Name: central and divided visual field presentation of emotional images to measure hemispheric differences in motivated attention
Uploaded: 2017-11-16T12:30:00
Description: Watch this Scientific Journal Video about Central and Divided Visual Field Presentation of Emotional Images to Measure Hemispheric Differences in Motivated Attention at JoVE.com

All methods described here have been approved by the Internal Review Board for human subject research at the University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS.
1. Selecting Participants
<ol>
	<li>Use right-handed participants for DVF research. In rare cases (10%), left-handed individuals are lateralized for language processing in the right hemisphere, which would result in scalp-recorded ERP components with non-typical topographical distributions.</li>
	<li>Have participants complete the Edinburgh Handedne...

<ol>
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J. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=The+divided+visual+field+paradigm:+methodological+considerations.">The divided visual field paradigm: methodological considerations.</a> Laterality. 11 (4), 373-393 (2006).</li><li>Vigneau, M. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Meta-analyzing+left+hemisphere+language+areas:+phonology,+semantics,+and+sentence+processing.">Meta-analyzing left hemisphere language areas: phonology, semantics, and sentence processing.</a> NeuroImage. 30, 1414-1432 (2006).</li><li>O'Hare, A. J., Atchley, R. A., Young, K. 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F. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=A+brief+introduction+to+the+use+of+event-related+potentials+(ERPs)+in+studies+of+perception+and+attention.">A brief introduction to the use of event-related potentials (ERPs) in studies of perception and attention.</a> Atten Percept Psychophys. 72 (8), 2031-2046 (2010).</li><li>Carpenter, R. H. S. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=.">.</a> Movements of the eyes. , (1988).</li><li>Young, K. M., Atchley, R. A., Atchley, P. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Offset+masking+in+a+divided+visual+field+study.">Offset masking in a divided visual field study.</a> Laterality. 14 (5), 473-494 (2009).</li><li>Compumedics Neuroscan. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=.">.</a> CURRY 7 [computer software]. , (2008).</li><li>Luck, S. J. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Artifact+rejection+and+correction.">Artifact rejection and correction.</a> An Introduction to the Event-Related Potential Technique. , 185-218 (2014).</li><li>Luck, S. J. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Baseline+correction,+averaging,+and+time-frequency+analysis.">Baseline correction, averaging, and time-frequency analysis.</a> An Introduction to the Event-Related Potential Technique. , 249-282 (2014).</li><li>Kappenman, E. S., Luck, S. J., Luck, S. J., Kappenman, E. S. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=ERP+components:+the+ups+and+downs+of+brainwave+recordings.">ERP components: the ups and downs of brainwave recordings.</a> The Oxford Handbook of Event-Related Potential Components. , 3-30 (2012).</li><li>Hajcak, G., Weinberg, A., MacNamara, A., Foti, D., Luck, S. J., Kappenman, E. S. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=ERPs+and+the+study+of+emotion.">ERPs and the study of emotion.</a> The Oxford Handbook of Event-Related Potential Components. , 441-474 (2012).</li><li>Hugdahl, K. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Lateralization+of+cognitive+processes+in+the+brain.">Lateralization of cognitive processes in the brain.</a> Acta Psychol. 105 (2-3), 211-235 (2000).</li><li>Kayser, J. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Neuronal+generator+patterns+at+scalp+elicited+by+lateralized+aversive+pictures+reveal+consecutive+stages+of+motivated+attention.">Neuronal generator patterns at scalp elicited by lateralized aversive pictures reveal consecutive stages of motivated attention.</a> NeuroImage. 142 (15), 337-350 (2016).</li><li>Kayser, J. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Event-Related+Potential+(ERP)+asymmetries+to+emotional+stimuli+in+a+visual+half-field+paradigm.">Event-Related Potential (ERP) asymmetries to emotional stimuli in a visual half-field paradigm.</a> Psychophysiology. 34, 414-426 (1997).</li><li>Smith, E. 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In this study, manipulations of stimulus valence and arousal were used with the DVF paradigm to test theories of lateralized processing of emotion as they apply to the motivated attention network. However, DVF methodologies can be used to explore any lateralized processing of visual information. What is critical when using DVF paradigms is the control of the stimuli presentation to ensure that the information is isolated to one hemisphere for initial processing. There are several key steps to the DVF paradigm that contri...

