Decoding Visual Covert Attention Shift from EEG for Use in BCI

2022 ◽  
pp. 883-893
Author(s):  
Swati Aggarwal ◽  
Nupur Chugh ◽  
Arnav Balyan
Keyword(s):  
Covert Attention ◽  
Attention Shift

Saccades and Subjective Time in Seconds Range Duration Reproduction

2016 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 187-206 ◽  
Author(s):  
Trevor B. Penney ◽  
Xiaoqin Cheng ◽  
Yan Ling Leow ◽  
Audrey Wei Ying Bay ◽  
Esther Wu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Discrimination Task ◽  
Test Phase ◽  
Covert Attention ◽  
Visual Modality ◽  
Subjective Time ◽  
Auditory Modality ◽  
Attention Shift ◽  
Experimental Conditions ◽  
Perceptual Stability ◽  
Time Distortion

A transient suppression of visual perception during saccades ensures perceptual stability. In two experiments, we examined whether saccades affect time perception of visual and auditory stimuli in the seconds range. Specifically, participants completed a duration reproduction task in which they memorized the duration of a 6 s timing signal during the training phase and later reproduced that duration during the test phase. Four experimental conditions differed in saccade requirements and the presence or absence of a secondary discrimination task during the test phase. For both visual and auditory timing signals, participants reproduced longer durations when the secondary discrimination task required saccades to be made (i.e., overt attention shift) during reproduction as compared to when the discrimination task merely required fixation at screen center. Moreover, greater total saccade duration in a trial resulted in greater time distortion. However, in the visual modality, requiring participants to covertly shift attention (i.e., no saccade) to complete the discrimination task increased reproduced duration as much as making a saccade, whereas in the auditory modality making a saccade increased reproduced duration more than making a covert attention shift. In addition, we examined microsaccades in the conditions that did not require full saccades for both the visual and auditory experiments. Greater total microsaccade duration in a trial resulted in greater time distortion in both modalities. Taken together, the experiments suggest that saccades and microsaccades affect seconds range visual and auditory interval timing via attention and saccadic suppression mechanisms.

scholarly journals Neural representations of covert attention across saccades: comparing pattern similarity to shifting and holding attention during fixation

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiaoli Zhang ◽  
Julie D Golomb
Keyword(s):  
Time Course ◽  
Brain Activity ◽  
Activity Patterns ◽  
Covert Attention ◽  
Attention Shift ◽  
Attention Condition ◽  
Initial Location ◽  
Pattern Similarity ◽  
The Brain ◽  
Attention Shifts

AbstractWe can focus visuospatial attention by covertly attending to relevant locations, moving our eyes, or both simultaneously. How does shifting versus holding covert attention during fixation compare with maintaining covert attention across saccades? We acquired fMRI data during a combined saccade and covert attention task. On Eyes-fixed trials, participants either held attention at the same initial location (“hold attention”) or shifted attention to another location midway through the trial (“shift attention”). On Eyes-move trials, participants made a saccade midway through the trial, while maintaining attention in one of two reference frames: The “retinotopic attention” condition involved holding attention at a fixation-relative location but shifting to a different screen-centered location, whereas the “spatiotopic attention” condition involved holding attention on the same screen-centered location but shifting relative to fixation. We localized the brain network sensitive to attention shifts (shift > hold attention), and used multivoxel pattern time course analyses to investigate the patterns of brain activity for spatiotopic and retinotopic attention. In the attention shift network, we found transient information about both whether covert shifts were made and whether saccades were executed. Moreover, in the attention shift network, both retinotopic and spatiotopic conditions were represented more similarly to shifting than to holding covert attention. An exploratory searchlight analysis revealed additional regions where spatiotopic was relatively more similar to shifting and retinotopic more to holding. Thus, maintaining retinotopic and spatiotopic attention across saccades may involve different types of updating that vary in similarity to covert attention “hold” and “shift” signals across different regions.Significance StatementTo our knowledge, this study is the first attempt to directly compare human brain activity patterns of covert attention (to a peripheral spatial location) across saccades and during fixation. We applied fMRI multivoxel pattern time course analyses to capture the dynamic changes of activity patterns, with specific focus on the critical timepoints related to attention shifts and saccades. Our findings indicate that both retinotopic and spatiotopic attention across saccades produce patterns of activation similar to “shifting” attention in the brain, even though both tasks could be interpreted as “holding” attention by the participant. The results offer a novel perspective to understand how the brain processes and updates spatial information under different circumstances to fit the needs of various cognitive tasks.

