Attentional deficits in fibromyalgia and its relationships with pain, emotional distress and sleep dysfunction complaints

Cognitive complaints are common among subjects with fibromyalgia (FM). Yet, few studies have been able to document these deficits with cognitive tasks. A main limitation of existing studies is that attention has been broadly defined and the tasks used to measure attention are not designed to cover all the main components of the attentional system. Research on attention has identified three primary functions of attention, known as alerting, orienting and executive functioning. This study used the attentional network test-interactions task to explore whether and which of the three attentional networks are altered in FM. Results showed that FM patients have impaired executive control (greater interference), reduced vigilance (slower overall reaction time) and greater alertness (higher reduction in errors after a warning cue). Vigilance and alertness showed several relations with depression, anxiety and sleep quality. Sleep dysfunction was a significant predictor for alertness, whereas there were no significant predictors for vigilance. These findings highlight that the treatment of sleep difficulties in FM patients may help with some of their cognitive complaints.     

Limits of control: The effects of uncontrollability experiences on the efficiency of attentional control

Two experiments were conducted to explore the effects of experiencing uncontrollability on the efficiency of attentional control. The experience of uncontrollability was induced either by unsolvable tasks (Experiment 1) or by tasks in which non-contingent feedback was provided (Experiment 2). A version of the Attentional Network Test-Interactions with an additional measure of vigilance (ANTI-V) was used to evaluate the efficiency of the attentional networks (i.e., alerting, orienting, and executive). Results of both experiments revealed a decreased efficiency of executive attention in participants who experienced stable control deprivation but no negative effects in participants who were able to restore their sense of previously deprived control. Additionally, when participants were asked to perform unsolvable tasks and did not receive feedback (Experiment 1), detrimental effects on the orienting network and vigilance were observed. The motivational and cognitive mechanisms underlying the effects of various uncontrollability experiences on conflict resolution and attentional control are discussed.     

Executive processes in visual and spatial working memory tasks

Three experiments are reported, which have investigated the nature of the cognitive mechanisms that underlie performance on specific visuo-spatial working memory tasks, with the emphasis on exploring the extent of central executive involvement. Experiments 1 and 2 employed oral random digit generation as an executive task within a dual-task paradigm. The results of both experiments indicated that visuo-spatial tasks that involve sequential processing of information show more interference with random digit generation than do visuo-spatial tasks that involve simultaneous processing. The third experiment substituted oral random digit generation for executive tasks that did not involve memory for serial order (vigilance tasks adapted from Vandierendonck, De Vooght, & Van der Goten, 1998b). The results indicated significant interference between the vigilance tasks and the sequential visuo-spatial task, but not with the simultaneous visuo-spatial task. Overall the results of the three experiments are interpreted as indicating that serial sequential visuo-spatial tasks involve executive resources to a significantly greater extent than do simultaneous visuo-spatial tasks, and that this can have implications for studies that attempt to make use of such tasks to fractionate separable visual and spatial components within working memory.     

Executive processes in visual and spatial working memory tasks

Three experiments are reported, which have investigated the nature of the cognitive mechanisms that underlie performance on specific visuo-spatial working memory tasks, with the emphasis on exploring the extent of central executive involvement. Experiments 1 and 2 employed oral random digit generation as an executive task within a dual-task paradigm. The results of both experiments indicated that visuo-spatial tasks that involve sequential processing of information show more interference with random digit generation than do visuo-spatial tasks that involve simultaneous processing. The third experiment substituted oral random digit generation for executive tasks that did not involve memory for serial order (vigilance tasks adapted from Vandierendonck, De Vooght, & Van der Goten, 1998b). The results indicated significant interference between the vigilance tasks and the sequential visuo-spatial task, but not with the simultaneous visuo-spatial task. Overall the results of the three experiments are interpreted as indicating that serial sequential visuo-spatial tasks involve executive resources to a significantly greater extent than do simultaneous visuo-spatial tasks, and that this can have implications for studies that attempt to make use of such tasks to fractionate separable visual and spatial components within working memory.     