Several theories on lateralized processing have been posited for the two cerebral hemispheres. Among these include theories of emotional processing. The valence model1 proposes that the left hemisphere is specialized for pleasant emotions, while the right hemisphere is specialized for unpleasant emotions. The right hemisphere dominance hypothesis2 proposes that the right hemisphere is specialized for processing all emotional information compared to the left hemisphere. Finally, the Circumplex Theory3 proposes that in addition to frontal asymmetries for valence, the posterior regions of the right hemisphere are specialized for processing all high-arousing emotions. In order to test these lateralized theories of processing, methodologies that can differentiate processing between the two hemispheres must be used. While neuroimaging techniques can provide this information, they are often not readily accessible to most research scientists. Further, many standard cognitive paradigms, even when coupled with neuroimaging methodologies, do not isolate information processed within each hemisphere. Divided visual field (DVF) methodologies provide an avenue for behavioral and psychophysiological scientists to test lateralized theories of processing without the use of neuroimaging techniques.
DVF methodologies are based on the knowledge that a stimulus presented to one visual field is initially received and processed by the contralateral hemisphere4. DVF methodologies utilize lateralized presentations of stimuli at short intervals to allow one cerebral hemisphere to receive the information before the other5. As such, stimuli presented briefly to the right visual field are processed contralaterally by the left hemisphere, and stimuli presented to the left visual field are processed by the right hemisphere. In this manner, differences in initial processing of the information in a single hemisphere can be examined. For example, it is well established that the left hemisphere is specialized for processing linguistic information (for a meta-analysis see reference6). Research using DVF paradigms demonstrate increased processing speed when words are presented to the left hemisphere (i.e., displayed in the right visual field) compared to when presented to the right hemisphere.
In order to assess the processing differences between the two hemispheres, measures with finer temporal resolution than behavioral reaction times may be needed. Event-related potentials (ERPs) derived from human electroencephalography (EEG) data have a temporal resolution on the order of milliseconds (ms). As such, using ERP techniques in concert with DVF methodologies allows for a refined assessment of processing differences between the two hemispheres. Initially, central visual field (CVF) presentations of the stimuli can be used to replicate established ERP effects. Then, DVF presentations of the stimuli can be used to examine the unique contributions of each hemisphere to the propagation of these ERP effects. Of particular interest for the current study7, the late positive potential (LPP) has been identified as an ERP component sensitive to the emotional arousal of a stimulus8. Interestingly, the LPP has not been found to consistently differentiate between unpleasant and pleasant stimuli, but rather, responds equally to emotional stimuli relative to neutral stimuli. This study was designed to test the lateralized processing of emotion theories using the LPP as an index of motivated attention toward emotional stimuli between the two hemispheres.
Further, this study systematically examines both the valence and arousal dimensions of the emotion stimuli across early and late manifestations of the LPP. These stimulus manipulations in combination with both CVF and DVF stimulus presentations are unique to the literature, as they allow for examining the unique and interactive influences of valence, arousal, and hemisphere of processing on the propagation of the LPP. As such, the influence of immediacy for action signaled by unpleasant compared to pleasant stimuli, which should differentially engage motivated attention and thus the LPP, can be explored.

