Age-Related Changes and the Attention Network Task: An Examination of Alerting, Orienting, and Executive Function

Jennings, Janine M.; Dagenbach, Dale; Engle, Christine M.; Funke, Laura J.

doi:10.1080/13825580600788837

Cited by 144 publications

(157 citation statements)

References 44 publications

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“…Such studies, commonly report preserved orienting and executive control, but an age-related reduction in alerting (Gamboz, Zamarian, Cavallero, 2010;Jennings et al, 2007;Williams et al, 2016). Here, we similarly report age-preserved orienting and executive control when using IE as our dependent measure, but not a decline in alerting.…”

Section: Attention Network Effectssupporting

confidence: 57%

Age differences in gain- and loss-motivated attention

Williams

Biel

Dyson

et al. 2017

Brain and Cognition

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Adaptive gain theory suggests that the phasic release of norepinephrine (NE) to cortical areas reflects changes in the utility of ongoing tasks. In the context of aging, this theory raises interesting questions, given that the motivations of older adults differ from those of younger adults. According to socioemotional selectivity theory (Carstensen, Isaacowitz, & Charles, 1999), aging is associated with greater emphasis on emotion-regulation goals, leading older adults to prioritize positive over negative information.This suggests that the phasic release of NE in response to threatening stimuli may be diminished in older adults. In the present study, younger adults (aged 18-34 years) and older adults (60-82 years) completed the Attention Network Test (ANT), modified to include an incentive manipulation. A behavioral index of attentional alerting served as a marker of phasic arousal. For younger adults, this marker correlated with the effect of both gain and loss incentives on performance. For older adults, in contrast, the correlation between phasic arousal and incentive sensitivity held for gain incentives only. These findings suggest that the enlistment of phasic NE activity may be specific to approach-oriented motivation in older adults.

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Section: Attention Network Effectssupporting

confidence: 57%

Age differences in gain- and loss-motivated attention

Williams

Biel

Dyson

et al. 2017

Brain and Cognition

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“…Accordingly, an increase in the P300 latency may reflect difficulties related to both visual target detection and response inhibition [52]. As recently suggested, the successful performance of this selective attention task depends not only on the alerting and orienting networks but also on the facilitating effect of the orienting cues when conflict resolution is required [53,54]. In this perspective, one could postulate that MCI participants with single dysexecutive deficits need more time for the activation of cortical circuits that subserve conflict resolution compared to other MCI subgroups [26,55].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Attention-Related Potentials Allow for a Highly Accurate Discrimination of Mild Cognitive Impairment Subtypes

Missonnier

Herrmann²,

Richiardi³

et al. 2012

Neurodegener Dis

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The three most frequent forms of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) are single-domain amnestic MCI (sd-aMCI), single-domain dysexecutive MCI (sd-dMCI) and multiple-domain amnestic MCI (md-aMCI). Brain imaging differences among single domain subgroups of MCI were recently reported supporting the idea that electroencephalography (EEG) functional hallmarks can be used to differentiate these subgroups. We performed event-related potential (ERP) measures and independent component analysis in 18 sd-aMCI, 13 sd-dMCI and 35 md-aMCI cases during the successful performance of the Attentional Network Test. Sensitivity and specificity analyses of ERP for the discrimination of MCI subgroups were also made. In center-cue and spatial-cue warning stimuli, contingent negative variation (CNV) was elicited in all MCI subgroups. Two independent components (ICA1 and 2) were superimposed in the time range on the CNV. The ICA2 was strongly reduced in sd-dMCI compared to sd-aMCI and md-aMCI (4.3 vs. 7.5% and 10.9% of the CNV component). The parietal P300 ERP latency increased significantly in sd-dMCI compared to md-aMCI and sd-aMCI for both congruent and incongruent conditions. This latency for incongruent targets allowed for a highly accurate separation of sd-dMCI from both sd-aMCI and md-aMCI with correct classification rates of 90 and 81%, respectively. This EEG parameter alone performed much better than neuropsychological testing in distinguishing sd-dMCI from md-aMCI. Our data reveal qualitative changes in the composition of the neural generators of CNV in sd-dMCI. In addition, they document an increased latency of the executive P300 component that may represent a highly accurate hallmark for the discrimination of this MCI subgroup in routine clinical settings.

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“…Since it was developed, the ANT has been utilized in many studies in order to characterize attention function with a wide variety of populations (e.g. Fan, Wu, Fossella, & Posner, 2001;Jennings, Dagenbach, Engle, & Funke, 2007;Posner et al, 2002;Rueda, Fan et al, 2004). The ANT has also been adapted to children as young as 4 years of age and some cross-sectional studies have been conducted in order to study the development of attention networks during childhood (Mezzacappa, 2004;Rueda, Fan et al, 2004;Rueda, Posner et al, 2004).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Electrophysiological correlates of attention networks in childhood and early adulthood

et al. 2014

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a b s t r a c tAttention has been related to functions of alerting, orienting, and executive control, which are associated with distinct brain networks. This study aimed at understanding the neural mechanisms underlying the development of attention functions during childhood. A total of 46 healthy 4-13-year-old children and 15 adults performed an adapted version of the Attention Network Task (ANT) while brain activation was registered with a high-density EEG system. Performance of the ANT revealed changes in the efficiency of attention networks across ages. While no differences were observed on the alerting score, both orienting and executive attention scores showed a more protracted developmental curve. Further, age-related differences in brain activity were mostly observed in early ERP components. Young children had poorer early processing of warning cues compared to 10-13-year-olds and adults, as shown by an immature auditory-evoked potential complex elicited by warning tones. Also, 4-6-year-olds exhibited a poorer processing of orienting cues as indexed by lack of modulation of the N1. Finally, flanker congruency produced earlier modulation of ERPs amplitude with age. Flanker congruency effects were delayed and more anteriorly distributed for young children, compared to adults who showed a clear modulation of the N2 in fronto-parietal channels. Additionally, interactions among attention networks were examined. Both alerting and orienting conditions modulated the effectiveness of conflict processing by the executive attention network. The Orienting Â Executive networks interactions was only observed after about age 7. Results are informative of the neural correlates of the development of attention networks in childhood.

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Age-Related Changes and the Attention Network Task: An Examination of Alerting, Orienting, and Executive Function

Cited by 144 publications

References 44 publications

Age differences in gain- and loss-motivated attention

Age differences in gain- and loss-motivated attention

Attention-Related Potentials Allow for a Highly Accurate Discrimination of Mild Cognitive Impairment Subtypes

Electrophysiological correlates of attention networks in childhood and early adulthood

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