Twenty-four hours of total sleep deprivation selectively impairs attentional networks

Performance decrements after sleep loss have been extensively studied and are usually attributed to generic attentional deficits. This claim, however, is based on the view of attention as a unitary construct, despite evidence that it should be considered a multidimensional cognitive ability. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the impact of one night of sleep deprivation on the efficiency of three attentional networks, defined by Posner and Raichle (1994) in anatomical and functional terms, as alerting, orienting, and executive control. Thirty participants performed the Attention Network Test at 9:00 a.m. following two different sleep conditions: baseline (a normal night of sleep) and deprivation (24 hrs of wakefulness). Results showed an overall slowing in reaction times and a significant decrease in accuracy after sleep deprivation. Sleep deprivation selectively affected the three attentional networks, given that only executive control efficacy significantly decreased after sleep deprivation. By contrast, phasic alerting and orienting showed no differences in the two sleep conditions. Thus, performance deficits following sleep deprivation do not reflect global attentional deficits.     

The effects of sleep deprivation on the attentional functions and vigilance

The study of sleep deprivation is a fruitful area of research to increase our knowledge of cognitive functions and their neural basis. In the current work, 26 healthy young adults participated in a sleep deprivation study, in which the Attentional Networks Test for Interactions and Vigilance (ANTI-V) was performed at 10a.m. after a night of normal sleep and again at 10 a.m. after 25.5-27.5 h of total sleep deprivation. The ANTI-V is an experimental task that provides measures of alerting, orienting and executive control attentional functions. Compared with previous versions, the ANTI-V includes a vigilance task, more reliable auditory alerting signals, non-predictive peripheral orienting cues, and also a neutral no-cue condition allowing the analysis of reorienting costs and orienting benefits. Thus, new evidence to evaluate the influence of sleep deprivation on attentional functioning is provided. Results revealed differences in both tonic and phasic alertness after sleep deprivation. Vigilance performance was deteriorated, while a warning tone was more helpful to increase participants' alertness, resulting in slightly faster RT and, in particular, fewer errors. The reorienting costs of having an invalid spatial cue were reduced after sleep loss. No sleep deprivation effect on the executive control measure was found in this study. Finally, since no control group was used, particular precautions were taken to reduce the influence of potential practice effects.     

Attention and movement execution during handwriting

Two studies were performed in order to test the hypothesis that movement execution during handwriting in skilled writers is independent of attention. Study I examined the relationship between attentional functioning and kinematic aspects of handwriting movements in 24 adult participants. A digitizing tablet was used for the assessment of handwriting movements. Participants were asked to perform a simple writing task and various components of their attention were assessed. Correlation analysis indicated no significant relationship between attention functions and both kinematic aspects of handwriting movements and quality of handwriting. In Study II, 20 participants underwent total sleep deprivation (TSD) for 24h. While attention, as assessed with alertness and vigilance tasks, deteriorated during TSD, the execution of handwriting movements, as assessed with a digitizing tablet, improved markedly. The quality of handwriting was not affected by TSD. These findings may suggest an independence between attention and movement generation during handwriting.     

Lack of degradation in visuospatial perception of line orientation after one night of sleep loss

Sleep deprivation impairs a variety of cognitive abilities including vigilance, attention, and executive function. Although sleep loss has been shown to impair tasks requiring visual attention and spatial perception, it is not clear whether these deficits are exclusively a function of reduced attention and vigilance or if there are also alterations in visuospatial perception. Visuospatial perception and sustained vigilance performance were therefore examined in 54 healthy volunteers at rested baseline and again after one night of sleep deprivation using the Judgment of Line Orientation Test and a computerized test of psychomotor vigilance. Whereas psychomotor vigilance declined significantly from baseline to sleep-deprived testing, scores on the Judgment of Line Orientation did not change significantly. Results suggest that documented performance deficits associated with sleep loss are unlikely to be the result of dysfunction within systems of the brain responsible for simple visuospatial perception and processing of line angles.     