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			<td height="84" style="height:84px;width:216px;">64-channel Ag-AgCl active electrodes</td>
			<td style="width:71px;">Cortech Solutions</td>
			<td style="width:119px;">DA-AT-ESP32102064A/DA-AT-ESP32102064B</td>
			<td style="width:167px;">EEG electrodes for data collection</td>
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			<td height="42" style="height:42px;width:216px;">ActiveTwo Base System</td>
			<td style="width:71px;">Cortech Solutions</td>
			<td style="width:119px;">DA-AT-BCBS</td>
			<td>Digitizes and ampliphies EEG data at 500 Hz</td>
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			<td height="84" style="height:84px;width:216px;">E-Prime Professional 2.0</td>
			<td style="width:71px;">Psychology Software Tools</td>
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			<td>Stimulus presentation software, available at https://www.pstnet.com/eprime.cfm</td>
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			<td height="84" style="height:84px;width:216px;">CURRY 7.0</td>
			<td style="width:71px;">Compumedics Neuroscan</td>
			<td style="width:119px;">NA</td>
			<td>EEG/ERP data processing and analysis, available at http://compumedicsneuroscan.com/products/by-name/curry/</td>
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central and divided visual field presentation of emotional images to measure hemispheric differences in motivated attention

Two dominant theories on lateralized processing of emotional information exist in the literature. One theory posits that unpleasant emotions are processed by right frontal regions, while pleasant emotions are processed by left frontal regions. The other theory posits that the right hemisphere is more specialized for the processing of emotional information overall, particularly in posterior regions.
Assessing the different roles of the cerebral hemispheres in processing emotional information can be difficult without the use of neuroimaging methodologies, which are not accessible or affordable to all scientists. Divided visual field presentation of stimuli can allow for the investigation of lateralized processing of information without the use of neuroimaging technology. 
This study compared central versus divided visual field presentations of emotional images to assess differences in motivated attention between the two hemispheres. The late positive potential (LPP) was recorded using electroencephalography (EEG) and event-related potentials (ERPs) methodologies to assess motivated attention. Future work will pair this paradigm with a more active behavioral task to explore the behavioral impacts on the attentional differences found.

To replicate previous research on the LPP, both LPP responses to unpleasant and pleasant images should be larger than LPP responses to neutral images. This is confirmed by the CVF analysis, which finds the LPP in the early epoch to be significantly larger to unpleasant (M = 1.90 &#956;v) and pleasant (M = 1.71 &#956;v) images compared to neutral images (M = 0.72 &#956;v), but unpleasant and pleasant images are not found to be significantly different from each ot...

Watch this Scientific Journal Video about Central and Divided Visual Field Presentation of Emotional Images to Measure Hemispheric Differences in Motivated Attention at JoVE.com

Central and Divided Visual Field Presentation of Emotional Images to Measure Hemispheric Differences in Motivated Attention

This study compared central versus divided visual field presentations of emotional images to assess differences in motivated attention between the two hemispheres. The late positive potential (LPP) was recorded using electroencephalography (EEG) and event-related potentials (ERPs) methodologies to assess motivated attention.

Two dominant theories on lateralized processing of emotional information exist in the literature. One theory posits that unpleasant emotions are processed ...

