Sustained attention training reduces spatial bias in Parkinson’s disease: a pilot case series

Individuals with Parkinson’s disease (PD) commonly demonstrate lateralized spatial biases, which affect daily functioning. Those with PD with initial motor symptoms on the left body side (LPD) have reduced leftward attention, whereas PD with initial motor symptoms on the right side (RPD) may display reduced rightward attention. We investigated whether a sustained attention training program could help reduce these spatial biases. Four non-demented individuals with PD (2 LPD, 2 RPD) performed a visual search task before and after 1 month of computer training. Before training, all participants showed a significant spatial bias and after training, all participants’ spatial bias was eliminated.Published versio

Individual Differences in Holistic Processing Predict the Own-Race Advantage in Recognition Memory

Individuals are consistently better at recognizing own-race faces compared to other-race faces (other-race effect, ORE). One popular hypothesis is that this recognition memory ORE is caused by differential own- and other-race holistic processing, the simultaneous integration of part and configural face information into a coherent whole. Holistic processing may create a more rich, detailed memory representation of own-race faces compared to other-race faces. Despite several studies showing that own-race faces are processed more holistically than other-race faces, studies have yet to link the holistic processing ORE and the recognition memory ORE. In the current study, we sought to use a more valid method of analyzing individual differences in holistic processing by using regression to statistically remove the influence of the control condition (part trials in the part-whole task) from the condition of interest (whole trials in the part-whole task). We also employed regression to separately examine the two components of the ORE: own-race advantage (regressing other-race from own-race performance) and other-race decrement (regressing own-race from other-race performance). First, we demonstrated that own-race faces were processed more holistically than other-race faces, particularly the eye region. Notably, using regression, we showed a significant association between the own-race advantage in recognition memory and the own-race advantage in holistic processing and that these associations were weaker when examining the other-race decrement. We also demonstrated that performance on own- and other-race faces across all of our tasks was highly correlated, suggesting that the differences we found between own- and other-race faces are quantitative rather than qualitative. Together, this suggests that own- and other-race faces recruit largely similar mechanisms, that own-race faces more thoroughly engage holistic processing, and that this greater engagement of holistic processing is significantly associated with the own-race advantage in recognition memory.Psycholog

Reward Ameliorates Posttraumatic Stress Disorder-Related Impairment in Sustained Attention

Background Posttraumatic stress disorder is associated with impairments in sustained attention , a fundamental cognitive process important for a variety of social and occupational tasks. To date, however, the precise nature of these impairments and the posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms associated with them have not been well understood. Methods Using a well-characterized sample of returning United States military OEF/OIF/OND Veterans who varied in posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms, we employed a validated sustained attention paradigm designed to probe fluctuations across two attentional states characterized by prior research, including a peak state termed “in the zone” and a less efficient, more error-prone state termed “out of the zone.” Rewarded and nonrewarded conditions were employed to examine whether motivating strong task performance could ameliorate sustained attention deficits. Analyses examined associations between attentional state, availability of reward, and posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms. Results Results indicated that, consistent with prior findings, higher levels of posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms were broadly associated with impaired task performance. This impairment was driven largely by performance deficits during individuals' optimal (“in the zone”) attentional state, and follow-up analyses indicated that the performance deficit was primarily associated with anhedonia and emotional numbing symptoms. However, the deficit was partially ameliorated when better performance was rewarded. Conclusion Our results provide a more complex understanding of the sustained attention deficits associated with posttraumatic stress disorder and suggest that external incentives may help to enhance sustained attention performance for affected individuals

Posttraumatic Psychological Symptoms are Associated with Reduced Inhibitory Control, not General Executive Dysfunction

Abstract Although there is mounting evidence that greater PTSD symptoms are associated with reduced executive functioning, it is not fully understood whether this association is more global or specific to certain executive function subdomains, such as inhibitory control. We investigated the generality of the association between PTSD symptoms and executive function by administering a broad battery of sensitive executive functioning tasks to a cohort of returning Operation Enduring Freedom/Operation Iraqi Freedom Veterans with varying PTSD symptoms. Only tasks related to inhibitory control explained significant variance in PTSD symptoms as well as symptoms of depression, while measures of working memory, measures of switching, and measures simultaneously assessing multiple executive function subdomains did not. Notably, the two inhibitory control measures that showed the highest correlation with PTSD and depressive symptoms, measures of response inhibition and distractor suppression, explained independent variance. These findings suggest that greater posttraumatic psychological symptoms are not associated with a general decline in executive functioning but rather are more specifically related to stopping automatic responses and resisting internal and external distractions. (JINS, 2015, 21, 1-11

Correction: Gender Differences in Sustained Attentional Control Relate to Gender Inequality across Countries.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0165100.]

Time-of-day variation in sustained attentional control

<p>Sustained attention is a fundamental cognitive function underlying many activities in daily life including workplace safety, but its natural variation throughout the day is incompletely characterized. To examine time-of-day variation, we collected a large online data set (<i>N</i> = 6,363) with participation throughout the day and around the world on the gradual-onset continuous performance task, a sensitive measure of sustained attention. This allowed us to examine accuracy, attentional stability, and strategy. Results show that both accuracy and attentional stability peak between 9:00 and 11:00 a.m. and progressively decline throughout the day, whereas strategy is more stable.</p