Journal article
Variable rather than extreme slow reaction times distinguish brain states during sustained attention
Scientific reports, v 11(1), pp 14883-14883
21 Jul 2021
PMID: 34290318
Featured in Collection : UN Sustainable Development Goals @ Drexel
Abstract
A common behavioral marker of optimal attention focus is faster responses or reduced response variability. Our previous study found two dominant brain states during sustained attention, and these states differed in their behavioral accuracy and reaction time (RT) variability. However, RT distributions are often positively skewed with a long tail (i.e., reflecting occasional slow responses). Therefore, a larger RT variance could also be explained by this long tail rather than the variance around an assumed normal distribution (i.e., reflecting pervasive response instability based on both faster and slower responses). Resolving this ambiguity is important for better understanding mechanisms of sustained attention. Here, using a large dataset of over 20,000 participants who performed a sustained attention task, we first demonstrated the utility of the exGuassian distribution that can decompose RTs into a strategy factor, a variance factor, and a long tail factor. We then investigated which factor(s) differed between the two brain states using fMRI. Across two independent datasets, results indicate unambiguously that the variance factor differs between the two dominant brain states. These findings indicate that 'suboptimal' is different from 'slow' at the behavior and neural level, and have implications for theoretically and methodologically guiding future sustained attention research.
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Details
- Title
- Variable rather than extreme slow reaction times distinguish brain states during sustained attention
- Creators
- Ayumu Yamashita - Boston UniversityDavid Rothlein - VA Boston Healthcare SystemAaron Kucyi - Northeastern UniversityEve M. Valera - Harvard UniversityLaura Germine - McLean HospitalJeremy Wilmer - Wellesley CollegeJoseph DeGutis - National Center for PTSDMichael Esterman - Boston University
- Publication Details
- Scientific reports, v 11(1), pp 14883-14883
- Publisher
- NATURE PORTFOLIO
- Number of pages
- 13
- Grant note
- Overseas Research Fellow in Japan Society for the Promotion of Science I01CX001653 / Department of Veterans Affairs Clinical Sciences Research and Development; US Department of Veterans Affairs
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Language
- English
- Academic Unit
- Psychological and Brain Sciences (Psychology)
- Web of Science ID
- WOS:000687318300071
- Scopus ID
- 2-s2.0-85110942681
- Other Identifier
- 991021448187704721
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- Collaboration types
- Domestic collaboration
- International collaboration
- Web of Science research areas
- Neurosciences