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Merlo, Kelsey L. "Attentional pull: the off-task pull of emotions and on-task pull of goals." Thesis, Georgia Institute of Technology, 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/1853/53541.
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The allocation of attentional resources to a focal task can influence performance on that task, but within-person changes in allocation policy is typically understudied. This study investigates the off-task pull of emotional experiences and the competing on-task pull of goals. Emotional experience was manipulated using an ostracizing event and goals were experimenter-assigned. The results did not support the off-task pull of emotional experiences or the on-task pull of goals. Implications and directions for future research are discussed.
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Wong, Ting-ting Natalie. "Sustained attention in schizophrenia." Thesis, The University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong), 2000. http://hub.hku.hk/bib/B29727686.
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Manly, Tom. "Sustained attention to response." Thesis, University of London, 2000. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.341921.
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Andrade, Brendan F. S. "Selective and sustained attention in children with and without attention difficulties." Thesis, National Library of Canada = Bibliothèque nationale du Canada, 2000. http://www.collectionscanada.ca/obj/s4/f2/dsk2/ftp03/MQ51988.pdf.
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Gartenberg, Daniel. "A Comprehensive Computational Model of Sustained Attention." Thesis, George Mason University, 2016. http://pqdtopen.proquest.com/#viewpdf?dispub=10130797.
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The vigilance decrement is the decline in performance over time that characterizes tasks requiring sustained attention. Resource Theory proposes that the vigilance decrement is due to information processing assets that become depleted with use. Resource theorists must thus identify these assets and the process of how resources are depleted and replenished. The Microlapse Theory of Fatigue (MTF) identifies the resource that is depleted when performing a sustained attention task as the central executive attentional network. The depletion of the central executive network resource results in microlapses or brief gaps in attention that prevent the perception and processing of information. The MTF can explain various effects in the sustained attention literature regarding how resources are depleted. However, the MTF alone cannot explain the event rate effect or the motivation effect because it does not include replenishment mechanisms that can occur during a sustained attention task. To better understand the process of replenishment, participants were assigned to varying event rate and external motivation conditions in a novel paradigm that could measure the perceptual processing of a trial over time. These stages of processing included when participants looked at the first stimulus, looked at the second stimulus, and responded. In Experiment 1, it was found that the vigilance decrement was more severe for faster event rates, consistent with Resource Theory and counter to the MTF. In Experiment 2, the event rate effect was replicated, but unexpectedly, external motivation did not impact the vigilance decrement. In both experiments it was found that for the stages of processing that involved looking at the stimuli, more slowing was found as event rate increased. Additionally, more slowing was detected earlier in the processing of a trial than later. These results supported the process of microlapses inducing the vigilance decrement due to not having enough time to perceive, encode, and respond to stimuli, as described by the MTF. It was interpreted that the interaction between time-on-task and event rate was due to opportunistic breaks that occurred more frequently in slower event rate conditions. The finding that more slowing occurred earlier in processing was interpreted as evidence for internal rewards related to learning impacting the speed of processing a trial. To explain these findings, I propose the Microlapse Theory of Fatigue with Replenishment (MTFR) a process model similar to MTF, but that includes additional replenishment mechanisms related to opportunistic rest periods and internal rewards. The Microlapse Theory of Fatigue with Replenishment (MTFR) closely correlates to the empirical data and is an important step forward in the effort to build a comprehensive model of sustained attention.
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Moss, Rachel Ann. "Intra-individual reaction time variability in sustained attention." Thesis, University of Newcastle upon Tyne, 2018. http://hdl.handle.net/10443/4083.
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BACKGROUND: Sustained attention, assessed using the Continuous Performance Test (CPT), is impaired in 'normal' ageing and, to a greater degree, in a number of clinical disorders. There are many variants of the CPT, each with different task parameters (e.g., target frequency), and theoretical cognitive demands (e.g., executive functioning). It is unclear how the associated cognitive load of CPTs contributes to measures of attentional impairment, such as intra-individual variability (IIV) in reaction time (RT). There is potential clinical utility in measures of IIV, due to its relationship with increasing age, and brain white matter. Variability can be modelled using the ex-Gaussian distribution, and consists of three parameters: mu (mean RT), and IIV, decomposed into variability across the entire RT distribution (sigma), and characterised by infrequent and long RTs (tau). This thesis aims to examine how the multiple cognitive demands of CPTs contributes to attentional RT/IIV, and how this relationship interacts with age, as well as pathology. The thesis aims are explored in healthy and clinical populations characterised by sustained attention impairment associated with increasing age ('normal' ageing and Parkinson's disease (PD)), or in theoretical 'accelerated ageing' (Bipolar disorder (BD) while depressed and in remission). METHODS: Sustained attention was assessed in five cross-sectional studies, using variants of the CPT. Secondary neuropsychological measures of executive functioning, processing speed, and verbal memory were administered. Ex-Gaussian distributional parameters (mu, sigma, and tau) obtained from CPT RTs were analysed. A series of hierarchical regression analyses were examined. RESULTS: (1) In 'normal' ageing, better performance on the secondary neuropsychological measures was associated with faster RT (mu) and more consistent responding (sigma, tau), but this varied across CPT. Similar results were obtained for the effect of age on RT and IIV. (2) In PD, better executive functioning was associated with consistent responding (tau), whilst age was associated with slower (mu) and inconsistent (tau) responding. (3) In BD (while depressed), better executive functioning was associated with slower responding (mu), and better processing speed with consistent responding (tau), whilst age did not explain variance in RT or IIV. (4) In BD (in remission), the secondary neuropsychological measures examined did not explain variance in RT or IIV, nor did age. vi CONCLUSIONS: Attentional RT and IIV in 'normal' ageing and in clinical populations such as PD and BD, may be supported by secondary neuropsychological processes theorised to be involved in CPT variants. The neuropsychological profile underpinning attentional RT and IIV may reflect secondary cognitive scaffolding mechanisms, engaged depending on the age of participants, rather than the cognitive load of the task per se. The results have implications for our understanding of attentional RT and IIV in 'normal' ageing and pathology. Future research would further our understanding on the use of cognitive scaffolding in relation to the CPT, as well as the stability, reliability, and neurobiological origins of RT and IIV.
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Shalev, Nir. "Methodological considerations and cognitive factors underlying sustained attention." Thesis, University of Oxford, 2017. http://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:883547ed-49a9-420f-830c-88585bebaaf5.
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The active, ongoing maintenance of an adequate level of performance over time on task is an essential cognitive faculty, and has been described in multiple frameworks since the earliest days of cognitive research. Theoretical accounts of performance maintenance focused on the timely fluctuations of attention components, using the partially overlapping constructs of sustained attention, arousal, vigilance and alertness. In this thesis, particular attention is given to sustained attention, arguably the most useful and frequently used construct in a clinical context. Chapter 1 provides an introductory overview of the literature, focusing on the theories and paradigms available to assess sustained attention and other closely related constructs. Chapter 2 introduces a new task for assessing sustained attention, based on a variation of the Continuous Performance Task (CPT), and discusses the contribution of various task factors to performance patterns. In Chapter 3, the newly established paradigm is used to assess sustained attention among stroke survivors and the healthy ageing, and relate task-performance to subjective reports of daily lapses in attention. A detailed discussion is devoted to identifying the task indices that best represent sustained attention capacity, favouring measures incorporating the notion of change in performance over time. Chapter 4 applies the same approach of estimating change in performance over time to studying sustained attention among children with genetic developmental disorders. Chapters 5 and 6 show how performance in a CPT is influenced by the pace at which stimuli are presented in the task. It is argued that individuals are sensitive to varying levels of temporal regularities; consequently, when measuring sustained attention, researchers must account for the rhythmic pattern that the CPT may introduce. Chapter 7 will present an intervention study combining brain stimulation and a spatially-lateralised CPT paradigm, demonstrating changes in components of Selective Attention as defined by a computational model. The thesis is concluded in Chapter 8, which discusses the contributions of the experimental findings to the understanding of sustained attention and associated experimental methods. The thesis proposes a clear mapping of sustained attention with relation to other closely related constructs, and attempts to provide useful tools for improving clinical assessment.
