the most remarkable findings in recent years is that the AB can be eliminated after a 1-hr training with a color-salient T2. However, the underlying mechanism of the training effect as well as the AB itself is as of yet still poorly understood. To elucidate this training effect, we employed a refined version of our recently developed pupil dilation deconvolution method to track any training-induced changes in the amount and onset of attentional processing in response to target stimuli. Behaviorally, we replicated the original training effect with a color-salient T2. However, we showed that training without a salient target, but with a consistent short target interval, is already sufficient to attenuate the AB. Pupil deconvolution did not reveal any posttraining changes in T2-related dilation but instead an earlier onset of dilation around T1. Moreover, normalized pupil dilation was enhanced posttraining compared with pretraining. We conclude that the AB can be eliminated by training without a salient cue. Furthermore, our data point to the existence of temporal expectations at the time points of the trained targets posttraining. Therefore, we tentatively conclude that temporal expectations arise as a result of training.

Attentional load has no Effect on Implicit Sequence Learning: Evidence from Event-Related Potential Studies

Abstract: Cognitive psychologists have investigated the relationship between implicit sequence learning and attention for over two decades, but cognitive and neural mechanisms underlying this relationship is unclear. Some researchers suggest that implicit sequence learning requires attentional resources; Other researchers propose that implicit sequence learning is an automatic process that does not require attentional resources. Most previous studies used typical dual-task sequence learning procedure with a secondary tone-counting task. Unfortunately, there were inherent limitations in the secondary task used in the dual task sequence learning experiments which might make the relationship between implicit sequence learning and attention obscure. So we used a new method to explore the relationship between implicit sequence learning and attention, we manipulated the distinctness of stimulus. We hypothesized that there were sequence learning effect in both high attentional load sequence and low attentional load sequence; The amplitude of P1 and N1 evoked by detected stimulus of high attentional sequence was bigger than low attentional sequence; There were no significant difference in implicit sequence learning scores between high attentional load sequence and low attentional load sequence. Eighteen volunteers from University took part in this experiment, they were instructed to make a compatible key press to the letter as soon as possible, the response accuracy was also stressed. The EEG was recorded from 64 scalp sites using Ag/AgCl electrodes. Signals were averaged offline for 600ms with an additional 100ms recorded prior to stimulus onset to allow for baseline correction. The ERP were averaged separately for high attentional load and low attentional load detected trials. Peak amplitude values were computed for 80-120ms(P1); 130-170ms(N1) time intervals, time locked to detected stimulus onset(time 0), these ERP measures were obtained from eight electrodes: 01、O2、PO3、PO4、PO5、PO6、PO7、PO8. A repeated measures AVOVA on the peak amplitude of each component was conducted. The results were as follows: (1) There were sequence learning effect in both high attentional load sequence and low attentional load sequence;(2)The amplitude of P1 and N1 evoked by detected stimulus of high attentional sequence was bigger than low attentional sequence, which indicated more attention was needed in high attentional sequence condition. (3)There were no significant difference in implicit sequence learning scores between high attentional load sequence and low attentional load sequence. These results suggested attentional load has no effect on implicit sequence learning.

Motivational dynamics: the interaction of motivational and affective systems onimplicit processing of food stimuli

Abstract: The studies reported here were intended to examine how affective and motivational factors influence attentional processing of goal objects, such as food, by exploiting modified versions of an Emotional Blink of Attention (EBA) task originally reported by Piech, Pastorino & Zald (2010). Attentional capture by food distractors presented within a rapid serial visual stream (RSVP) was measured by the extent to which they induced an attentional blink and prevented the correct identification of a subsequently presented, specific visual target. Initially, we explored temporal changes in attention to food images in relation to spontaneous changes in appetite that naturally occur before and after a sandwich lunch. Replicating earlier reports that fasting-induced hunger increases attention to food images, we found that attention to food depended on the level of appetite: increasing pre-prandially as hunger increased, and falling to a minimum after satiation. Moreover, changes in attention to food were seen to reflect subjective ratings of food pleasantness associated with the phenomenon of sensory-specific satiety. Notably, images of the consumed food became less distracting after lunch than images of non-consumed foods belonging to the same sandwich category or, more particularly, those representing very different food types. The EBA data also demonstrated that attentional bias for images of highly palatable, highcalorie desserts was largely immune to changing levels of appetite. Subsequent experiments confirmed that high palatability/high calorie foods with high intrinsic incentive value (cheesecake) potently capture attention even after being eaten to satiety. By contrast, satiation on palatable, sweet fruits did produce sensory-specific changes in attentional bias to fruit images in the EBA. These findings indicate that attention to food images is dependent, via separate processes, on the motivational salience and incentive value of food stimuli. It was noted that affective state (measured using PANAS) varied with appetite level: satiety was associated with a reduction in negative affect and increased positive affect. The relationship between affect, eating motivation and attention were explored further using an ‘Affective EBA’ paradigm, in which neutral filler images within the RSVP were substituted by images of faces displaying positive or negative emotions. Positive affective priming using this technique resulted in an enhancement of attentional bias to food distractors (but not to neutral or romantic distractors). Negative priming, by contrast had no effect. A final experiment explored whether the ability of positive affective priming to increase attentional bias to food might attenuate the previously noted, food-specific, postprandial decline in attentional capture by food stimuli. We found that in sated individuals, positive priming did produce a general increase in attention to food which was in opposition to the expected, satiety-related decline in attentional bias. Overall, the present findings strongly support a key role for attentional mechanisms in the processes that mediate the influence of motivational and incentive salience in energizing and directing goal-related behaviours, such as food seeking and consumption.