Attention in Dynamic and Individualized Contexts

动态和个性化环境中的注意力

• 批准号: RGPIN-2020-07031
• 负责人: Handy, Todd
• 金额: $ 2.91万
• 依托单位: University of British Columbia
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Discovery Grants Program - Individual
• 财政年份: 2020
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2020-01-01 至 2021-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=718656
• 关键词: Attention; Dynamic; Individualized; Contexts

From finding an apple in the fridge to noticing a traffic signal change to red, how we pay attention to the world around us is vital to everyday life. Studied from a cognitive neuroscience perspective, research on attention has long focused on describing the basic systems we have in our brains for selecting and prioritizing what sensory information to channel to our higher-level, capacity-limited processing resources in cortex. Towards advancing our understanding in this regard, the goal of my proposal is to explore how our attentional engagement with the external world naturally ebbs and flows over time, and what factors contribute to individual variability in these attentional dynamics. My proposal has three complimentary objectives. The first concerns mind wandering, or how our thoughts often drift away from our on-going task at hand. We now know that when we mind wander, our attention to the outside world dramatically falls off. A new set of studies more carefully characterizes these ebbs and flows in our attentional states, and examines whether they extend to other periods of inward-directed thought, such as when recalling a memory or reasoning through a problem. The second objective concerns how attention is impacted by physical activity. While we know that single bouts of exercise and long-term exercise habits can boost cognition, we have just found that attentional function also positively varies with one's weekly levels of physical activity. A second set of studies builds on this by examining how individual variability in everyday physical activity levels impacts both attention and brain function. Finally, the third objective concerns understanding individual variability in attentional sensitivities or visual "triggers". In particular, we have recently confirmed that more than 30% of UBC students report having aversive responses to seeing the fidgeting behaviors of others. A final set of studies examines this phenomenon more closely by combining subjective attentional reports with objective, behavior- and brain-based measures of attentional function. Importantly, my proposal doesn't just address open issues in basic research, but it has the potential to benefit all Canadians through its clinical and public health implications. What we learn about mind wandering can help to better understand mental health challenges such as depression and attention deficit hyperactivity disorders. What we learn about physical activity and its impacts on attention can help nudge people towards more health-positive lifestyle choices. And in studying attentional sensitivities, we are validating an unrecognized problem many have heretofore been silently enduring. But taken together, the research doesn't just promise to help advance basic neurocognitive science and fuel its clinical/health applications, but the scope of the projects themselves represent an outstanding opportunity for training the next generation of Canadian cognitive neuroscientists.

从在冰箱里找到一个苹果到注意到交通信号灯变红，我们如何关注周围的世界对日常生活至关重要。从认知神经科学的角度来看，关于注意力的研究长期以来一直专注于描述我们大脑中的基本系统，这些系统用于选择和优先考虑将哪些感官信息传递到我们大脑皮层中更高级别的、容量有限的处理资源。为了推进我们在这方面的理解，我的建议的目标是探索我们与外部世界的注意力参与如何随着时间的推移自然地起伏，以及哪些因素导致了这些注意力动态的个体差异。 我的建议有三个相辅相成的目标。第一个是关于走神，或者说我们的思想如何经常偏离我们手头正在进行的任务。我们现在知道，当我们走神时，我们对外部世界的注意力会戏剧性地下降福尔斯。一组新的研究更仔细地描述了我们注意力状态的这些起伏，并检查它们是否延伸到其他内向思维的时期，例如回忆记忆或推理问题时。第二个目标是关注身体活动如何影响注意力。虽然我们知道单次锻炼和长期锻炼习惯可以提高认知能力，但我们刚刚发现，注意力功能也会随着一个人每周的身体活动水平而积极变化。第二组研究建立在这一基础上，研究日常身体活动水平的个体差异如何影响注意力和大脑功能。最后，第三个目标涉及理解注意力敏感性或视觉“触发器”的个体差异。特别是，我们最近证实，超过30%的UBC学生报告说，看到别人坐立不安的行为时会有厌恶的反应。最后一组研究通过将主观注意力报告与客观的、基于行为和大脑的注意力功能测量相结合，更密切地研究了这一现象。 重要的是，我的建议不仅解决了基础研究中的开放问题，而且有可能通过其临床和公共卫生影响使所有加拿大人受益。我们对走神的了解可以帮助我们更好地理解抑郁症和注意力缺陷多动障碍等心理健康挑战。我们对身体活动及其对注意力的影响的了解可以帮助推动人们选择更健康的生活方式。在研究注意力敏感性的过程中，我们正在验证一个许多人迄今为止一直默默忍受的未被认识的问题。但总的来说，这项研究不仅有望帮助推进基础神经认知科学并推动其临床/健康应用，而且项目本身的范围也为培养下一代加拿大认知神经科学家提供了绝佳的机会。