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Ross, Hayden Aaron. "The Effect of Disruptions on Vigilance." Thesis, University of Canterbury. Psychology, 2013. http://hdl.handle.net/10092/8401.
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The goal habituation model of vigilance proposed by Ariga and Lleras (2011) posits that it is possible to attenuate the vigilance decrement (the decline in performance that occurs with time-on-task) through dis-habituation of a vigilance task’s goal. The goal in a vigilance task is to detect critical signals. Hence, a switch away from this goal should dishabituate the task goal. When a person resumes the vigilance task, the person’s performance should improve. Follow up studies to the Ariga and Lleras study have not found supporting evidence (Helton & Russell, 2011; 2012). The methods in these follow up studies differed from those of Ariga and Lleras in a number of ways. The present study attempts to replicate the original Ariga and Lleras (2011) work using methods that more closely follow the original study. The present research sought to uncover confounds in the original article through replicating the original task and manipulating variables in line with hypotheses made by attentional resource theory.
Overall, the results of this research present a challenge to the goal habituation model. Rest breaks, not goal switching; lessened the magnitude of the decline in sensitivity with time on task, while task switching resulted in a temporary re-correction of increasingly conservative responding that occurred with greater time on task. We also found support for the context dependent relationship of task-unrelated thought, (TUT) and task demand. Given that the vigil was determined to impose relatively low workload, pre-task TUT was associated with average
performance rather than post-task TUT. Finally, we discuss the dangers of over compliance with signal detection theory (SDT) measures. We explain that SDT sensitivity and bias measures are not independent given responding floor and ceiling effects during low demanding tasks such as the present. It is argued that this may have distorted the original conclusion arrived at by Ariga and Lleras (2011).
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Warren, Annmarie Maione 1968. "Neuropsychological aspects of sustained attention in sexually abused children." Diss., The University of Arizona, 1997. http://hdl.handle.net/10150/282289.
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Attention is one advanced skill in the field of neuropsychology which is associated with the frontal lobe of the human brain. As there have been many studies supporting the idea that sexually abused children demonstrate attentional deficits (Williamson, Borduin, & Howe, 1991; Putnam, 1993; Mennen, 1994; Maynes, 1994), the current study sought to assess attentional deficits in sexually abused children, and then establish any relationship linking child sexual abuse (CSA) and neuropsychology. Victims of sexual abuse have also been found to demonstrate higher levels of anxiety than non-sexually abused children (Conte & Schuerman 1987; Briere & Runtz, 1988; Heibert-Murphy 1992; Mennen & Meadow, 1994; Trickett & Putnam, 1994b). Secondarily, this study examined level of anxiety, in an effort to determine whether the children's attentional problems could be related to high anxiety level. Both the neuropsychological ability to sustain attention and self-reports of level of anxiety were examined in a group of thirty children, fifteen of whom had been sexually abused and fifteen who were reported to be non-sexually abused, for the purpose of learning whether any differences would be discovered between the two groups. Sustained attention was measured through three different assessment instruments: the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test, the Mazes subtest of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children - Third Edition, and the Trail-Making Test, Parts A and B. Anxiety was measured by the children's self-reports of anxiety on the Revised Children's Manifest Anxiety Scale. Although trends of greater perseverative responses to attentional tasks were found in the sexually abused group, no significant main effects for group were found on the neuropsychological test performance. Similar to the findings of previous research studies, the sexually abused group displayed significantly higher levels of physiological anxiety, worry/oversensitivity, and social concerns. Present findings seem to suggest that attentional difficulties in sexually abused children may be more related to emotional than neuropsychological difficulties.
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Malhotra, Paresh Arjun. "Spatial Working Memory and Sustained Attention in the Neglect Syndrome." Thesis, Imperial College London, 2007. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.487565.
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Spatial neglect is most prominently associated with damage to the right cerebral hemisphere, especially parietal and frontal regions. Although many studies of the neglect syndrome have tended to focus on spatial pathological mechanisms, an increasing body ofdata points to right hemisphere involvement in spatial and nonspatial domains, including spatial working memory (SWM) and sustained attention. The experiments described here critically examine the roles ofSWM, sustained attention and their interaction in the neglect syndrome. By employing a vertical variant of the traditional Corsi blocks it was possible to demonstrate impaired SWM in neglect. A deficit was also found using a second 'purer' task, which required no manual response or memory for sequence order. Impairment on this task correlated with neglect severity, providing evidence for a contributory role for impaired SWM in neglect. Sustained attention was examined by assessing the ability to maintain attention to centrally-displayed visual stimuli. Patients with neglect were impaired, although there was no worsening ofperformance over time, or vigilance decrement. A subsequent study revealed that neglect patients have worsening performance over time only when maintaining attention towards spatial targets... suggesting a previously undescribed interaction between spatial impairment and sustained attention in neglect. Damage to white matter underlying parietal cortex was associated with both impaired SWM and sustained attention, consistent with evidence suggesting involvement for right fronto-parietal networks in both these domains. As impaired SWM and sustained attention appear to contribute to neglect, modulation of one or both of these might lead to improvement. A proof-of-principle trial using guanfacine, anoradrenergic agent previously shown to affect SWM and vigilance, demonstrated that, in selected patients, noradrenergic stimulation leads to improved search. Together, these studies detail the roles of impaired SWM and sustained attention in neglect, in addition to exploring a possible role' for targeted pharmacological treatment.
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Donnelly, Nicholas Andrew. "Neurophysiological correlates of sustained visual attention and impulsivity in rats." Thesis, University of Cambridge, 2015. https://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.708811.
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FINOMORE, VICTOR STEVEN JR. "Workload and Stress Measurements in the Study of Sustained Attention." University of Cincinnati / OhioLINK, 2008. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1211933209.
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Schmertz, Stefan Kennedy. "The Relation between Self-Report Mindfulness and Performance on Tasks of Attention." Digital Archive @ GSU, 2006. http://digitalarchive.gsu.edu/psych_theses/30.
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The present study examined the relation between self-report mindfulness and performance on tasks measuring abilities for three aspects of attention: sustained, selective, and attention switching. Because attention regulation has been described as a core component of mindfulness, and past research suggests that experience with mindfulness meditation is associated with improved attentional skills, the present study predicted that higher self-report mindfulness would be positively related to performance on tasks of attention. Fifty undergraduate students completed self-report mindfulness questionnaires and completed a battery of attention tasks. There was mixed support for the relation between mindfulness scores and sustained attention, such that higher mindfulness scores as measured by the MAAS and CAMS-R were negatively related to target omissions on the CPT-II, but were not related to RT variability on the CPT-II or PASAT performance. Findings are discussed in the context of the measurement of self-report mindfulness, and directions for future research are considered.
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Woolfrey, Kevin M. "Postnatal Ethanol Exposure and Attention: Implications for Sustained Attention Performance and Cholinergic System Integrity in Adult Rats." W&M ScholarWorks, 2004. https://scholarworks.wm.edu/etd/1539626470.
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Robison, Matthew. "Regulating mind-wandering and sustained attention with goal-setting, feedback, and incentives." Thesis, University of Oregon, 2018. http://hdl.handle.net/1794/23712.
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The present set of experiments investigated three potential means of regulating mind-wandering and sustained attention: goals, feedback, and incentives. The experiments drew up goal-setting theory from industrial/organizational psychology, theories of vigilance and sustained attention, and recent experimental work examining mind-wandering and sustained attention. Experiment 1 investigated the role of goal-difficulty and goal-specificity. Providing a difficult goal for participants only improved sustained attention compared to a condition with no specific goal. Experiment 2 investigated the role of feedback in isolation and in combination with goals. Feedback improved sustained attention and reduced mind-wandering, but it did so regardless of whether or not the feedback was tied to a specific goal. Experiment 3 investigated how two different incentives – money and early release from the experiment – affected sustained attention and mind-wandering. The incentives had no effect on task performance, but participants in the early release condition reported being more motivated, more alert, and mind-wandered less throughout the task. I discuss the results of the experiments in light of predictions made by goal-setting theory as well as theories of vigilance and sustained attention.
