Warning signals only support the first action in a sequence

Dietze, Niklas; Recker, Lukas; Poth, Christian H.

doi:10.1186/s41235-023-00484-z

Cited by 5 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 92 publications

(131 reference statements)

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“…We found that the mean pupil size was larger with a preceding visual alerting cue, t(209) = − 7.071, p < .001, d z = − 0.488, BF 10 = 3.2 × 10 8 , and an auditory alerting cue, t(209) = − 8.706, p < .001, d z = − 0.601, BF 10 = 5.9 × 10 12 , compared with the no cue condition (cf. Dietze et al, 2023;Petersen et al, 2017). On average pupil responses from baseline for the interval from 1500 ms to 1600 ms relative to cue onset were 0.053 mm (SD = 0.123 mm) following the visual alerting cue and 0.052 mm (SD = 0.115 mm) following the auditory alerting cue.…”

Section: Pupillary Resultsmentioning

confidence: 94%

Vision rivals audition in alerting humans for fast action

Dietze

Poth

2023

Preprint

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Successful behaviour requires that humans act promptly upon the ubiquitous rapid changes in the environment. Prompt actions are supported by phasic alertness: the increased readiness for perception and action elicited by warning stimuli (alerting cues). Audition is assumed to induce phasic alertness for action faster and more strongly than other senses. Here, we show that vision can be equally effective as audition. We investigated the temporal evolution and the effectiveness of visual and auditory alerting for action in a speeded choice task, while controlling for basic sensitivity differences between the modalities that are unrelated to action control (by matching auditory and visual stimuli according to reaction times in a prior simple detection task). Results revealed that alerting sped up responses, but this happened equally fast and equally strong for visual and auditory alerting cues. Thus, these findings argue that vision rivals audition in phasic alerting for prompt actions, and suggest that the underlying mechanisms work across both modalities.

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Section: Pupillary Resultsmentioning

confidence: 94%

Vision rivals audition in alerting humans for fast action

Dietze

Poth

2023

Preprint

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“…Considering the overall low number of guiding fixations could hinder this absolute stability translating to the interindividual level. Because the range of the measure is restricted, the results cannot reliably differentiate between persons ( Dietze, Recker, & Poth, 2023 ; Hedge et al., 2018 ).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Test–retest reliability of eye tracking measures in a computerized Trail Making Test

Recker,

Poth

2023

Journal of Vision

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The Trail Making Test (TMT) is a frequently applied neuropsychological test that evaluates participants’ executive functions based on their time to connect a sequence of numbers (TMT-A) or alternating numbers and letters (TMT-B). Test performance is associated with various cognitive functions ranging from visuomotor speed to working memory capabilities. However, although the test can screen for impaired executive functioning in a variety of neuropsychiatric disorders, it provides only little information about which specific cognitive impairments underlie performance detriments. To resolve this lack of specificity, recent cognitive research combined the TMT with eye tracking so that eye movements could help uncover reasons for performance impairments. However, using eye-tracking-based test scores to examine differences between persons, and ultimately apply the scores for diagnostics, presupposes that the reliability of the scores is established. Therefore, we investigated the test–retest reliabilities of scores in an eye-tracking version of the TMT recently introduced by Recker et al. (2022). We examined two healthy samples performing an initial test and then a retest 3 days ( n = 31) or 10 to 30 days ( n = 34) later. Results reveal that, although reliabilities of classic completion times were overall good, comparable with earlier versions, reliabilities of eye-tracking-based scores ranged from excellent (e.g., durations of fixations) to poor (e.g., number of fixations guiding manual responses). These findings indicate that some eye-tracking measures offer a strong basis for assessing interindividual differences beyond classic behavioral measures when examining processes related to information accumulation processes but are less suitable to diagnose differences in eye–hand coordination.

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“…Warning cues facilitate sensorimotor processing (Dietze et al, 2023) and induce cardiac deceleration (Skora et al, 2022). However, the role of the increase in IBI for sensorimotor processing is not completely understood.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The heartbeat-evoked potential in young and older adults during attention orienting

Aprile,

Simões,

Henriques

et al. 2024

Preprint

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Periods of slow heart rate are associated with increased sensory sensitivity. Accordingly, cardiac deceleration occurs when individuals orient their attention in anticipation of a sensory stimulus they might have to respond to (attentive anticipation). Cardiac deceleration might be important to optimize sensory processing. However, it is unclear which mechanism connects heart rate with the neuronal processing of external stimuli.In this study, we investigated if cardiac deceleration evoked by attentive anticipation as well as ongoing fluctuations in heart rate were associated with changes in the heartbeat-evoked potential (HEP), a cortical response evoked by the heartbeat which amplitude modulations are associated with sensory sensitivity. We studied these phenomena in young and older people [N = 33 (26 women) and 29 (23 women); mean age 23 and 61 years], using a previously described dataset including electroencephalograms (EEG), electrocardiograms (ECG), and pupilograms which were acquired during an auditory cued simple reaction time task, an auditory cued go/no-go task, and a passive task condition.While the period of attentive anticipation between the cue and the target characterized by cardiac deceleration was not related with significant changes in the HEP, ongoing heart rate fluctuations affected HEP amplitude. Interestingly, the effect of heart rate on the HEP increased with task difficulty and was associated with the amplitude of task-related pupil responses suggesting a link with mental effort.Thus, the impact of ongoing heart rate fluctuations on the HEP depends on cognitive state and this effect might link heart rate with the neural processing of external stimuli.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENTThese findings suggest that arousal level and mental effort modulate the input-output function that links heart rate to the strength of the cortical responses to the heartbeat. As such, the modulation of the heartbeat-evoked potential by heart rate emerges as a marker of cortical gain that is relatively easy to measure non-invasively in humans. Further studies should explore if this effect of mental effort extends to other sensory modalities, for example, the visual cortex neuronal gain. Moreover, this study suggests that the effect of heart rate on the neuronal processing of external stimuli is stronger during periods of high mental effort, raising a new hypothesis which exploration will further elucidate the connection between the heart and cognitive processing.

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Warning signals only support the first action in a sequence

Cited by 5 publications

References 92 publications

Vision rivals audition in alerting humans for fast action

Vision rivals audition in alerting humans for fast action

Test–retest reliability of eye tracking measures in a computerized Trail Making Test

The heartbeat-evoked potential in young and older adults during attention orienting

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