A locus coeruleus-norepinephrine account of individual differences in working memory capacity and attention control

Unsworth, Nash; Robison, Matthew K.

doi:10.3758/s13423-016-1220-5

Cited by 171 publications

(259 citation statements)

References 235 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

228

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…People who experienced more fluctuations in arousal performed worse on the task, and people who allocated more attention toward maintaining the items during the delay intervals performed better on the task. These findings are in line with prior theorizing about individual differences in the functioning of the LC-NE system in the service of attention and WM (Unsworth & Robison, 2017a, 2017b. We have argued that stability and consistency of delivery of NE to the frontal cortices by the LC is an important underlying factor in why people vary in their ability to control their attention and effectively utilize their limited WM system.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 89%

“…Indeed, we have argued that variation in the consistent functioning of the LC-NE system underlies individual differences in WM capacity and attention control abilities (Unsworth & Robison, 2017a), and we have demonstrated that variation in pretrial and task-evoked pupil diameter during attention control tasks correlates with individual differences in WM capacity, attention control abilities, and the tendency to mind-wander during such tasks (Unsworth & Robison, 2017b). Therefore, both pretrial pupil diameter and task-evoked pupil diameter may potentially measure fluctuations in performance in a WM task.…”

Section: Fluctuations In Working Memorymentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Pupillometry tracks fluctuations in working memory performance

Robison¹,

Unsworth²

2018

Preprint

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

In 3 experiments, we examined fluctuations in working memory (WM) performance and associated changes in pretrial and task-evoked pupil diameter. Additionally, we examined whether behavioral lapses were accompanied by self-reports of off-task attentional states. The results demonstrated that task-evoked pupillary responses can be used to measure moment-to-moment fluctuations in the success of WM maintenance during delay intervals. Further, when individuals reported being in an off-task attentional state, their WM performance suffered. Additionally, when probed directly after a particularly poor trial, participants reported being in an off-task attentional state more often than at random intervals throughout the task. So behavioral, subjective, and physiological data converged when people experienced WM failures. Although pretrial pupil diameter did not consistently differentiate between successful and unsuccessful trials, variability in pretrial pupil diameter accounted for a significant portion of variance in WM task performance. This effect persisted after controlling for mean task-evoked pupillary response and variability in task-evoked pupillary responses. Thus, one of the major reasons people varied in the consistency with which they utilized their WM system was variability in arousal. Such variability in arousal is potentially due to variation in the functioning of the LC-NE neuromodulatory system, and thus may underlie individual differences in WM capacity and attention control.

show abstract

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 89%

Section: Fluctuations In Working Memorymentioning

confidence: 99%

Pupillometry tracks fluctuations in working memory performance

Robison¹,

Unsworth²

2018

Preprint

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The locus coeruleus serves as the brain's hub region for integrating signals about arousal (Mather, in press-b) and is believed to play a key role in modulating how focused attentional processes are on motivationally-relevant stimuli Mather et al, 2016;Nieuwenhuis, Gilzenrat, Holmes, & Cohen, 2005;Unsworth & Robison, 2017;Waterhouse & Navarra, 2019). Theoretical models propose that attentional selectivity for salient or high priority stimuli is particularly robust under conditions of increased phasic LC activity (e.g., Mather et al, 2016), which primarily emerge when tonic levels of LC activity are reduced .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Isometric exercise facilitates attention to salient events in women via the noradrenergic system

Mather

Huang

Clewett

et al. 2019

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The locus coeruleus (LC) plays a critical role in regulating attention via the release of norepinephrine (NE), with levels of tonic LC activity constraining the intensity of phasic LC responses. However, the effects of manipulating tonic LC-NE activity on phasic activity have yet to be demonstrated in humans. In the current fMRI study, we used isometric handgrip to modulate tonic LC-NE activity in the time period immediately afterwards. During this posthandgrip time, an oddball detection task was used to probe how changes in tonic arousal influenced functional coordination between the LC and a right frontoparietal network that supports attentional selectivity. As expected, the frontoparietal network responded more to infrequent target and novel sounds than to frequent sounds. Across participants, greater LCfrontoparietal functional connectivity, pupil dilation, and faster oddball detection were all positively associated with LC MRI contrast from a neuromelanin-sensitive structural scan. Thus, LC structural integrity was related to LC functional dynamics and attentional performance during the oddball task. We also found that handgrip led to larger phasic pupil responses to oddball sounds, faster oddball detection speed, and greater frontoparietal network activation, suggesting that something that induces strong LC activity benefits attentional performance for at least the next few minutes. In addition, older women showed a similar benefit of handgrip on frontoparietal network activation as younger women, despite showing lower frontoparietal network activation overall. Together these findings suggest that a simple exercise may improve selective attention in healthy aging, at least for several minutes afterwards. Highlights• We examined how handgrip affects arousal-attention dynamics during an oddball task • Salient stimuli enhanced pupil dilation and were detected faster post-handgrip • A decrease in tonic pupil size after handgrip suggests norepinephrine depletion • MRI-assessed LC integrity was related to oddball detection and pupil dilation • LC integrity also associated with LC-frontoparietal network functional connectivity

show abstract

“…Baseline PD in typically developed adults was positively correlated with fluid intelligence and attentional control (Tsukahara et al ., ). This interrelation was explained by enhanced functional network connectivity via increased tonic LC–NE activity (Hermans et al ., ; Unsworth & Robison, ). Individual set points represented an intrinsic or net alertness that was reflected by baseline PD (Sturm & Willmes, ).…”

Section: Lc–ne Moderating Attentional Function and Pupil Dilationmentioning

confidence: 99%

The locus coeruleus–norepinephrine system as pacemaker of attention – a developmental mechanism of derailed attentional function in autism spectrum disorder

Bast

Poustka

Freitag

2018

Eur J of Neuroscience

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) exhibit diminished visual engagement to environmental stimuli. Aberrant attentional function provides an explanation by reduced phasic alerting and orienting to exogenous stimuli. We review aberrant attentional function (alerting, orienting and attentional control) in children with ASD as studied by neurocognitive and neurophysiological tasks as well as magnetic resonance imaging studies. The locus coeruleus-norepinephrine (LC-NE) system is outlined as a pacemaker of attentional function. The LC-NE system regulates adaptive gain in synaptic signal transmission, which moderates phasic alerting ('promoting') and the activation of the ventral frontoparietal attention network within orienting ('permitting'). In children with ASD, atypical LC-NE activity is proposed as underlying mechanism of aberrant attentional function. It may manifest as (i) increased tonic activity with reduced phasic reactivity to exogenous stimuli, (ii) attenuated bottom-up signalling mitigating salience and predictive reward attribution during phasic alerting, and (iii) reduced activation of the ventral frontoparietal attention system attenuating orienting to exogenous stimuli. Increased tonic pupil dilation and aberrant pupil reactivity are discussed as indicators of atypical LC-NE activity. Pupillometry is outlined as feasible method to assess alerting, orienting and attentional control that can be dissected from the pupil dilation time course. In children with ASD, aberrant attentional function through atypical LC-NE activity is proposed as developmental mechanism leading to reduced social attention as well as social interaction and communication impairments.

show abstract

A locus coeruleus-norepinephrine account of individual differences in working memory capacity and attention control

Cited by 171 publications

References 235 publications

Pupillometry tracks fluctuations in working memory performance

Pupillometry tracks fluctuations in working memory performance

Isometric exercise facilitates attention to salient events in women via the noradrenergic system

The locus coeruleus–norepinephrine system as pacemaker of attention – a developmental mechanism of derailed attentional function in autism spectrum disorder

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About