Browsing by Subject "Selective attention"

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Embargo
Effective connectivity in cortical regions during bottom-up perception of biological motion under attentional load: an FMRI-DCM study
(2024-07) Mert, Sezan
The ability to detect biological motion holds an evolutionarily important role in vital and social functions. However, in our daily lives, we perceive biological motion while we are at a task most of the time. In other words, it is perceived when our attention is directed at another thing. In this aspect, understanding the dynamics of its bottom-up perception is of high importance. Meanwhile, the attentional mechanisms and where their effects occur are a matter of debate in the literature, sparking off various theories, such as early selection, late selection, and attentional load theory. Dynamic causal modeling (DCM) is a suitable tool for investigating the dynamics of attentional effects on the network, enabling the bottom-up perception of biological motion, and comparing the existing theories in the literature with Bayesian graph models. To this end, we utilized the DCM approach with fMRI data collected using an attentional load paradigm and biological motion peripheral distractors [1]. In our model space, we modeled the theories of selective attention along with two complementary models. The Bayesian Model Selection (BMS) showed that the model that explained the data the best was the model where both attentional load conditions modulated all top-down connections rather than the models of existing theories. This showed that attentional effects take part in the bottom-up perception, not in a focused location, such as early or late, but in a more distributed manner throughout the processing pipeline. Further statistical tests on the model parameters yielded no difference between load conditions and between biological motion and scrambled motion in their modulation strengths. Yet, the strengths of biological motion on different connections were different from each other. A similar observation is also made for the low load condition but not for the scrambled motion and high load conditions. The former can be accepted as evidence for the differential processing of biological and scrambled motion. The latter may be explained by a spillover of perceptual resources on biological motion and causing competition in low-load conditions.
Open Access
Fearful faces do not lead to faster attentional deployment in individuals with elevated psychopathic traits
(Springer New York LLC, 2017) Hoppenbrouwers, S. S.; Munneke, Jaap; Kooiman, K. A.; Little, B.; Neumann, C. S.; Theeuwes, J.
In the current study, a gaze-cueing experiment (similar to Dawel et al. 2015) was conducted in which the predictivity of a gaze-cue was manipulated (non-predictive vs highly predictive). This was done to assess the degree to which individuals with elevated psychopathic traits can use contextual information (i.e., the predictivity of the cue). Psychopathic traits were measured with the Self-Report Psychopathy Scale-Short Form (SRP-SF) in a mixed sample (undergraduate students and community members). Results showed no group difference in reaction times between high and non-predictive cueing blocks, suggesting that individuals with elevated psychopathic traits can indeed use contextual information when it is relevant. In addition, we observed that fearful facial expressions did not lead to a change in reaction times in individuals with elevated psychopathic traits, whereas individuals with low psychopathic traits showed speeded responses when confronted with a fearful face, compared to a neutral face. This suggests that fearful faces do not lead to faster attentional deployment in individuals with elevated psychopathic traits. © 2017, The Author(s).
Open Access
Mixed signals: the effect of conflicting reward and goal-driven biases on selective attention
(Springer New York LLC, 2017) Preciado, D.; Munneke, Jaap; Theeuwes, J.
Attentional selection depends on the interaction between exogenous (stimulus-driven), endogenous (goal-driven), and selection history (experience-driven) factors. While endogenous and exogenous biases have been widely investigated, less is known about their interplay with value-driven attention. The present study investigated the interaction between reward-history and goal-driven biases on perceptual sensitivity (d’) and response time (RT) in a modified cueing paradigm presenting two coloured cues, followed by sinusoidal gratings. Participants responded to the orientation of one of these gratings. In Experiment 1, one cue signalled reward availability but was otherwise task irrelevant. In Experiment 2, the same cue signalled reward, and indicated the target’s most likely location at the opposite side of the display. This design introduced a conflict between reward-driven biases attracting attention and goal-driven biases directing it away. Attentional effects were examined comparing trials in which cue and target appeared at the same versus opposite locations. Two interstimulus interval (ISI) levels were used to probe the time course of attentional effects. Experiment 1 showed performance benefits at the location of the reward-signalling cue and costs at the opposite for both ISIs, indicating value-driven capture. Experiment 2 showed performance benefits only for the long ISI when the target was at the opposite to the reward-associated cue. At the short ISI, only performance costs were observed. These results reveal the time course of these biases, indicating that reward-driven effects influence attention early but can be overcome later by goal-driven control. This suggests that reward-driven biases are integrated as attentional priorities, just as exogenous and endogenous factors. © 2017, The Author(s).