The overall goal of this divided visual field event related potential methodology is to observe the unique contribution of each hemisphere of the brain to the processing of emotional stimuli as measured by the late positive potential, or LPP. This method can help to answer key questions in the field of lateralized processing of emotion such as, What are the unique contributions of each hemisphere to the motivated attention network for processing unpleasant versus pleasant stimuli? The main advantage of this technique is that it allows you to assess the processing differences between the two hemispheres of the brain with a fine temporal resolution.Demonstrating the procedure will be Nick Lunny, a grad student in my lab. Zach Gemelli, an undergraduate research assistant in my lab will be playing the role of the participant. Begin by escorting the participant into the testing room and having them read and complete an informed consent.Then have the participant complete a demographic survey to provide sex, age, handedness, native language, vision and neurological history in order to assess inclusion for the study. Next, apply electroencephalography, or EEG electrodes, onto the participant's scalp according to the international 10-20 system. Then, seat the participant in a dark, electrically shielded sound attenuated room.Use a chin rest to stabilize the head and minimize movement. Then, instruct the participant to passively view the image stimuli without shifting their eyes away from the center of the screen. Instruct the participant that a recognition quiz will follow the stimuli, so it is important that they pay attention.Finally, display a fixation cross at the center of the screen to help the participant fixate. For the central visual field, CVF paradigm, have the participant passively view the image stimuli in four experimental blocks of 45 trials each at the center of the screen. Note each block has an equal number of stimuli from the valence arousal conditions.On the other hand, if the participant is randomized to the divided visual field, DVF paradigm, randomly present each image, once in the left visual field and once in the right visual field. Pair each image stimulus with the simultaneous presentation of a solid brown rectangle identical in stimulus dimensions on the opposite side of the fixation in order to reduce reflexive saccades to the stimulus. Next, present each stimulus and its paired brown rectangle with their inside edge three degrees of visual angle from the fixation.Finally, backward mask both the stimulus and the brown rectangle using the same criteria and procedure as was done for the CVF paradigm. The late positive potential, or LPP, in the early epic was significantly larger to unpleasant and pleasant images, which did not differ from each other, compared to neutral images. And high arousing images evoked larger LPP responses than medium arousing images.In the late epic, the LPP was significantly larger to high arousing unpleasant images compared to all other images. Further, the LPP was found to be larger in the early epic compared to the late epic for all image presentations except for high arousing unpleasant images presented to the left hemisphere. The left hemisphere engages high arousing unpleasant images for longer, possibly to create an action plan in response to the images.For the divided visual field procedure, it is important that the participant's eyes stay fixated at the center of the screen to optimize lateralized stimulus processing. For successful divided visual field presentations, carefully control stimulus size, presentation duration and location on the screen. Balance the presentation of your stimulus with the filler stimulus and use backward masking to optimize lateralized stimulus processing.The divided visual field procedure can be used with vent related potentials to investigate lateralized processing of emotion as well as investigate the unique and interactive effects of valence and arousal on the motivated attention network. Divided visual field procedures, in combination with event related potential techniques, can also be used to answer additional questions about a variety of theories of lateralized processing and visual spacial processing systems in the brain.

central-divided-visual-field-presentation-emotional-images-to-measure

Research

JoVE Journal

Behavior

A Dual Task Procedure Combined with Rapid Serial Visual Presentation to Test Attentional Blink for Nontargets

When viewers search for targets in a rapid serial visual presentation (RSVP) stream, if two targets are presented within about 500 msec of each other, the first target may be easy to spot but the second is likely to be missed. This phenomenon of attentional blink (AB) has been widely studied to probe the temporal capacity of attention for detecting visual targets. However, with the typical procedure of AB experiments, it is not possible to examine how the processing of non-target items in RSVP may be affected by attention. This paper describes a novel dual task procedure combined with RSVP to test effects of AB for nontargets at varied stimulus onset asynchronies (SOAs). In an exemplar experiment, a target category was first displayed, followed by a sequence of 8 nouns. If one of the nouns belonged to the target category, participants would respond &#8216;yes&#8217; at the end of the sequence, otherwise participants would respond &#8216;no&#8217;. Two 2-alternative forced choice memory tasks followed the response to determine if participants remembered the words immediately before or after the target, as well as a random word from another part of the sequence. In a second exemplar experiment, the same design was used, except that 1) the memory task was counterbalanced into two groups with SOAs of either 120 or 240 msec and 2) three memory tasks followed the sequence and tested remembrance for nontarget nouns in the sequence that could be anywhere from 3 items prior the target noun position to 3 items following the target noun position. Representative results from a previously published study demonstrate that our procedure can be used to examine divergent effects of attention that not only enhance targets but also suppress nontargets. Here we show results from a representative participant that replicated the previous finding.&#160;

This paper describes a novel dual task procedure combined with Rapid Serial Visual Presentation to look at attentional blink at varied stimulus onset asynchronies. This experimental procedure differed from others in that it tested attentional blink for nontargets.

When viewers search for targets in a rapid serial visual presentation (RSVP) stream, if two targets are presented within about 500 msec of each other, the ...