A Temporal Stability Approach to Position and Attention-Shift-Invariant Recognition

2004 ◽  
Vol 16 (11) ◽  
pp. 2293-2321 ◽  
Author(s):  
Muhua Li ◽  
James J. Clark
Keyword(s):  
Eye Movements ◽  
Temporal Integration ◽  
Temporal Stability ◽  
Simulated Data ◽  
Local Features ◽  
Covert Attention ◽  
Attention Shift ◽  
Perceptual Stability ◽  
Shift Invariance ◽  
Attention Shifts

Incorporation of visual-related self-action signals can help neural networks learn invariance. We describe a method that can produce a network with invariance to changes in visual input caused by eye movements and covert attention shifts. Training of the network is controlled by signals associated with eye movements and covert attention shifting. A temporal perceptual stability constraint is used to drive the output of the network toward remaining constant across temporal sequences of saccadicmotions and covert attention shifts. We use a four-layer neural network model to perform the position-invariant extraction of local features and temporal integration of invariant presentations of local features in a bottom-up structure. We present results on both simulated data and real images to demonstrate that our network can acquire both position and attention shift invariance.

Pain Influences Several Levels of Attention

2005 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. 235-242 ◽  
Author(s):  
Astrid von Bueren Jarchow ◽  
Bogdan P. Radanov ◽  
Lutz Jäncke
Keyword(s):  
Chronic Pain ◽  
Divided Attention ◽  
Covert Attention ◽  
Attention Task ◽  
Attentional Deficits ◽  
Control Subjects ◽  
Chronic Pain Patients ◽  
Divided Attention Task ◽  
Pain Stimuli ◽  
Pain Patients

Abstract: The aim of the present study was to examine to what extent chronic pain has an impact on various attentional processes. To measure these attention processes a set of experimental standard tests of the “Testbatterie zur Aufmerksamkeitsprüfung” (TAP), a neuropsychological battery testing different levels of attention, were used: alertness, divided attention, covert attention, vigilance, visual search, and Go-NoGo tasks. 24 chronic outpatients and 24 well-matched healthy control subjects were tested. The control subjects were matched for age, gender, and education. The group of chronic pain patients exhibited marked deficiencies in all attentional functions except for the divided attention task. Thus, the data supports the notion that chronic pain negatively influences attention because pain patients` attention is strongly captivated by the internal pain stimuli. Only the more demanding divided attention task has the capability to distract the focus of attention to the pain stimuli. Therefore, the pain patients are capable of performing within normal limits. Based on these findings chronic pain patients' attentional deficits should be appropriately evaluated and considered for insurance and work related matters. The effect of a successful distraction away from the pain in the divided attention task can also open new therapeutic aspects.

Visual search for multiple targets gives no evidence of amnesic covert attention

2001 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jason S. McCarley ◽  
Matthew S. Peterson ◽  
Arthur F. Kramer ◽  
Ranxiao Frances Wang ◽  
David E. Irwin
Keyword(s):  
Visual Search ◽  
Covert Attention ◽  
Multiple Targets

The Role of Head Orientation in Social Attention Shift

2013 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 211-219
Author(s):  
Shang LU ◽  
Ye LIU ◽  
Xiaolan FU
Keyword(s):  
Social Attention ◽  
Head Orientation ◽  
Attention Shift

scholarly journals The Impact of Shape-Based Cue Discriminability on Attentional Performance

