The independence of endogenous and exogenous temporal attention

Temporal attention is the focusing of perceptual resources at a particular point in time. Valid temporal cue information has the capability to improve performance by reducing reaction times, while invalid information has the possibility of impairing performance. The performance difference between valid and invalid conditions is called a temporal cueing effect (TCE). We explored how different alerting mechanisms interact with a participant’s ability to utilize temporal information cues, using the Kingstone (The Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 44(1), 69–104, 1992) temporal cueing paradigm. Extracting the alerting procedure from Lawrence and Klein (Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 142(2), 560–572, 2013), one of two different temporally contingent warning signals were presented to participants during a trial. The “hi-intensity” warning signal increases intensity and elicits both exogenous and endogenous alerting mechanisms. The “no-intensity” warning signal is isointense relative to baseline and elicits only endogenous alerting mechanisms. Two experiments conducted previously using a discrimination task showed interference between the signal intensity and task difficulty, where the “no-intensity” signal failed to elicit TCEs. In the present study, we implemented a detection task, reducing the mental effort required for a response. The results showed equal TCEs in both signal conditions. We argue for independence of these alerting mechanisms, by way of Sternberg’s (Acta Psychologica, 30, 276–315, 1969) additive factor method. Arguments contrasting what mechanism is being impacted by this paradigm are further outlined.     

Two components in IOR: evidence for response bias and perceptual processing delays using the SAT methodology

Inhibition of return (IOR) occurs when reaction times (RTs) are slowed to respond to a target that appears at a previously attended location. We used the speed-accuracy trade-off (SAT) procedure to obtain conjoint measures of IOR on sensitivity and processing speed by presenting targets at cued and uncued locations. The results showed that IOR is associated with both delays in processing speed and shifts in response criterion. When the target was briefly presented, the results supported a criterion shift account of IOR. However, when the target was presented until response, the evidence indicated that, in addition to a response bias effect, there was an increase in the minimal time required for information about the target to accumulate above chance level. A hybrid account of IOR is suggested that describes effects on both response bias and perceptual processing.     

Changes in trunk orientation do not induce asymmetries in covert orienting

We explored the effect of trunk orientation on responses to visual targets in five experiments, following work suggesting a disengage deficit in covert orienting related to changes in the trunk orientation of healthy participants. In two experiments, participants responded to the color of a target appearing in the left or right visual field following a peripheral visual cue that was informative about target location. In three additional experiments, participants responded to the location (left/right) of a target using a spatially compatible motor response. In none of the experiments did trunk orientation interact with spatial-cuing effects, suggesting that orienting behavior is not affected by the rotation of the body relative to the head. Theoretical implications are discussed.     

Comparison of DSM-III-R chronic major depression and major depression superimposed on dysthymia (double depression): validity of the distinction

The nosology of chronic depression has become increasingly complex since the publication of the revised third edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-III-R; American Psychiatric Association, 1987), but there are few data available to evaluate the validity of the distinctions between the subtypes of chronic depression. The validity of the distinction between DSM-III-R chronic major depression (CMD) and major depression superimposed on dysthymia (double depression, DD) was examined. Participants were 635 patients with chronic depression in a 12-week trial of antidepressant medications. Patients with CMD, DD, and a 3rd group with a chronic major depressive episode superimposed on dysthymia (DD/CMD) were compared on demographic and clinical characteristics, family history, and response to treatment. Few differences were evident, although the depression of patients with DD/CMD tended to be more severe.     

Psychosocial predictors of the short-term course and outcome of major depression: a longitudinal study of a nonclinical sample with recent-onset episodes

Three variables have been hypothesized to play important roles in prolonging the course of depressive episodes: a ruminative response style, significant interpersonal relationships, and childhood adversity. The authors examined whether these variables predicted the short-term course of major depressive disorder (MDD). Participants (n = 84) were college students with a recent-onset major depressive episode. Assessments included several interview and self-report measures, and data on interpersonal relationships were obtained from close confidants. Follow-up interviews were conducted 6 months later. After controlling for baseline severity, harsh discipline in childhood significantly predicted mean level of depression across the follow-up and level of depression at follow-up. Harsh discipline was also significantly associated with relapse but not with recovery. After controlling for baseline severity, rumination and the interpersonal variables did not predict the outcome of MDD.     

Memory of the traumatic event as a risk factor for the development of PTSD: lessons from the study of traumatic brain injury

Traumatic memories, and the mechanisms by which they operate, continue to occupy a central role in the scientific investigation of risk factors for the development of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). However, empirically based studies are constrained by practical and ethical considerations and are limited to naturalistic models. Consequently, the paradigms most appropriate for the exploration of the relationship between traumatic memories and PTSD have been identified in conditions involving traumatic events where memories may be compromised. Indeed, traumatic brain injury, a condition that is commonly associated with memory impairment, has often been utilized as a naturally occurring model for the study of traumatic memory and its contribution to the development of PTSD. This article presents a critical review of these research efforts and discusses their theoretical and clinical implications.     

Total sleep deprivation increases the costs of shifting between simple cognitive tasks

In two experiments we studied the effects of one night of total sleep deprivation on task-shift costs. In different conditions shifts were between types of judgment (extradimensional shifts) and between stimulus-response mappings (intradimensional shifts). In addition, with an alternating-runs procedure we used short and long response-to-stimulus intervals and also external precues to vary the opportunities for advance configuration of task sets. Under all conditions sleep deprivation increased shift costs derived from the 20% slowest reaction times, which were insensitive to the opportunities for advance configuration. Shift costs derived from the 20% fastest reaction times were increased only for extradimensional shifts. As indicated by congruency effects, the increase of shift costs after a night without sleep cannot be attributed to increased interference between competing task sets. The findings suggest that total sleep deprivation increases task-set instability and thus lapsing, in particular in conditions with long stimulus-to-response intervals and in shift trials. In addition total sleep deprivation seems to increase the duration of an exogenously controlled process involved in extradimensional shifts.     

Does attention cause illusory line motion?

Illusory line motion (ILM) has been shown to occur when a line is presented with one end next to a previously stimulated location. The line appears to be drawn away from the site of stimulation. It has been suggested that this is because of the allocation of attention to the stimulated site. Using an endogenous attentional manipulation (a central arrow cue) with no differences in the display between the two ends of the line at the time of line presentation or immediately prior, no ILM was detected, though there was a small effect in the opposite direction. Those who have found endogenously induced ILM have used an endogenous cue based on a property of a location marker that indicated the cued location. Changing the method of cuing to one based on a property of a peripheral marker instead of a central arrow produced a small but significant report of ILM. The small magnitude of the effect, participant self-reports, and the absence of the effect in the purely endogenous condition, suggest that this was merely a bias. ILM is not generated by endogenous attention shifts.