Use of the Open Field Maze to Measure Locomotor and Anxiety-like Behavior in Mice

Animal models have proven to be invaluable to researchers trying to answer questions regarding the mechanisms of behavior. The Open Field Maze is one of the most commonly used platforms to measure behaviors in animal models. It is a fast and relatively easy test that provides a variety of behavioral information ranging from general ambulatory ability to data regarding the emotionality of the subject animal. As it relates to rodent models, the procedure allows the study of different strains of mice or rats both laboratory bred and wild-captured. The technique also readily lends itself to the investigation of different pharmacological compounds for anxiolytic or anxiogenic effects. Here, a protocol for use of the open field maze to describe mouse behaviors is detailed and a simple analysis of general locomotor ability and anxiety-related emotional behaviors between two strains of C57BL/6 mice is performed. Briefly, using the described protocol we show Wild Type mice exhibited significantly less anxiety related behaviors than did age-matched Knock Out mice while both strains exhibited similar ambulatory ability.

A protocol is provided to use an Open Field Maze to access general locomotor activity, anxiety and emotionality in a laboratory mouse model.

Animal models have proven to be invaluable to researchers trying to answer questions regarding the mechanisms of behavior. The Open Field Maze is one of ...

Methods to Test Visual Attention Online

Online data collection methods have particular appeal to behavioral scientists because they offer the promise of much larger and much more representative data samples than can typically be collected on college campuses. However, before such methods can be widely adopted, a number of technological challenges must be overcome &#8211; in particular in experiments where tight control over stimulus properties is necessary. Here we present methods for collecting performance data on two tests of visual attention. Both tests require control over the visual angle of the stimuli (which in turn requires knowledge of the viewing distance, monitor size, screen resolution, etc.) and the timing of the stimuli (as the tests involve either briefly flashed stimuli or stimuli that move at specific rates). Data collected on these tests from over 1,700 online participants were consistent with data collected in laboratory-based versions of the exact same tests. These results suggest that with proper care, timing/stimulus size dependent tasks can be deployed in web-based settings.

To replicate laboratory settings, online data collection methods for visual tasks require tight control over stimulus presentation. We outline methods for the use of a web application to collect performance data on two tests of visual attention.

Online data collection methods have particular appeal to behavioral scientists because they offer the promise of much larger and much more representative ...

Rodent Brain Microinjection to Study Molecular Substrates of Motivated Behavior

Brain microinjection can aid elucidation of the molecular substrates of complex behaviors, such as motivation. For this purpose rodents can serve as appropriate models, partly because the response to behaviorally relevant stimuli and the circuitry parsing stimulus-action outcomes is astonishingly similar between humans and rodents. In studying molecular substrates of complex behaviors, the microinjection of reagents that modify, augment, or silence specific systems is an invaluable technique. However, it is crucial that the microinjection site is precisely targeted in order to aid interpretation of the results. We present a method for the manufacture of surgical implements and microinjection needles that enables accurate microinjection and unlimited customizability with minimal cost. Importantly, this technique can be successfully completed in awake rodents if conducted in conjunction with other JoVE articles that covered requisite surgical procedures. Additionally, there are many behavioral paradigms that are well suited for measuring motivation. The progressive ratio is a commonly used method that quantifies the efficacy of a reinforcer to maintain responding despite an (often exponentially) increasing work requirement. This assay is sensitive to reinforcer magnitude and pharmacological manipulations, which allows reinforcing efficacy and/ or motivation to be determined. We also present a straightforward approach to program operant software to accommodate a progressive ratio reinforcement schedule.

Rodents are an appropriate model to investigate the molecular substrates of behavior and complex psychiatric disorders. Brain microinjection in awake rodents can be used to elucidate disease substrates. An efficient and customizable brain microinjection method as well as the execution of an operant paradigm that quantifies motivation is presented.

Brain microinjection can aid elucidation of the molecular substrates of complex behaviors, such as motivation. For this purpose rodents can serve as ...

The Emotional Stroop Task: Assessing Cognitive Performance under Exposure to Emotional Content

The emotional Stroop effect (ESE) is the result of longer naming latencies to ink colors of emotion words than to ink colors of neutral words. The difference shows that people are affected by the emotional content conveyed by the carrier words even though they are irrelevant to the color-naming task at hand. The ESE has been widely deployed with patient populations, as well as with non-selected populations, because the emotion words can be selected to match the tested pathology. The ESE is a powerful tool, yet it is vulnerable to various threats to its validity. This report refers to potential sources of confounding and includes a modal experiment that provides the means to control for them. The most prevalent threat to the validity of existing ESE studies is sustained effects and habituation wrought about by repeated exposure to emotion stimuli. Consequently, the order of exposure to emotion and neutral stimuli is of utmost importance. We show that in the standard design, only one specific order produces the ESE.