Vision ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 18
Author(s):  
Olga Lukashova-Sanz ◽  
Siegfried Wahl ◽  
Thomas S. A. Wallis ◽  
Katharina Rifai
Keyword(s):  
Temporal Processing ◽  
Visual Cues ◽  
Human Performance ◽  
Covert Attention ◽  
Orientation Discrimination ◽  
Know How ◽  
Processing Times ◽  
Attentional Performance ◽  
Cue Processing ◽  
The Impact

With rapidly developing technology, visual cues became a powerful tool for deliberate guiding of attention and affecting human performance. Using cues to manipulate attention introduces a trade-off between increased performance in cued, and decreased in not cued, locations. For higher efficacy of visual cues designed to purposely direct user’s attention, it is important to know how manipulation of cue properties affects attention. In this verification study, we addressed how varying cue complexity impacts the allocation of spatial endogenous covert attention in space and time. To gradually vary cue complexity, the discriminability of the cue was systematically modulated using a shape-based design. Performance was compared in attended and unattended locations in an orientation-discrimination task. We evaluated additional temporal costs due to processing of a more complex cue by comparing performance at two different inter-stimulus intervals. From preliminary data, attention scaled with cue discriminability, even for supra-threshold cue discriminability. Furthermore, individual cue processing times partly impacted performance for the most complex, but not simpler cues. We conclude that, first, cue complexity expressed by discriminability modulates endogenous covert attention at supra-threshold cue discriminability levels, with increasing benefits and decreasing costs; second, it is important to consider the temporal processing costs of complex visual cues.

scholarly journals Zero gravity induced by parabolic flight enhances automatic capture and weakens voluntary maintenance of visuospatial attention

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Adriana Salatino ◽  
Claudio Iacono ◽  
Roberto Gammeri ◽  
Stefano T. Chiadò ◽  
Julien Lambert ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Space Exploration ◽  
Parabolic Flight ◽  
Vestibular Function ◽  
Visuospatial Attention ◽  
Covert Attention ◽  
Zero Gravity ◽  
Deep Space ◽  
Otolith Organ ◽  
Deep Space Exploration ◽  
Automatic Capture

AbstractOrienting attention in the space around us is a fundamental prerequisite for willed actions. On Earth, at 1 g, orienting attention requires the integration of vestibular signals and vision, although the specific vestibular contribution to voluntary and automatic components of visuospatial attention remains largely unknown. Here, we show that unweighting of the otolith organ in zero gravity during parabolic flight, selectively enhances stimulus-driven capture of automatic visuospatial attention, while weakening voluntary maintenance of covert attention. These findings, besides advancing our comprehension of the basic influence of the vestibular function on voluntary and automatic components of visuospatial attention, may have operational implications for the identification of effective countermeasures to be applied in forthcoming human deep space exploration and habitation, and on Earth, for patients’ rehabilitation.

scholarly journals Visual Attention and Aging: an Age-Related Cognitive Model of Positive Adaptation

2014 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 181-191
Author(s):  
José Manuel Rodríguez-Ferrer
Keyword(s):  
Young People ◽  
Visual Attention ◽  
Response Times ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Cognitive Model ◽  
Covert Attention ◽  
Positive Adaptation ◽  
Healthy Elderly ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Healthy Young People

We have studied the effects of normal aging on visual attention. Have participated a group of 38 healthy elderly people with an average age of 67.8 years and a group of 39 healthy young people with average age of 19.2 years. In a first experiment of visual detection, response times were recorded, with and without covert attention, to the presentation of stimuli (0.5º in diameter grey circles) appearing in three eccentricities (2.15, 3.83 and 5.53° of visual field) and with three levels of contrast (6, 16 and 78%). In a second experiment of visual form discrimination circles and squares with the same features as in the previous experiment were presented, but in this case subjects only should respond to the emergence of the circles. In both age groups, the covert attention reduced response times. Compared to young people, the older group achieved better results in some aspects of attention tests and response times were reduced more in the stimuli of greater eccentricity. The data suggest that there is a mechanism of adaptation in aging, in which visual attention especially favors the perception of those stimuli more difficult to detec

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