睡眠限制对认知功能的影响及其潜在作用机制

睡眠限制已然成为现代社会人们普遍面临的问题, 其对个体身心机能的影响备受研究者关注。众多研究表明, 睡眠限制会对注意功能、执行功能和长时记忆等不同认知领域的心理加工产生差异化影响, 且影响程度与任务类型、睡眠限制的严重程度、年龄和性别等因素相关。研究者们提出了4种主要的作用假说：唤醒假说、注意控制假说、警觉性假说以及前额皮层易感性假说。未来研究需要从关注个体间差异、使用动脉自旋标记灌注功能磁共振成像技术以及重视轻度睡眠限制的影响等角度进行深化和扩展。     

Attentional networks,vigilance, and distraction as a function of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder symptoms in an adult community sample

Attentional difficulties are a core axis in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). However, establishing a consistent and detailed pattern of these neurocognitive alterations has not been an easy endeavour. Based on a dimensional approach to ADHD, the present study aims at comprehensively characterizing three key attentional domains: the three attentional networks (alerting, orienting, and executive attention), two components of vigilance (executive and arousal vigilance), and distraction. To do so, we modified a single, fine-grained task (the ANTI-Vea) by adding irrelevant distractors. One hundred and twenty undergraduates completed three self-reports of ADHD symptoms in childhood and adulthood and performed the ANTI-Vea. Despite the low reliability of some ANTI-Vea indexes, the task worked successfully. While ADHD symptoms in childhood were related to alerting network and arousal vigilance, symptoms in adulthood were linked to executive vigilance. No association between ADHD symptom severity and executive attention and distraction was found. In general, our hypotheses about the relationships between ADHD symptoms and attentional processes were partially supported. We discuss our findings according to ADHD theories and attention measurement.     

The Vigilance,Orienting, and Executive Attention Networks in 4-Year-Old Children

The present study examined the development of lower and higher order forms of attention during the preschool years. Lower forms of attention were assessed with tasks that primarily engaged the attention functions of vigilance and orienting. Higher, executive forms of attention were assessed with tasks that involved inhibition and working memory. The findings revealed that performance improved significantly with age on measures of inhibition and orienting. Results are discussed in the context of the development of attentional networks.     

The vigilance, orienting, and executive attention networks in 4-year-old children.

The present study examined the development of lower and higher order forms of attention during the preschool years. Lower forms of attention were assessed with tasks that primarily engaged the attention functions of vigilance and orienting. Higher, executive forms of attention were assessed with tasks that involved inhibition and working memory. The findings revealed that performance improved significantly with age on measures of inhibition and orienting. Results are discussed in the context of the development of attentional networks.     

黎明模拟光照对晨起睡眠惰性的影响

本研究采用单因素被试内设计对清晨唤醒后睡眠惰性对个体主观情绪、警觉性和认知加工的影响，以及利用动态黎明模拟光照能否对睡眠惰性产生有效的对抗作用进行了考察。结果发现：（1）被试的积极情绪、主观警觉性在刚唤醒时显著低于基线水平，之后随时间推移逐渐提升。（2）被试醒后立即进行测试的认知加工成绩最差，随后逐渐提高，且主要表现在加工速度的回升上。（3）黎明模拟光照对被试醒后在积极情绪、主观警觉性、持续性注意和抑制功能的缓解上产生了明显的促进作用。这表明睡眠惰性会对个体的主客观活动产生显著的负性影响，而使用黎明模拟光照可在一定程度上对抗睡眠惰性带来的负性影响。     