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Cowan, Margaret. "Sustained attention in the presence of background television, a developmental study." Thesis, National Library of Canada = Bibliothèque nationale du Canada, 1994. http://www.collectionscanada.ca/obj/s4/f2/dsk2/ftp04/mq23748.pdf.
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Duggan, Carol M. "Effects of time of day on sustained attention, a developmental study." Thesis, National Library of Canada = Bibliothèque nationale du Canada, 2000. http://www.collectionscanada.ca/obj/s4/f2/dsk1/tape3/PQDD_0033/MQ66705.pdf.
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Turchi, Janita N. "Basal forebrain glutamatergic modulation of sustained attention performance in the rat /." The Ohio State University, 2000. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1488202678776062.
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Stevenson, Hugh William. "The Effect of Task and Target Characteristics on the Vigilance Decrement." Thesis, University of Canterbury. Psychology, 2010. http://hdl.handle.net/10092/5180.
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Search asymmetry was used to test two theories of sustained attention lapses currently debated in the literature: the boredom-mindlessness theory and the resource depletion-mental fatigue theory. Participants performed feature present and a feature absent target detection tasks using either a sustained attention to response task (high Go low No-Go) or a traditionally formatted task (high No-Go low Go) response format. In addition to performance, functional near infrared spectroscopy was employed to measure lateral cerebral oxygenation levels and self-reports of tense arousal, energetic arousal, task related and unrelated thoughts occurring during the tasks were utilised. Detections were lower and reaction times longer in the feature absent search than the feature present search regardless of response format. Detections were lower, but reaction times shorter in the sustained attention to response task than the traditionally formatted task regardless of feature search. Greater right than left frontal hemisphere activation occurred in the sustained attention to response task than the traditionally formatted task. In addition, the sustained attention to response task was more fatiguing based on self-reports than the traditionally formatted task, but there were no differences in Task-Unrelated Thoughts across task conditions. Overall, the results of this study support a resource theory explanation of sustained attention lapses, not a mindlessness-boredom theory explanation. Moreover, the results suggest the sustained attention to response task places high response inhibition, not sustained attention, demands on participants.
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SHAW, TYLER HARRISON. "Predicting Vigilance Performance, Stress, and Coping with Individual Difference Measures." University of Cincinnati / OhioLINK, 2008. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1212003114.
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Hitchcock, Edward M. "EFFECTS OF SIGNAL SALIENCE AND CUEING ON CEREBRAL BLOOD FLOW VELOCITY DURING SUSTAINED ATTENTION." University of Cincinnati / OhioLINK, 2000. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin971875192.
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Parsons, Kelley Sue. "CHANGES IN SIGNAL PROBABILITY AND RESPONSE BIAS IN VIGILANCE." University of Cincinnati / OhioLINK, 2001. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin998424827.
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Himmelheber, Anne Marie. "Cortical acetylcholine release during sustained attentional and non-attentional operant performance in rats /." The Ohio State University, 2000. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1488199501406727.
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Buckley, Russell John. "Sustained Attention Lapses and Behavioural Microsleeps During Tracking, Psychomotor Vigilance, and Dual Tasks." Thesis, University of Canterbury. Psychology, 2013. http://hdl.handle.net/10092/8612.
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Momentary lapses of responsiveness frequently impair vigilance and sustained goal-directed behaviour, sometimes with serious consequences. The literature underpinning research into lapses of responsiveness has generally referred to these lapses as sustained attention lapses. Currently, this literature is divided between two competing theories. On one hand, there is the mindlessness theory and, on the other, the resource depletion theory. Mindlessness theorists propose that sustained attention lapses result from the subject disengaging from sustained tasks due to their monotony and low exogenous support for attention. Conversely, the resource depletion theorists propose that sustained attention lapses arise because demands for endogenus attentional resources outstrip supply, which leads to substantially delayed response and/or errors.
In the present study, the predictions from the mindlessness and resource depletion theories were investigated by contrasting performance on attention tasks that differed in cognitive workloads. In the lesser demanding task, participants performed a simple psychomotor vigilance test (PVT). In the more demanding task, the PVT was undertaken concurrently with a continuous tracking task. The higher workload imposed by the dual task should reduce task monotony and the higher attentional requirement should increase the demand for attentional resources. If the mindlessness theory is correct the dual task should result in improved vigilance and reduce sustained attention lapses. If the resource theory is correct, the added attentional demand in the dual task should decrease vigilance and increase sustained attention lapses.
However, there are other types of lapses that the literature has not always clearly separated from lapses of sustained attention. One such lapse is the microsleep. Microsleeps are brief periods of non-responsiveness (0.5–15 s) associated with overt signs of drowsiness. The two theories of vigilance impairment provide contrasting explanations in the traditional vigilance literature, but neither theory addresses lapses due to microsleep events, which remains largely ignored.
Microsleeps are thought to emanate from a homeostatic drive for sleep/rest and a complex interaction between the brain’s arousal and attention systems and, therefore, depend on the type of task being undertaken to modulate propensity for microsleeps. For example, a more demanding and engaging task should counteract the homeostatic drive for sleep and rest by increasing arousal. If true, tasks that increase cognitive workloads may lead to a reduction in microsleeping propensity.
We aimed to test the proposal that microsleep propensity is mediated by task by including in our study a continuous tracking task, which has previously been shown to elicit microsleeps. This task may, because of its consistency and repetitiveness, be considered a boring task. Moreover, it lacks any sudden stimulus onsets and, therefore, can be considered a less engaging task than the dual-task, which features sudden onsets. If more microsleeps were found in the tracking task compared to the dual task this would provide support for the proposition that a task-generated increase in mindlessness would increase microsleep rates. Conversely, if more microsleeps occur during the dual-task, then this suggests that factors other than mindlessness influence microsleeping.
Twenty-three non-sleep deprived participants – 12 females and 11 males – with an average age of 26.3 years (range 21–40 years) and an average Epworth Sleepiness Score of 5.1 (range 0–10), completed the tasks during the early afternoon. They completed the two different tasks separately and concurrently (as a dual task), with the three conditions presented in a counterbalanced order. The PVT task was an extended 30-min version of the standard 10-min PVT used in many vigilance studies to match the duration of the continuous tracking task. In this task, the participant had to respond to a discrete randomly-presented visual stimulus. As per convention, failure to respond within 500 ms constituted an attention lapse. The 30-min continuous tracking task required the participant to use a floor-mounted joystick, to monitor and track a target randomly-moving on a computer screen. In this second task, lapses show as periods of flat tracking that, when associated with overt signs of sleepiness and at least 80 % partial eye-closure, are classified as microsleeps. The dual task was the PVT and tracking tasks being undertaken concurrently.
Both sustained attention lapses and microsleep rates were affected by task differences. Using only the results from participants who had at least one sustained attention lapse in either the PVT or dual task (N = 23), it was found that a participant was more likely to experience a sustained attention lapse during the more demanding dual task then the PVT task (median 15 vs. 3; range 1–74 vs. 0–76, Wilcoxon z = 3.7, p = .001). Conversely, of those participants who had at least one microsleep in either the tracking or dual task (N = 12), they were more likely to experience a microsleep during the more monotonous tracking task than the dual task (median 0 vs. 0; range 0–18 vs. 0–1, Wilcoxon z = 2.3, p = .022). Time-on-task also had an effect. Sustained attention lapses increased with time-on-task during the PVT task and dual task (χ2 5, N 23 = 48.69, p = .001; and χ2 5, N 23 = 16.33, p = .006 respectively). Moreover, sustained attention lapses increased at a greater rate during the more cognitively demanding dual task (F5, 264 = 4.02, p = .002). Microsleeps also increased with time-on-task, but only during the tracking task and not during the dual task χ2 2, N 23 = 6.72, p = .035).
