Event-related potentials associated with attentional networks evidence changes in executive and arousal vigilance.

Attention is regulated by three independent but interacting networks, that is, alerting, comprising phasic alertness and vigilance, orienting, and executive control. Previous studies analyzing event-related potentials (ERPs) associated with attentional networks have focused on phasic alertness, orienting, and executive control, without an independent measure of vigilance. ERPs associated with vigilance have been instead measured in separate studies and via different tasks. The present study aimed to differentiate ERPs associated with attentional networks by simultaneously measuring vigilance along with phasic alertness, orienting, and executive control. Forty participants (34 women, age: M = 25.96; SD = 4.96) completed two sessions wherein the electroencephalogram was recorded while they completed the Attentional Networks Test for Interactions and Vigilance-executive and arousal components, a task that measures phasic alertness, orienting, and executive control along with executive (i.e., detection of infrequent critical signals) and arousal (i.e., sustaining a fast reaction to environmental stimuli) vigilance. ERPs previously associated with attentional networks were replicated here: (a) N1, P2, and contingent negative variation for phasic alertness; (b) P1, N1, and P3 for orienting; and (c) N2 and slow positivity for executive control. Importantly, different ERPs were associated with vigilance: while the executive vigilance decrement was associated with an increase in P3 and slow positivity across time-on-task, arousal vigilance loss was associated with reduced N1 and P2 amplitude. The present study shows that attentional networks can be described by different ERPs simultaneously observed in a single session, including independent measures of executive and arousal vigilance on its assessment.

Executive and arousal vigilance decrement in the context of the attentional networks: The ANTI-Vea task.

BACKGROUND: Vigilance is generally understood as the ability to detect infrequent critical events through long time periods. In tasks like the Sustained Attention to Response Task (SART), participants tend to detect fewer events across time, a phenomenon known as "vigilance decrement". However, vigilance might also involve sustaining a tonic arousal level. In the Psychomotor Vigilance Test (PVT), the vigilance decrement corresponds to an increment across time in both mean and variability of reaction time. NEW METHOD: The present study aimed to develop a single task -Attentional Networks Test for Interactions and Vigilance - executive and arousal components (ANTI-Vea)- to simultaneously assess both components of vigilance (i.e., the executive vigilance as in the SART, and the arousal vigilance as in the PVT), while measuring the classic attentional functions (phasic alertness, orienting, and executive control). RESULTS: In Experiment #1, the executive vigilance decrement was found as an increment in response bias. In Experiment #2, this result was replicated, and the arousal vigilance decrement was simultaneously observed as an increment in reaction time. COMPARISON WITH EXISTING METHOD: The ANTI-Vea solves some issues observed in the previous ANTI-V task with the executive vigilance measure (e.g., a low hit rate and no vigilance decrement). Furthermore, the new ANTI-Vea task assesses both components of vigilance together with others typical attentional functions. CONCLUSIONS: The new attentional networks test developed here may be useful to provide a better understanding of the human attentional system. The role of sensitivity and response bias in the executive vigilance decrement are discussed.

¿existen diferencias entre sexos en las redes atencionales? una revisión sistemática sobre el alerta fásica, vigilancia, orientación y control ejecutivo / Are there sex differences in attentional networks? a systematic review of the phasic alerting, vigilance, orienting and executive control

Resumen Las diferencias entre sexos suelen ser un aspecto crucial a ser tenido en cuenta en ciertos desarrollos en neurociencias cognitivas. En el estudio de las redes neuronales de la atención (alerta fásica, vigilancia, orientación, control atencional), aún no se observa un consenso establecido y esclarecedor sobre las diferencias existentes entre mujeres y hombres. Este trabajo presenta una revisión de las diferencias entre sexos encontradas en las investigaciones de las redes atencionales. Se pretende aportar una discusión que sirva como guía para considerar el sexo como variable de interés en futuros estudios en ciencias cognitivas.