The effect of music-induced mood on attentional networks

Attention network theory suggests that there are three separate neural networks that execute the discrete functions of alerting, orienting, and executive attention. Previous research on the influence of mood on attention has shown subtle and inconsistent results. The attention network theory may aid in clarifying the influence of mood on attention. The present study investigated the influence of mood on attentional networks in a normal population. Participants performed the Attention Network Test (ANT), which provides functional measures of alerting, orienting, and executive attention. Positive or negative mood was induced by listening to music with a positive or negative valence, respectively; neutral mood was induced by reading a collection of basic facts about China. The results revealed that negative mood led to a significantly higher alerting efficiency relative to other moods, while there were no significant mood effects on orienting or executive attention efficiency. According to the algorithm underlying the ANT, the higher alerting efficiency in the negative mood condition can be attributed to relatively greater benefits of cueing effects. The findings are discussed in the context of the noradrenergic system and of evolutionary significance. Specifically, the increase in the alerting function during negative mood states may be due to the modulation effect of negative mood on the noradrenergic system, and/or to the survival benefit resulting from an increase in automatic vigilance towards negative information. The current results suggest that as the influence of negative mood on attention appears to specifically consist in an enhanced alerting function, it may not be found in studies where the three attentional networks are not dissociated.     

Sleep deprivation affects multiple distinct cognitive processes

Sleep deprivation adversely affects the ability to perform cognitive tasks, but theories range from predicting an overall decline in cognitive functioning (because of reduced stability in attentional networks) to claiming specific deficits in executive functions. In the present study, we measured the effects of sleep deprivation on a two-choice numerosity discrimination task. A diffusion model was used to decompose accuracy and response time distributions in order to produce estimates of distinct components of cognitive processing. The model assumes that, over time, noisy evidence from the task stimulus is accumulated to one of two decision criteria and that parameters governing this process can be extracted and interpreted in terms of distinct cognitive processes. The results showed that sleep deprivation affects multiple components of cognitive processing, ranging from stimulus processing to peripheral nondecision processes. Thus, sleep deprivation appears to have wide-ranging effects: Reduced attentional arousal and impaired central processing combine to produce an overall decline in cognitive functioning.     

Exploring the relationship between executive functions and self-reported media-multitasking in young adults

Media-multitasking involves simultaneous engagement with information streams from multiple media sources, and is most prevalent in young adults. Heavy media-multitasking has been associated with differential performance on tasks involving attentional control and working memory relative to light media-multitasking. The aim of the present study was to systematically investigate relationships between executive functions and self-reported media-multitasking. Healthy participants (N?=?112, aged 18–25, male N?=?36) completed a battery of 10 traditional executive function tasks, that included assessments of attentional inhibition, response inhibition, working memory, and cognitive flexibility. Scores on the individual executive function tasks were correlated against frequency of self-reported media-multitasking, but no significant relationships were found. Trait anxiety, however, was found to be significantly associated with greater frequency of self-reported media-multitasking. The present study found no evidence of a relationship between the frequency of self-reported media-multitasking and executive functioning. The possible reasons for this are discussed.     

Effects of acute simulated microgravity on nocturnal sleep, daytime vigilance, and psychomotor performance: comparison of horizontal and 6 degrees head-down bed rest

This study examined the effect of acute simulated microgravity on nocturnal sleep, daytime vigilance, and psychomotor performance. Each of 7 volunteers were maintained for 3 days of head-down and horizontal bed rest in a counter-balanced design. Assessment measures were polysomnographic recordings on the first night and performance on psychophysiological tasks on the second day involving subjective and objective vigilance, P300, simple reaction time tasks, and dual performance tasks. No clear difference in sleep structure was observed between the head-down and horizontal conditions, except for a slight decrease in Stage 4 for head-down. Both subjective and objective daytime vigilance, P300, and the simple RT task showed no statistical difference, although tracking performance on the dual task showed deterioration at 10:00 for the head-down condition. These results suggest that nocturnal sleep, daytime vigilance, and psychophysiological functions were not disturbed in head-down sleep conditions, although there was a mild deterioration of higher attentional function in the morning.     