The pattern of results supports the resource depletion theory over the mindlessness theory. When the cognitive workload increased, sustained attention lapses were more frequent. Conversely, the results also demonstrated that when the cognitive workload was decreased, the risk of lapsing due to microsleeps increased. Clarifying this relationship between cognitive workload and two types of lapses of responsiveness, sustained attention lapses and microsleeps, is important if we are to avoid inadvertently increasing lapses of responsiveness. Both sustained attention lapses and microsleeps can have serious real-life consequences and, therefore, any contribution towards a potent, preventative strategy is important.
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Amos, Andrew. "Sustained and shifting attention and the presentation of the syndromes of schizophrenia /." Title page, contents and abstract only, 1996. http://web4.library.adelaide.edu.au/theses/09ARPS/09arpsa525.pdf.
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Liggett, Amy Elaine. "Piloting auditory selective and sustained attention tasks on ADHD subtypes and a comparison group /." Digital version accessible at:, 1999. http://wwwlib.umi.com/cr/utexas/main.
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Kulfan, Michael R. "A Preliminary Investigation of the Validity of Time-Based Measures of Sustained Attention for Children." Antioch University / OhioLINK, 2013. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=antioch1373499456.
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Johansson, Maria. "Attention and Self-regulation in Infancy and Toddlerhood : The Early Development of Executive Functions and Effortful Control." Doctoral thesis, Uppsala universitet, Institutionen för psykologi, 2015. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-263510.
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Executive functions are higher-order cognitive functions underlying self-regulation of behavior. That is, executive functions make it possible to resolve internal conflicts and behave according to future goals rather than acting on sudden impulses or going on automatic. Very similarly, the temperamental construct of effortful control is defined as being able to inhibit a dominant response, instead acting on a subdominant response. In children, poor executive functions and low levels of effortful control have both been associated with several negative outcomes, such as lower academic achievements and externalizing behavior problems. Although these self-regulatory functions seem to play a very important role in child development, little is still known about them during the first years of life. Furthering the knowledge of early executive functions and effortful control would likely increase the chances of early detection of risks of poor development. The present thesis aimed to investigate individual differences in executive functions and effortful control in infancy and toddlerhood, as well as the early development of, and the relation between, these two functions. The thesis further aimed to investigate the relationship between the self-regulatory functions and activity level, and the possibility of predicting toddlerhood self-regulatory functions with sustained attention in infancy. In Study I, individual differences in 10-month-olds’ rudimentary executive functions were found, and these were related to temperamental activity level. In Study II, individual differences in sustained attention in infancy were found to predict toddlerhood executive functions and effortful control. Both these self-regulatory functions improved significantly from infancy to toddlerhood although the individual stability was low. Executive functions and effortful control were related in toddlerhood but not in infancy. In Study III we replicated and extended the finding of a longitudinal relation between infant sustained attention and toddlerhood executive functions. In addition, partial support for the proposition that executive functions develop in a hierarchical fashion was found, with simple inhibition being predictive of more complex forms of working memory two years later. The results from the three studies combined contribute to a better understanding of the early development of the self-regulatory functions executive functions and effortful control.
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Curtindale, Lori Marie. "DIFFERENTIAL EFFECTS OF EVENT RATE AND TEMPORAL EXPECTANCY ON SUSTAINED ATTENTION PERFORMANCE OF ADULTS AND CHILDREN." Bowling Green State University / OhioLINK, 2007. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1174691694.
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Karanouh-Schuler, Eran James. "COGNITIVE EFFECTS OF COFFEE CONSUMPTION IN INDIVIDUALS WITH LOW VERSUS HIGH SLEEP QUALITY." Kent State University Honors College / OhioLINK, 2014. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ksuhonors1399309032.
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Medina, José Artur [UNIFESP]. "Efeitos da atividade física sobre a atenção sustentada de crianças portadoras do Transtorno de Déficit de Atenção e Hiperatividade." Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP), 2010. http://repositorio.unifesp.br/handle/11600/9393.
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Publico-370.pdf: 460541 bytes, checksum: 0bd09fcbf1ed06758089d085f2c56d6e (MD5)Introdução: O Transtorno de déficit de atenção e hiperatividade (TDAH) é o transtorno infantil mais prevalente do mundo e se relaciona com deficiências de catecolaminas em testes físicos, bioquímicos e cognitivos; por outro lado alguns exercícios são conhecidos como potentes estimuladores de catecolaminas, tanto central quanto e perifericamente. Objetivo: Testar a hipótese das catecolaminas (CA) centrais como as responsáveis pelo aumento na velocidade de reação vistas após atividades físicas e medir o impacto que esforços físicos agudos supra limiares apresentam na atenção sustentada de 25 crianças diagnosticadas com TDAH, conforme os critérios do DSM-IV. É possível que a prática desportiva possa ser positiva no manejo dos sintomas de TDAH. Método: As crianças foram divididas entre usuárias (US) e não usuárias (NUS) de Metilfenidato (MTP), os grupos foram comparados quanto a aspectos antropométricos, cognitivos e fisiológicos assim como os efeitos crônicos da droga, sobre a cognição, imediatamente após atividades físicas intensas. Resultado: A performance cognitiva após esforços físicos não foi, de maneira relevante, modificada pelo MTP. Observamos melhoras significativas no tempo de resposta, assim como normalização da impulsividade e das medidas de vigilância por meio do CPT teste. Conclusão: Estes resultados sugerem que a melhora cognitiva usualmente vista após a prática desportiva não são CA dependentes; adicionalmente exercícios físicos podem ser de auxílio no alívio dos sintomas de TDAH.
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is related to a deficiency of central catecholamines (CA) in cognitive, biochemical, and physical tests, and pharmaceutical intervention may have no effect if it is not accompanied by changes in the environment. The objective of our study was to test the hypothesis that central CA are responsible for the increase in speed reaction seen after physical activity (PA) and to measure the impact of high intensity PA on the sustained attention of 25 children diagnosed with ADHD consistent with the Disease Statistical Mental-IV (DSM-IV) criteria. It is possible that practicing sports assists in the management of the disorder. The children were divided between users (US) and non-users (NUS) of methylphenidate (MTP), and the groups were compared to evaluate the effect of the drug on cognition after PA. Post-exercise performance on Conner’s Continuous Performance Test-II (CPT) was not affected by MTP, we observed significant improvements in response time, and we saw normalization in the impulsivity and vigilance measures. These results suggest that the improvements in cognition after physical effort are not CA dependent. Additionally, our results suggest that children’s attention deficits can be minimized through PA irrespective of treatment with MTP. Additional studies are necessary to confirm that exercise mitigates the harmful symptoms of ADHD.
TEDE
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Greenwood, Toni Elspeth. "Auditory language comprehension, and sequential interference in working memory following sustained visual attention /." Title page, contents and abstract only, 2001. http://web4.library.adelaide.edu.au/theses/09ARPS/09arpsg8166.pdf.
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Thakral, Preston P. "The role of human motion processing complex, MT+, during sustained perception and attention." Thesis, Boston College, 2012. http://hdl.handle.net/2345/2745.
Full textAbstract:
Thesis advisor: Scott D. SlotnickThe overarching aim of this dissertation is to examine the role of human motion processing complex, MT+ during sustained perception and attention. MT+ is comprised of sub-region MT, which processes motion in the contralateral visual field (i.e., left hemisphere MT processes motion in the right visual field and vice versa), and sub-region MST, which processes motion in both the contralateral and ipsilateral visual fields. Whereas previous transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) research has provided compelling evidence that region MT+ is necessary for low-level motion processing, Chapter 1 describes an experiment testing whether the sub-region MT is necessary for contralateral low-level motion processing. Chapter 2 describes an experiment that dissociates low-level sensory attentional modulation in MT+ from high-level attentional control processing in the parietal cortex (i.e., during sustained attention). Chapter 3 describes an experiment investigating the role of MT+ during aesthetic processing when viewing visual art. Importantly, this experiment tests whether the aesthetic is tied to not only low-level motion processing in MT+ but also high-level processing in frontal regions. Taken together, the results across the three experiments provide novel evidence for the role of MT+ during low-level motion processing during sustained perception and attention. Moreover, these low-level motion processing effects together with the observed high-level processes in frontal-parietal regions provide neural mechanisms for the cognitive processes of sustained perception and attention
Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2012
Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences
Discipline: Psychology
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Kobayashi, Kei. "Relationship between media multitasking and functional connectivity in the dorsal attention network." Kyoto University, 2021. http://hdl.handle.net/2433/261612.
