When attention wanders: Pupillometric signatures of fluctuations in external attention

Abstract

Attention is not always directed to events in the external environment. On occasion our thoughts wander to people and places distant from the here and now. Sometimes, this lack of external attention can compromise ongoing task performance. In the current study we set out to understand the extent to which states of internal and external attention can be determined using pupillometry as an index of ongoing cognition. In two experiments we found that periods of slow responding were associated with elevations in the baseline pupil signal over three and a half seconds prior to a behavioural response. In the second experiment we found that unlike behavioural lapses, states of off-task thought, particularly those associated with a focus on the past and with an intrusive quality, were associated with reductions in the size of the pupil over the same window prior to the probe. These data show that both states of large and small baseline pupil size are linked to states when attention is not effectively focused on the external environment, although these states have different qualities. More generally, these findings illustrate that subjective and objective markers of task performance may not be equivalent and underscore the importance of developing objective indicators that can allow these different states to be understood.

Patterns of thought: Population variation in the associations between large-scale network organisation and self-reported experiences at rest

“…Component Four places experiences with visual features ("images") in opposition to 514 experiences with verbal features ("monologue"), capturing dissociations between visual and 515 verbal thinking observed in our prior studies (Konishi et al, 2017;Medea et al, 2016;516 Smallwood et al, 2016). The accompanying neural pattern were associated with higher 517 connectivity between the visual network with other networks, in particular the limbic system.…”

Explore or reset? Pupil diameter transiently increases in self-chosen switches between cognitive labor and leisure in either direction

“…In line with this idea, some studies found increased pupil baselines during mind-wandering (Franklin, Broadway, Mrazek, Smallwood, & Schooler, 2013), while others found lower baselines (e.g., Grandchamp, Braboszcz, & Delorme, 2014;Konishi, Brown, Battaglini, & Smallwood, 2017;Mittner et al, 2014;. Network reset theory, by contrast, predicts rapid adaptations around task switches.…”

Missing the forest because of the trees: Slower alternations during binocular rivalry are associated with lower levels of visual detail during ongoing thought

“…(for examples see Konishi et al, 2017;Smallwood et al, 2016). This produced four components: (1) 'Detail', reflecting patterns of detailed visual task related experience, (2) 'Off-task thought', dissociating on task thought from episodic self-relevant thought, (3) 'Modality', distinguishing thoughts related to images or words and (4) 'Emotion' describing the affective tone of experiences.…”