Differential relationship of recent self-reported stress and acute anxiety with divided attention performance

There have been relatively few studies on the relationship between recent perceived environmental stress and cognitive performance, and the existing studies do not control for state anxiety during the cognitive testing. The current study addressed this need by examining recent self-reported environmental stress and divided attention performance, while controlling for state anxiety. Fifty-four university undergraduates who self-reported a wide range of perceived recent stress (10-item perceived stress scale) completed both single and dual (simultaneous auditory and visual stimuli) continuous performance tests. Partial correlation analysis showed a statistically significant positive correlation between perceived stress and the auditory omission errors from the dual condition, after controlling for state anxiety and auditory omission errors from the single condition (r = 0.41). This suggests that increased environmental stress relates to decreased divided attention performance in auditory vigilance. In contrast, an increase in state anxiety (controlling for perceived stress) was related to a decrease in auditory omission errors from the dual condition (r = - 0.37), which suggests that state anxiety may improve divided attention performance. Results suggest that further examination of the neurobiological consequences of environmental stress on divided attention and other executive functioning tasks is needed.     

3-minute smartphone-based and tablet-based psychomotor vigilance tests for the assessment of reduced alertness due to sleep deprivation

The psychomotor vigilance test (PVT) is widely used to measure reduced alertness due to sleep loss. Here, two newly developed, 3-min versions of the psychomotor vigilance test, one smartphone-based and the other tablet-based, were validated against a conventional 10-min laptop-based PVT. Sixteen healthy participants (ages 22–40; seven males, nine females) completed a laboratory study, which included a practice and a baseline day, a 38-h total sleep deprivation (TSD) period, and a recovery day, during which they performed the three different versions of the PVT every 3 h. For each version of the PVT, the number of lapses, mean response time (RT), and number of false starts showed statistically significant changes across the sleep deprivation and recovery days. The number of lapses on the laptop was significantly correlated with the numbers of lapses on the smartphone and tablet. The mean RTs were generally faster on the smartphone and tablet than on the laptop. All three versions of the PVT exhibited a time-on-task effect in RTs, modulated by time awake and time of day. False starts were relatively rare on all three PVTs. For the number of lapses, the effect sizes across 38 h of TSD were large for the laptop PVT and medium for the smartphone and tablet PVTs. These results indicate that the 3-min smartphone and tablet PVTs are valid instruments for measuring reduced alertness due to sleep deprivation and restored alertness following recovery sleep. The results also indicate that the loss of sensitivity on the 3-min PVTs may be mitigated by modifying the threshold defining lapses.     

Functional Synergy Between Postural and Visual Behaviors When Performing a Difficult Precise Visual Task in Upright Stance

Previous works usually report greater postural stability in precise visual tasks (e.g., gaze‐shift tasks) than in stationary‐gaze tasks. However, existing cognitive models do not fully support these results as they assume that performing an attention‐demanding task while standing would alter postural stability because of the competition of attention between the tasks. Contrary to these cognitive models, attentional resources may increase to create a synergy between visual and postural brain processes to perform precise oculomotor behaviors. To test this hypothesis, we investigated a difficult searching task and a control free‐viewing task. The precise visual task required the 16 young participants to find a target in densely furnished images. The free‐viewing task consisted of looking at similar images without searching anything. As expected, the participants exhibited significantly lower body displacements (linear, angular) and a significantly higher cognitive workload in the precise visual task than in the free‐viewing task. Most important, our exploration showed functional synergies between visual and postural processes in the searching task, that is, significant negative relationships showing lower head and neck displacements to reach more expended zones of fixation. These functional synergies seemed to involve a greater attentional demand because they were not significant anymore when the cognitive workload was controlled (partial correlations). In the free‐viewing task, only significant positive relationships were found and they did not involve any change in cognitive workload. An alternative cognitive model and its potential subtended neuroscientific circuit are proposed to explain the supposedly cognitively grounded functional nature of vision–posture synergies in precise visual tasks.