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Reinelt, Tilman [Verfasser], and Caterina [Akademischer Betreuer] Gawrilow. "Beyond Endophenotypes : Direct and Indirect Effects of Sustained Attention and Behavioral Inhibition on Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder / Tilman Reinelt ; Betreuer: Caterina Gawrilow." Tübingen : Universitätsbibliothek Tübingen, 2015. http://d-nb.info/1163320978/34.
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Moore, Adam William. "Facilitating healthy ageing : neuroprotective effects of mindfulness practice." Thesis, Liverpool John Moores University, 2013. http://researchonline.ljmu.ac.uk/4385/.
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Mindfulness-based meditation practices involve various attentional skills including the ability to sustain and focus ones attention. During a simple mindfulness based breath awareness meditation, sustained attention is required to maintain focus on the breath while meta-cognitive awareness and executive control are required to detect and correct mind wandering. The purpose of this thesis was to investigate whether a simple, mindfulness based breath awareness meditation, administered over a short period to meditation naïve individuals could modulate core attentional functions and associated task related neural activity. Two longitudinal randomised control studies were conducted. The aim of the first study was to establish if said modulations were possible in a sample of healthy adults, meeting a current research need for longitudinal evidence in this field and providing important information regarding a potential mechanism for the salutary effects widely observed from the use of mindfulness based interventions. It was found that short term engagement with a mindfulness based breath awareness meditation can modulate core attentional functions and task related neural activity, with specific modulations found in electrophysiological markers of sustained attention to the goal/task at hand and perceptual stimulus discrimination. In line with current theoretical models it is argued that modulations to such core attentional processes following short term training may provide a platform upon which mindfulness related salutary effects are built. The second study was designed to establish if such modulations were possible in older adults. It is argued that mindfulness training may have utility for increasing cognitive reserve, a potential mechanism by which age related declines in cognitive functions may be mitigated. It was found that both behavioural and electrophysiological markers of core attentional functions were modulated following 8 weeks mindfulness training but not following a matched active control group condition (simple brain training exercises). The reviewed extant evidence and findings of this study suggest that mindfulness meditation may enhance cognitive reserve through the repeated activation of attentional functions and associated neural activity during practice and are consistent with recent theoretical models of cognitive reserve. The potential for mindfulness training to positively modulate core attentional functions in older adults and to potentially impact cognitive ageing demands further investigation.
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de, Joux Neil. "A Functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy Study of Sustained Attention to Local and Global Target Features." Thesis, University of Canterbury. Psychology, 2012. http://hdl.handle.net/10092/7008.
Full textAbstract:
There has been extensive research investigating the differences between global and local feature discrimination. The role that global and local feature discrimination has in sustained attention tasks however has been relatively neglected. In the current research, participants were required to perform a sustained attention task requiring them to engage in either global or local shape stimuli discrimination. Reaction times to local feature discrimination revealed a quadratic trend with time-on-task, with performance levels showing a decline before returning to initial levels towards the end of the task. This trend was not found in the global shape discrimination condition. Functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) was employed to assess hemispheric cerebral oxygenation during the tasks. It was found in both conditions that there was greater oxygenation in the right hemisphere compared to the left hemisphere. It was also found that right hemisphere oxygenation increased with time-on-task. Left hemisphere oxygenation decreased during the global task, while it increased during the local task with time on task. Total cerebral oxygenation, collapsed over both hemispheres, increased more over time in the local discrimination task than the global discrimination task. The performance data and the fNIRS results suggest an increased utilization of bilateral cognitive resources with time-on-task in the local discrimination condition, but not in the global discrimination condition. Results and implications are discussed.
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Broussard, John Isaac. "Parietal neurophysiology during sustained attentional performance assessment of cholinergic contribution to parietal processing /." Columbus, Ohio : Ohio State University, 2007. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc%5Fnum=osu1190122494.
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Michael, Rebecca Leanne. "An examination of monotony and hypovigilance, independent of fatigue : relevance to road safety." Thesis, Queensland University of Technology, 2011. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/45603/1/Rebecca_Michael_Thesis.pdf.
Full textAbstract:
Driving is a vigilance task, requiring sustained attention to maintain performance and avoid crashes. Hypovigilance (i.e., marked reduction in vigilance) while driving manifests as poor driving performance and is commonly attributed to fatigue (Dinges, 1995). However, poor driving performance has been found to be more frequent when driving in monotonous road environments, suggesting that monotony plays a role in generating hypovigilance (Thiffault & Bergeron, 2003b).
Research to date has tended to conceptualise monotony as a uni-dimensional task characteristic, typically used over a prolonged period of time to facilitate other factors under investigation, most notably fatigue. However, more often than not, more than one exogenous factor relating to the task or operating environment is manipulated to vary or generate monotony (Mascord & Heath, 1992). Here we aimed to explore whether monotony is a multi-dimensional construct that is determined by characteristics of both the task proper and the task environment.
The general assumption that monotony is a task characteristic used solely to elicit hypovigilance or poor performance related to fatigue appears to have led to there being little rigorous investigation into the exact nature of the relationship. While the two concepts are undoubtedly linked, the independent effect of monotony on hypovigilance remains largely ignored. Notwithstanding, there is evidence that monotony effects can emerge very early in vigilance tasks and are not necessarily accompanied by fatigue (see Meuter, Rakotonirainy, Johns, & Wagner, 2005). This phenomenon raises a largely untested, empirical question explored in two studies: Can hypovigilance emerge as a consequence of task and/or environmental monotony, independent of time on task and fatigue?
In Study 1, using a short computerised vigilance task requiring responses to be withheld to infrequent targets, we explored the differential impacts of stimuli and task demand manipulations on the development of a monotonous context and the associated effects on vigilance performance (as indexed by respone errors and response times), independent of fatigue and time on task. The role of individual differences (sensation seeking, extroversion and cognitive failures) in moderating monotony effects was also considered. The results indicate that monotony affects sustained attention, with hypovigilance and associated performance worse in monotonous than in non-monotonous contexts. Critically, performance decrements emerged early in the task (within 4.3 minutes) and remained consistent over the course of the experiment (21.5 minutes), suggesting that monotony effects can operate independent of time on task and fatigue. A combination of low task demands and low stimulus variability form a monotonous context characterised by hypovigilance and poor task performance. Variations to task demand and stimulus variability were also found to independently affect performance, suggesting that monotony is a multi-dimensional construct relating to both task monotony (associated with the task itself) and environmental monotony (related to characteristics of the stimulus). Consequently, it can be concluded that monotony is multi-dimensional and is characterised by low variability in stimuli and/or task demands. The proposition that individual differences emerge under conditions of varying monotony with high sensation seekers and/or extroverts performing worse in monotonous contexts was only partially supported.
Using a driving simulator, the findings of Study 1 were extended to a driving context to identify the behavioural and psychophysiological indices of monotony-related hypovigilance associated with variations to road design and road side scenery (Study 2). Supporting the proposition that monotony is a multi-dimensional construct, road design variability emerged as a key moderating characteristic of environmental monotony, resulting in poor driving performance indexed by decrements in steering wheel measures (mean lateral position). Sensation seeking also emerged as a moderating factor, where participants high in sensation seeking tendencies displayed worse driving behaviour in monotonous conditions. Importantly, impaired driving performance was observed within 8 minutes of commencing the driving task characterised by environmental monotony (low variability in road design) and was not accompanied by a decline in psychophysiological arousal. In addition, no subjective declines in alertness were reported. With fatigue effects associated with prolonged driving (van der Hulst, Meijman, & Rothengatter, 2001) and indexed by drowsiness, this pattern of results indicates that monotony can affect driver vigilance, independent of time on task and fatigue.
