Mind Wandering and Task-Focused Attention: ERP Correlates

Autor(es)

Goncalves, Oscar F. ^{[1, 2, 3, 4]} ; Rego, Gabriel ^[1] ; Conde, Tatiana ^{[1, 5]} ; Leite, Jorge ^{[2, 3, 4, 6]} ; Carvalho, Sandra ^{[2, 3, 4]} ; Lapenta, Olivia Morgan ^{[1, 7]} ; Boggio, Paulo S. ^[1]

Afiliação do(s) autor(es)

^[1] Univ Prebiteriana Mackenzie, Ctr Hlth & Biol Sci, Social & Cognit Neurosci Lab, Sao Paulo - Brazil

^[2] Univ Minho, Sch Psychol, Psychol Neurosci Lab CIPsi, Braga - Portugal

^[3] Spaulding Rehabil Hosp, Dept Phys Med & Rehabil, Spaulding Neuromodulat Ctr, Boston, MA 02129 - USA

^[4] Harvard Med Sch, Massachusetts Gen Hosp, Boston, MA 02115 - USA

^[5] Univ Lisbon, Fac Psicol, Lisbon - Portugal

^[6] Univ Portucalense, Portucalense Inst Human Dev INPP, Porto - Portugal

^[7] Western Sydney Univ, MARCS Inst Brain Behav & Dev, Penrith, NSW - Australia

• Tipo de documento: Artigo Científico
• Fonte: SCIENTIFIC REPORTS; v. 8, MAY 15 2018.
• Citações Web of Science: 5

Resumo

Previous studies looking at how Mind Wandering (MW) impacts performance in distinct Focused Attention (FA) systems, using the Attention Network Task (ANT), showed that the presence of pure MW thoughts did not impact the overall performance of ANT (alert, orienting and conflict) performance. However, it still remains unclear if the lack of interference of MW in the ANT, reported at the behavioral level, has a neurophysiological correspondence. We hypothesize that a distinct cortical processing may be required to meet attentional demands during MW. The objective of the present study was to test if, given similar levels of ANT performance, individuals predominantly focusing on MW or FA show distinct cortical processing. Thirty-three healthy participants underwent an EEG high-density acquisition while they were performing the ANT. MW was assessed following the ANT using an adapted version of the Resting State Questionnaire (ReSQ). The following ERP's were analyzed: pN1, pP1, P1, N1, pN, and P3. At the behavioral level, participants were slower and less accurate when responding to incongruent than to congruent targets (conflict effect), benefiting from the presentation of the double (alerting effect) and spatial (orienting effect) cues. Consistent with the behavioral data, ERP's waves were discriminative of distinct attentional effects. However, these results remained true irrespective of the MW condition, suggesting that MW imposed no additional cortical demand in alert, orienting, and conflict attention tasks. (AU)

• Processo FAPESP: 15/18713-9 - Efeito de neurofeedback e estimulação transcraniana por corrente contínua em espectro de frequência eletroencefalográfico durante tarefa atencional
• Beneficiário: Gabriel Gaudencio Do Rêgo
• Modalidade de apoio: Bolsas no Brasil - Doutorado