Abstract Sex differences are often a crucial topic to be taken into account in certain developments in cognitive neuroscience. In the study of attention neural networks (phasic alerting, vigilance, orienting, executive control), there is not yet a consensus established and enlightening about the differences between men and women. This paper presents a review of sex differences found in investigations of attentional networks. We plan to bring a discussion to serve as a guide to regard sex as a variable of interest in future studies in cognitive neuroscience.

Una tarea conductual para medir Solución de Problemas Emocionales basada en el Control Ejecutivo Semántico / A behavioral task to measure Emotional Solving Problems based on Semantic Executive Control

En este trabajo se presenta una tarea conductual basada en la diseñada por Thompson-Schill, Badre y Wagner para medir la recuperación esforzada de contenidos semánticos y la selección semántica (Badre & Wagner, 2007). En su origen fue utilizada para debatir sobre la red de Control Ejecutivo Semántico (CES), se presentaba una palabra clave y luego tres palabras- opciones. Las personas debían escoger cuál tenía el significado más cercano a la palabra clave, entre las opciones había una palabra correcta y dos opciones incorrectas. Se manipulaba la Distancia Semántica (cercana o lejana) y la presentación o no de un criterio de elección (recuperación esforzada versus selección). Nuestra investigación le agregó a esta tarea una nueva manipulación de tipo afectiva. Siguiendo un diccionario semántico de palabras y las dimensiones afectivas (valencia, arousal, control) se creó la tarea de CES- Emocional (CES-E). La cantidad de eventos congruentes, incongruentes y neutros fue equivalente, por lo que la valencia afectiva no servía de criterio para escoger por el significado más cercano. Participaron del estudio 104 sujetos sanos (74 mujeres), de la ciudad de Córdoba, Argentina (N = 32) y de la ciudad de Granada, España (N = 72), de edades entre 19 y 35 años (M= 24.6, DS= 4.7). Se cumplió el objetivo de asentar las manipulaciones (se halló que las condición más difícil fue la valencia neutra distancia lejana, eta2= .530, p< .001), construir índices de aprovechamiento de las manipulaciones (congruencia, Distancia Semántica cercana) y relacionar la tarea con los mecanismos establecidos de regulación emocional. Dentro de los propuestos por la literatura, se consideró que esta tarea tiene rasgos de solución de problemas emocionales que se discuten en el artículo, con algunos componentes de supresión (eta2= .864, p<.01) (AU)

The present research introduces a novel behavioral task based on the designed by Thompson-Schill, Badre and Wagner to measure semantic effortful retrieval and post-retrieval selection (Badre & Wagner, 2007). In the previous works, this task was used to study the Semantic Executive Control (SEC) network. In the task it was presented a cue word with three options, and participants should choose which of the three options had the closer meaning to the cue word. The options were formed by a correct word and two incorrect options. The semantic distance between the cue word and the options was manipulated (low or high distance) with the presentation or not of a choose criterion (effortful retrieval or post-retrieval selection respectively). The present research added to this task a novel affective manipulation. Using a semantic dictionary and affective dimensions of words (valence, arousal, and control), this new SEC - Emotional (SEC-E) task was developed. The number of congruent, non- congruent and neutral events was equivalent, controlling that affective valence was not the criterion to choose the closer meaning word. 104 healthy subjects (74 female) participated in the study, from Córdoba city, Argentina (N = 32) and Granada city, Spain (N = 72), and participants aged between 19 and 35 (M= 24.6, DS= 4.7). The semantic manipulations were confirmed (the most difficult condition was formed by neutral valence and high semantic distance, eta2= .530, p< .001). Different indexes were constructed to compare different manipulations (affective congruence and low semantic distance) and to make relations with established emotional regulation mechanisms. Taking account those proposed by literature, it was considered that this novel task has characteristics of emotional solving problems that are argued in the article, with some components of suppression (eta2= .864, p<.01) (AU)