Perceptual load theory (Lavie, 1995, 2005) and mindlessness theory (Robertson, Manly, Andrade, Baddley, & Yiend, 1997) provide useful theoretical frameworks for explaining and predicting monotony effects by positing that the low load (of task and/or stimuli) associated with a monotonous task results in spare attentional capacity which spills over involuntarily, resulting in the processing of task-irrelevant stimuli or task unrelated thoughts. That is, individuals – even when not fatigued - become easily distracted when performing a highly monotonous task, resulting in hypovigilance and impaired performance.
The implications for road safety, including the likely effectiveness of fatigue countermeasures to mitigate monotony-related driver hypovigilance are discussed.
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Staub, Bérengère. "Attention soutenue et vieillissement normal : étude des mécanismes cognitifs et neuronaux associés au contrôle attentionnel." Thesis, Strasbourg, 2014. http://www.theses.fr/2014STRAJ110/document.
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L’objectif de ces travaux de thèse était d’avancer dans la connaissance des effets du vieillissement normal sur les capacités d’attention soutenue et les mécanismes de contrôle attentionnel qui les sous-tendent. A cette fin, nous avons combiné l’utilisation de mesures comportementales, subjectives, et électrophysiologiques (potentiels évoqués). Les résultats comportementaux mettent en évidence des effets différenciés de l’âge sur les capacités d’attention soutenue en fonction de l’approche utilisée : détérioration dans les tâches de détection, et préservation dans les tâches d’inhibition. Les données électrophysiologiques mettent en évidence plusieurs spécificités des seniors dans l’engagement des mécanismes de contrôle attentionnel en situation d’attention soutenue : une activation globalement plus importante de ces mécanismes, une activation maintenue ou augmentée de ces mécanismes au fil de la tâche, et une topographie plus frontale des régions qui les sous-tendentThe purpose of this project was to gain more knowledge about the effects of normal aging on sustained attention ability and attentional control mechanisms underlying this ability. To that end, we combined the use of behavioral, subjective and electrophysiological (event-related potentials) measures. Behavioral results evidenced differential effects of age on sustained attention ability according to the approach used: deterioration in detection tasks, and preservation in inhibition tasks. Electrophysiological data evidenced several special features of seniors regarding the recruitment of attentional control mechanisms in a situation of sustained attention: overall greater activation of these mechanisms, stable or increased activation of these mechanisms over the course of the task, and a more frontal topography of the regions underlying these mechanisms
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Williams, Kimberley Clare. "Differences in visual attention processing: An event-related potential comparative analysis within psychotic disorders." University of the Western Cape, 2018. http://hdl.handle.net/11394/6746.
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>Magister Scientiae - MScIntroduction: Sustained attention is known to be dysfunctional in psychotic disorders. Sustained attention is the ability to remain focused on a specific time-locked stimulus within a task. We aimed to determine whether there are specific group differences between CON and three psychotic disorders: SCZ, MPD and BPD, then to determine differences between these psychotic disorders. This included differences in behavioural performance and prominent electrophysiological event-related potential (ERP) wave components during cueing and target processing of a visual sustained attention task. Further we aimed to characterize ERP waveform component relationships across and within these groups for demographics, substance use, behavioural performance, and clinical variables, the last limited to the psychotic groups. Lastly, we investigated the effects of prescribed medications on ERP wave components within the psychotic groups. Methodology: 103 participants (29 schizophrenia (SCZ), 28 bipolar disorder with a history of psychosis (BPD), 21 methamphetamine-induced psychotic disorder (MPD), and 30 controls (CON)) underwent electroencephalography (EEG) record while completing a visual continuous performance task. Participants were presented with 60 trials with three consecutive S’s, the presentation of the third S required a behavioural response. Prominent ERP waveform components were extracted from cues and target stimulus. Group differences were determined by ANOVA with Bonferroni post-hoc correction or multivariate Kruskal-Wallis test dependent on data distribution. Relationships between ERP wave components were determined appropriate with Spearman’s Rank order correlation analyses.
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Burns, Amy Jean. "Effects of Sustained Attention on the Social Skills of Assertion, Cooperation, Self Control, and Peer Competence." Scholarly Commons, 2018. https://scholarlycommons.pacific.edu/uop_etds/3112.
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The current study explored the relation between sustained attention and the social skills of assertion, cooperation, self-control, and peer competence and whether sex moderated this relation. Data from the National Institute of Child Health and Development – Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development were analyzed. Structural equation models were used to test the possibility of sex as a moderator for each relation. Results suggest sex moderates the relation between sustained attention and assertion skills. Additionally, results suggest sex moderates the relation between sustained attention and cooperation skills. However, results suggest sex did not moderate the relation between sustained attention and self-control and also suggest sex did not moderate the relations between sustained attention and peer competence. Such relations emphasize the importance of understanding social outcomes for children who struggle with attention and should be utilized by educators, parents, and families to ensure social success for children with attention problems.
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Sun, Jing (Jenny). "Early indicators of executive function and attention in preterm and full-term infants." Thesis, Queensland University of Technology, 2003. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/15846/1/Jing_Sun_Thesis.pdf.
Full textAbstract:
This study investigated executive function and sustained attention in preterm and full-term infants at 8 months after expected date of delivery and at 10-11 months chronological age. Executive function and sustained attention emerge in infancy and continues to develop throughout childhood. Executive function and sustained attention is believed to underlie some learning problems in children at school age. Although numerous studies have reported that the overall development of preterm infants is comparable to that of full-term infants at the same corrected age, it is unclear to what extent the development of specific cognitive abilities is affected by prematurity and/or other factors such as medical complications. As preterm infants have a high rate of learning difficulties, it is possible that factors associated with prematurity specifically affect the development of some regions of the brain associated with the regulation of executive function and sustained attention. Thirty-seven preterm infants without identified disabilities, and 74 due date and gender matched healthy bull-term infants, participated in the present study. The preterm infants were all less that 32 weeks gestation and less that 1500 grams birth weight. The current study aimed to examine the effects of maturation and length of exposure to extrauterine environmental stimuli on the development of executive function and sustained attention, by comparing the development of preterm infants with that of full-term infants at both the same corrected age and the same chronological age. All infants were therefore assessed on executive function and sustained attention tasks at 8 months after the expected date of delivery (when preterm infants were actually 10-11 months chronological age). The full-term infants in the study were then reassessed at an age equivalent to the chronological age of their matched preterm infants at the time of the first assessment. The findings of the study showed that preterm infants performed significantly more poorly than full-term infants at both 8 months after the expected date of delivery and 10-11 months chronological age on all measures of executive function and sustained attention. However the difference between preterm and full-term infants at 8 months after expected date of delivery was much less that at 10-11 months chronological age. The results suggested that the effects of maturation are greater that the effects of exposure to extrauterine environmental stimuli on the development of executive function and sustained attention. However, as the performance of the preterm infants was below that of the term infants at the same corrected age, it was necessary to consider whether other factors associated with preterm birth were contributing to this difference. Confounding factors including cognitive abilities and psychomotor skills on the Bayley Scales of Infant Development, infant temperament, maternal education, family socioeconomic status and maternal psychological wellbeing were examined. Statistical analysis of the effects of these factors on the difference between preterm ad full-term infants found that only psychomotor sills significantly affected the differences between preterm and full-term infants of the same corrected age on executive function measures, although not on sustained attention measures. The differences between preterm and full-term infants of the same corrected age remained even when psychomotor skills were taken into consideration; therefore psychomotor skills were not sufficient to fully explain the differences between preterm and full-term infants in the performance of executive function. Consequently, the preterm infants were divided into two subgroups on the basis of (a) low or high medical risk factors, (b) birth weight of less that 1000g versus 1000-1500g, and (c) gestation age of less that 28 weeks versus 28-32 weeks, in order to assess the effects of these variables on the performance of executive function and sustained attention. Medical risk, lower birth weight and lower gestation age were all found to adversely affect performance on executive function, but did not affect the performance on sustained attention tasks. It is argued that these factors may influence the development of specific areas of the brain which govern executive function, and that as the prefrontal regions are particularly immature they may be especially vulnerable to damage or disruption. The fact that these perinatal factors did not contribute to the difference between preterm and full-term infants' performance on sustained attention tasks. This suggests that the deficits of sustained attention in preterm infants may be associated with birth prematurity per se, and that additional complications may not have any further detrimental effect. The three components of executive function (i.e., working memory, inhibition, and planning) did not correlate with each other when only infants with Bayley psychomotor ability scores greater that 85 were included, suggesting that the components of executive function may be discrete abilities which are governed by different parts of the prefrontal cortex. Sustained attention correlated with planning, supporting the suggestion that it may be a cognitive dimension which overlaps with executive function, depending upon the task requirement. Neither executive functio nor sustained attention correlated with the Bayley mental ability and Bayley psychomotor ability scores when infants with scores of less than 85 were excluded. This suggests that executive function and sustained attention measures are independent of general development.
