On the allocation of attention in space and time

论注意力的空间和时间分配

• 批准号: RGPIN-2021-02452
• 负责人: Klein, Raymond
• 金额: $ 3.42万
• 依托单位: Dalhousie University
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Discovery Grants Program - Individual
• 财政年份: 2021
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2021-01-01 至 2022-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=741987
• 关键词: allocation; attention; space; time

Attention is a pivotal cognitive function and efforts to understand its properties and operations are fundamental. Like memory, attention refers to multiple systems with related functions. In the most noteworthy attempt to integrate, functionally and neuroscientifically, the variety of psychological concepts that fall under the rubric of attention, Posner & colleagues proposed by that isolable, but connected and interacting, neural networks mediate orienting, alerting and executive control and created the Attention Network Test (ANT) for measuring the efficacy of these networks. The research we propose to conduct with funds from an NSERC Discovery Grant is designed to improve our basic knowledge about attention which provides a necessary foundation for applications to improve human welfare, mental health and safety. We have created a publicly searchable database with the results of over 800 studies that have used any version of the ANT for any purpose. By analyzing the results from groups of studies in this database about the same question, we have used, will continue to use, and are encouraging others to use this database to reveal fundamental truths about attention. We have developed and are in the process of perfecting a game-like version of the ANT (AttentionTrip). We have shown AttentionTrip to be more engaging than the ANT and we propose to generate normative attention network scores from this task which will encourage its use by researchers and clinicians. Building on the important distinction between voluntary and reflexive control, we have proposed a revised taxonomy in which attention can be allocated by these two modes of control in the domains of time (alerting), space (orienting) and task/activity (executive). We have developed the Combined Attention Systems Test (CAST) that, in children and young adults, provided robust and reliable measures of the six forms of attention implied by our revised taxonomy. We will next apply this test to older adults. We propose to continue conducting cutting edge experiments to explore how voluntary and reflexive control of attention in time and in space affect human performance with a focus on the speed and accuracy of responding. In some of these studies we will use physiological data to provide converging evidence about the neural implementation of the form of attention being explored. Several of our experimental tasks have been programmed so that they can be performed remotely by participants on their home computers. And the AttentionTrip is implemented on the i-pad as a downloadable app. So long as the COVID-pandemic makes in-person research difficult if not impossible, these developments will allow us to continue much of our research. Although this is an individual discovery grant application, "we" has been used deliberately because my RAs, students and other trainees are a team whose successes depend on intellectual collaboration, cross-training and the sharing of ideas.

注意力是一种关键的认知功能，理解其属性和操作是至关重要的。像记忆一样，注意力是指具有相关功能的多个系统。在最值得注意的尝试中，从功能上和神经科学上整合了属于注意力标题下的各种心理概念，Posner及其同事提出了这种孤立的，但连接和相互作用的神经网络介导定向，警觉和执行控制，并创建了注意力网络测试（ANT）用于测量这些网络的功效。我们建议用NSERC发现补助金的资金进行的研究旨在提高我们对注意力的基本知识，为改善人类福利，心理健康和安全的应用提供必要的基础。我们已经创建了一个可公开检索的数据库，其中包含800多项研究的结果，这些研究使用了任何版本的ANT用于任何目的。通过分析这个数据库中关于同一问题的多组研究的结果，我们已经使用了，并将继续使用，并鼓励其他人使用这个数据库来揭示关于注意力的基本真理。我们已经开发并正在完善ANT（AttentionTrip）的游戏版本。我们已经证明AttentionTrip比ANT更具吸引力，我们建议从这项任务中生成规范的注意力网络分数，这将鼓励研究人员和临床医生使用它。基于自愿和反射控制之间的重要区别，我们提出了一个修订的分类法，其中注意力可以通过这两种控制模式在时间（警觉），空间（定向）和任务/活动（执行）领域进行分配。我们开发了组合注意力系统测试（CAST），在儿童和年轻人中，提供了我们修订后的分类法所隐含的六种注意力形式的强大和可靠的测量。接下来我们将把这个测试应用到老年人身上。我们建议继续进行尖端实验，以探索在时间和空间上对注意力的自愿和反射性控制如何影响人类的表现，重点是反应的速度和准确性。在其中的一些研究中，我们将使用生理数据来提供关于正在探索的注意力形式的神经实现的汇聚证据。我们的几个实验任务已经被编程，以便他们可以远程执行的参与者在他们的家用电脑。而AttentionTrip是作为一个可下载的应用程序在i-pad上实现的。只要新冠肺炎大流行使亲自研究变得困难，如果不是不可能的话，这些发展将使我们能够继续我们的大部分研究。虽然这是一个个人的发现补助金申请，“我们”已经被故意使用，因为我的RA，学生和其他学员是一个团队，其成功取决于智力合作，交叉培训和思想共享。