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Sun, Jing (Jenny). "Early Indicators of Executive Function and Attention in Preterm and Full-term Infants." Queensland University of Technology, 2003. http://eprints.qut.edu.au/15846/.
Full textAbstract:
This study investigated executive function and sustained attention in preterm and full-term infants at 8 months after expected date of delivery and at 10-11 months chronological age. Executive function and sustained attention emerge in infancy and continues to develop throughout childhood. Executive function and sustained attention is believed to underlie some learning problems in children at school age. Although numerous studies have reported that the overall development of preterm infants is comparable to that of full-term infants at the same corrected age, it is unclear to what extent the development of specific cognitive abilities is affected by prematurity and/or other factors such as medical complications. As preterm infants have a high rate of learning difficulties, it is possible that factors associated with prematurity specifically affect the development of some regions of the brain associated with the regulation of executive function and sustained attention. Thirty-seven preterm infants without identified disabilities, and 74 due date and gender matched healthy bull-term infants, participated in the present study. The preterm infants were all less that 32 weeks gestation and less that 1500 grams birth weight. The current study aimed to examine the effects of maturation and length of exposure to extrauterine environmental stimuli on the development of executive function and sustained attention, by comparing the development of preterm infants with that of full-term infants at both the same corrected age and the same chronological age. All infants were therefore assessed on executive function and sustained attention tasks at 8 months after the expected date of delivery (when preterm infants were actually 10-11 months chronological age). The full-term infants in the study were then reassessed at an age equivalent to the chronological age of their matched preterm infants at the time of the first assessment. The findings of the study showed that preterm infants performed significantly more poorly than full-term infants at both 8 months after the expected date of delivery and 10-11 months chronological age on all measures of executive function and sustained attention. However the difference between preterm and full-term infants at 8 months after expected date of delivery was much less that at 10-11 months chronological age. The results suggested that the effects of maturation are greater that the effects of exposure to extrauterine environmental stimuli on the development of executive function and sustained attention. However, as the performance of the preterm infants was below that of the term infants at the same corrected age, it was necessary to consider whether other factors associated with preterm birth were contributing to this difference. Confounding factors including cognitive abilities and psychomotor skills on the Bayley Scales of Infant Development, infant temperament, maternal education, family socioeconomic status and maternal psychological wellbeing were examined. Statistical analysis of the effects of these factors on the difference between preterm ad full-term infants found that only psychomotor sills significantly affected the differences between preterm and full-term infants of the same corrected age on executive function measures, although not on sustained attention measures. The differences between preterm and full-term infants of the same corrected age remained even when psychomotor skills were taken into consideration; therefore psychomotor skills were not sufficient to fully explain the differences between preterm and full-term infants in the performance of executive function. Consequently, the preterm infants were divided into two subgroups on the basis of (a) low or high medical risk factors, (b) birth weight of less that 1000g versus 1000-1500g, and (c) gestation age of less that 28 weeks versus 28-32 weeks, in order to assess the effects of these variables on the performance of executive function and sustained attention. Medical risk, lower birth weight and lower gestation age were all found to adversely affect performance on executive function, but did not affect the performance on sustained attention tasks. It is argued that these factors may influence the development of specific areas of the brain which govern executive function, and that as the prefrontal regions are particularly immature they may be especially vulnerable to damage or disruption. The fact that these perinatal factors did not contribute to the difference between preterm and full-term infants' performance on sustained attention tasks. This suggests that the deficits of sustained attention in preterm infants may be associated with birth prematurity per se, and that additional complications may not have any further detrimental effect. The three components of executive function (i.e., working memory, inhibition, and planning) did not correlate with each other when only infants with Bayley psychomotor ability scores greater that 85 were included, suggesting that the components of executive function may be discrete abilities which are governed by different parts of the prefrontal cortex. Sustained attention correlated with planning, supporting the suggestion that it may be a cognitive dimension which overlaps with executive function, depending upon the task requirement. Neither executive functio nor sustained attention correlated with the Bayley mental ability and Bayley psychomotor ability scores when infants with scores of less than 85 were excluded. This suggests that executive function and sustained attention measures are independent of general development.
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Beam, Christina Ashley. "Effects of Sensory and Cognitive Vigilance Tasks on Cerebral Blood Flow Velocity." University of Cincinnati / OhioLINK, 2002. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1036017621.
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Rezazadeh, Shohreh M. "The typical trajectory of response inhibition, sustained attention, and delay aversion : the nature of their relationship with naming speed." Thesis, McGill University, 2007. http://digitool.Library.McGill.CA:80/R/?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=101891.
Full textAbstract:
Although the behavioral phenotype of disorders such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and reading disability (RD) are well established, to date, few studies have assessed the association between the core cognitive characteristics implicated in each disorder. And fewer yet have addressed this in a sample of typically developing preschool and young school age children when such skills are developing and maturing. The present study focused on providing a typical trajectory of attentional and inhibitory performance alongside delay aversion and their association with naming speed, a basic cognitive process involved in the acquisition of later reading skills. Alongside the developmental characteristics of these cognitive domains, the results indicate an association between rapid naming deficits and poor attentional and inhibitory control. The results further suggest distinct association between attentional control, inhibitory control, naming speed and poor attention ratings. These findings have implications for pedagogical planning for children with ADHD and RD.
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Guy, Jacalyn. "Age-related changes in visual and auditory sustained attention, inhibition and working memory in preschool-aged children." Thesis, McGill University, 2010. http://digitool.Library.McGill.CA:80/R/?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=95077.
Full textAbstract:
To date, the differential development of the subcomponents of attention and executive function in preschool ages is not yet fully understood. Although there exists a large-body of research investigating the maturation of attention and executive function throughout the school-ages, little is known about the emergence of such skills among preschool-aged children. The importance of delineating age-related changes of attentional proficiencies and deficiencies rests largely in their utility for understanding atypical developmental trajectories; specifically in neurodevelopmental disorders that are characterized by attentional difficulties. Using adapted computerized paradigms, the present study examined age- related changes in visual and auditory sustained attention, inhibition and working memory in seventy typically-developing children aged 3 to 6 years. The results indicated that similar age-related gains in performance emerged across all three cognitive tasks and both visual and auditory modalities, which suggest that the adapted-measures used are sensitive enough to capture developmentally-associated variations in performance.Présentement, le développement différencié des sous-composantes de l'attention et des fonctions exécutives durant les âges préscolaires n'est pas entièrement compris. Bien qu'il existe un grand corps de recherche portant sur la maturation de l'attention et les fonctions exécutives dans les enfants d'âge scolaire, il reste encore beaucoup à apprendre concernant l'émergence de ces compétences chez les enfants d'âges préscolaires. Il est nécessaire de délimiter les compétences et les carences attentionnelles dans le développement typique pour qu'on puisse utiliser ces informations pour mieux comprendre et définir les trajectoires des habilités attentionnelles dans le développement atypique; précisément, dans les troubles du développement neurologique qui se caractérisent par des difficultés attentionnelles. En utilisant des paradigmes informatiques adaptés, la présente étude a examiné le développement de l'attention soutenue, l'inhibition et la mémoire de travail visuelle et auditive chez soixante-dix enfants au développement typique âgés de 3 à 6 ans. Les résultats montrent que des améliorations de performance liées à l'âge ont émergé à travers les trois tâches cognitives et les modalités visuelle et auditive, suggérant que les paradigmes adaptés utilisés sont suffisamment sensibles pour capturer des variations de performance associées aux changements développementaux.
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Lanesman, Talia. "Implementation of an attention training program with children who have sustained traumatic brain injuries in South Africa." Master's thesis, University of Cape Town, 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/13716.
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Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is an international public health concern, particularly in lowand
middle-income countries. Children who sustain TBIs typically have attentional
difficulties, which disrupt the development and functioning of other cognitive, behavioural,
and social skills. The aim of this research was to evaluate the efficacy and feasibility of
implementing an attention-training program for children who have sustained moderate-tosevere
TBI in South Africa, and to compare the efficacy of the program in two clinical
samples: children with TBI and children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
(ADHD). Fifteen children aged 6 to 8 who sustained TBIs at least a year before were
recruited to form three groups: a TBI Intervention Group (n=5), a TBI Art Group (n=5)
and a TBI Control Group (n=5). Five children who had been diagnosed with ADHD formed
the ADHD Intervention Group. Children in the two Intervention Groups participated in the
‘Pay Attention!’ program (originally designed to assist children with ADHD) for 45 minutes
twice a week for 12 weeks. All children underwent neuropsychological testing pre- and postintervention
and behavioural data was collected from parents and teachers. Between- and
within-group analyses showed that children in the TBI Intervention group did not show
overall significant improvements in attention. However, children in the ADHD Intervention
Group showed individual attentional improvements on measures of the CPT-II, as well as
secondary gains in verbal memory. Nevertheless, implementing a cognitive rehabilitation
intervention in South Africa is feasible and necessary, despite limited infrastructure and
access to resources. Further research is required to better tailor interventions to the needs of
children with TBIs.
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Williams, L. "The assessment of sustained attention in multiple sclerosis : comparison of psychometric measures and correlates with everyday cognitive function." Thesis, University of Edinburgh, 2005. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.663830.
Full textAbstract:
Despite clinical recognition and anecdotal reports of attentional difficulties the status of attention in MS arguably remains unclear with inconsistent findings in the research literature. The impact of sustained attention was discerned from other theoretical types of attention and the assessment of it provided the focus for study. The Sustained Attention to Response Task (SART) was developed for using with the traumatic brain-injured population and is purported to be a sensitive and valid measure of sustained attention. The main aim of the study was to investigate whether performance on it could be replicated with an MS population. The principal hypothesis stated that there would be a significant difference between a sample of MS patients and a healthy control group across attentional measures. The Lottery and Elevator Counting subtests from the Test of Everyday Attention, the Symbol Digits Modalities Test formed the main assessment tools used. Another aim of the study was to determine how well performance on these tests predicted everyday cognitive functioning, as measured by the self and informant-reported Cognitive Failures Questionnaire. The results demonstrated that sustained attention deficits were indeed a part of the cognitive profile in this sample of MS patients. In its current format performance on the SART was not found to be a valid measure for using with the MS population. The other three attentional tests were however able to discern a significant difference in performance between the two groups. Performances on these tests were also found to significantly correlate with and hence be predictive of everyday cognitive functioning as measured by the informant-reported Cognitive Failures Questionnaire.
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Marchelli, Leopoldo Francisco Barletta. "Envolvimento de processos atencionais em tarefas de escolhas relacionadas à detecção e discriminação de estímulos sonoros, em ratos: avaliação comportamental." Universidade de São Paulo, 2016. http://www.teses.usp.br/teses/disponiveis/41/41135/tde-22032017-104659/.
Full textAbstract:
A influência da atenção em processos de tomada de decisões é frequentemente avaliada através da tarefa denominada \"two-alternative choice\", em que os animais são treinados a emitir respostas baseadas na detecção e discriminação de dois estímulos discretos. Pela sua própria natureza, as possibilidades de se manipular a demanda atencional nessas tarefas é relativamente restrita. O desenho experimental básico adotado no presente conjunto de experimentos almejou possibilitar a variação das demandas atencionais durante o desempenho de uma tarefa que envolve discriminação auditiva, por meio da apresentação de sequências variáveis de \"beeps\" de mesma frequência (estímulos sonoros não informativos de 6 kHz) apresentados bilateralmente, seguidos de um estímulo informativo, um beep distinto de 3 ou 10 kHz, apresentado (1) bilateralmente, cuja frequência sinaliza a resposta a ser emitida (Experimento 1), ou (2) unilateralmente, cujo local de apresentação sinaliza a resposta a ser emitida (Experimento 2). No Experimento 1 observou-se uma redução dos tempos de reação para os estímulos alvo e uma redução da porcentagem de erros de comissão em função do aumento do número de estímulos não informativos, para ambos os estímulos informativos numa primeira fase e apenas para o de 10 kHz após a reversão da resposta inicialmente treinada. Curiosamente, os tempos de reação para o estímulo alvo de 10 kHz foram maiores em relação aos exibidos para o estímulo alvo de 3 kHz. Por outro lado, a redução da porcentagem de erros de comissão foi mais acentuada nas tentativas envolvendo o estímulo alvo de 10 kHz. No Experimento 2 houve aumento dos tempos de reação em função do aumento do número de estímulos não informativos apresentados. Os tempos de reação para o estímulo alvo de 10 kHz apresentado no lado esquerdo foram maiores em relação ao lado direito e também em relação ao estímulo alvo de 3 kHz apresentado no lado esquerdo ou direito. No mesmo sentido, houve menor percentagem de respostas corretas e maior percentagem de erros de comissão quando o estimulo alvo de 10 kHz foi apresentado no lado esquerdo. A porcentagem de respostas corretas assim como a redução dos tempos de reação são maiores no Experimento 2 em relação ao Experimento 1, sugerindo que nas presentes condições experimentais a identificação da fonte sonora é mais prontamente detectada do que a diferença de frequência dos estímulos alvo. Em conjunto os resultados obtidos mostram que o engajamento e manutenção de recursos atencionais longo do tempo variam em função da natureza periférica ou simbólica do estímulo alvo utilizado. A variação da frequência sonora dos estímulos alvo apresentados após uma sequência de estímulos não informativos também influencia o desempenho dos animaisThe influence of attention in decision making processes is usually evaluated using two-alternative choice tasks in which the subjects react relying on detection and discrimination of two discrete stimuli. The possibilities of manipulating attentional demands in this kind of task is relatively restricted. The experimental design employed in the present experiments aimed at providing ways to manipulate the attentional demands during performance of an auditory task. This was achieved by presenting variable sequences of non-informative 6 kHz beeps, bilaterally, followed by one distinctive (either 3 or 10 kHz) informative beep presented either (1) bilaterally such that the frequency identifies the required response (Experiment 1) or (2) unilaterally such that the place of presentation identifies the required response (Experiment 2). In Experiment 1 data showed a decrease in both reaction times for target stimuli and percentage of comission errors as a function of the number of non-informative stimuli. These effects occurred early in training for both, 3 and 10 kHz target stimuli, and only for 10 kHz target stimulus after reversal of training. Interestingly, reaction times for 10 kHz target stimuli were longer relative to those seen for 3 kHz target stimuli. In contrast, reduction of the percentage of comission errors was stronger in trials using 10 kHz target stimuli. In Experiment 2 reaction times increased as a function of the increase in the number of non-informative stimuli. In addition, reaction times for 10 kHz target stimuli presented in the left side were longer as compared to both 10 kHz target stimuli presented in the right side and 3 kHz stimuli presented in both sides. Congruently, a smaller percentage of correct responses and a greater percentage of comission errors were seen when the 10 kHz target stimuli were presented in the left side. The percentage of correct responses and reaction times reduction were greater in the Experiment 2 as compared to Experiment 1, suggesting that in the present experimental conditions, identification of the place for stimulus presentation is prompter as compared to the difference in the frequency of the target stimuli. Together these results show that engagement and maintenance of attentional resources along time vary as a function of the peripheral and simbolic nature of the target stimuli. The frequency of target stimuli presented after a variable sequence of non-informative stimuli also interferes in performance of the subject