The emotional Stroop effect (ESE) is the result of longer naming latencies to ink colors of emotion words than those of neutral words. This report refers to potential sources of confounding and includes a modal experiment that provides the means to control for them.

The emotional Stroop effect (ESE) is the result of longer naming latencies to ink colors of emotion words than to ink colors of neutral words. The ...

Conscious and Non-conscious Representations of Emotional Faces in Asperger's Syndrome

Several neuroimaging studies have suggested that the low spatial frequency content in an emotional face mainly activates the amygdala, pulvinar, and superior colliculus especially with fearful faces1-3. These regions constitute the limbic structure in non-conscious perception of emotions and modulate cortical activity either directly or indirectly2. In contrast, the conscious representation of emotions is more pronounced in the anterior cingulate, prefrontal cortex, and somatosensory cortex for directing voluntary attention to details in faces3,4. Asperger&#39;s syndrome (AS)5,6 represents an atypical mental disturbance that affects sensory, affective and communicative abilities, without interfering with normal linguistic skills and intellectual ability. Several studies have found that functional deficits in the neural circuitry important for facial emotion recognition can partly explain social communication failure in patients with AS7-9. In order to clarify the interplay between conscious and non-conscious representations of emotional faces in AS, an EEG experimental protocol is designed with two tasks involving emotionality evaluation of either photograph or line-drawing faces. A pilot study is introduced for selecting face stimuli that minimize the differences in reaction times and scores assigned to facial emotions between the pretested patients with AS and IQ/gender-matched healthy controls. Information from the pretested patients was used to develop the scoring system used for the emotionality evaluation. Research into facial emotions and visual stimuli with different spatial frequency contents has reached discrepant findings depending on the demographic characteristics of participants and task demands2. The experimental protocol is intended to clarify deficits in patients with AS in processing emotional faces when compared with healthy controls by controlling for factors unrelated to recognition of facial emotions, such as task difficulty, IQ and gender.

Conscious and Non-conscious Representations of Emotional Faces in Asperger&#039;s Syndrome

An EEG experimental protocol is designed to clarify the interplay between conscious and non-conscious representations of emotional faces in patients with Asperger&#39;s syndrome. The technique suggests that patients with Asperger&#39;s syndrome have deficits in non-conscious representation of emotional faces, but have comparable performance in conscious representation with healthy controls.

Several neuroimaging studies have suggested that the low spatial frequency content in an emotional face mainly activates the amygdala, pulvinar, and ...

Measuring Attention and Visual Processing Speed by Model-based Analysis of Temporal-order Judgments

This protocol describes how to conduct temporal-order experiments to measure visual processing speed and the attentional resource distribution. The proposed method is based on a new and synergistic combination of three components: the temporal-order judgments (TOJ) paradigm, Bundesen&#39;s Theory of Visual Attention (TVA), and a hierarchical Bayesian estimation framework. The method provides readily interpretable parameters, which are supported by the theoretical and neurophysiological underpinnings of TVA. Using TOJs, TVA-based estimates can be obtained for a broad range of stimuli, whereas traditional paradigms used with TVA are mainly limited to letters and digits. Finally, the meaningful parameters of the proposed model allow for the establishment of a hierarchical Bayesian model. Such a statistical model allows assessing results in one coherent analysis both on the subject and the group level.
To demonstrate the feasibility and versatility of this new approach, three experiments are reported with attention manipulations in synthetic pop-out displays, natural images, and a cued letter-report paradigm.

Temporal-order judgments can be used to estimate processing speed parameters and attentional weights and thereby to infer the mechanisms of attentional processing. This methodology can be applied to a wide range of visual stimuli and works with many attention manipulations.

This protocol describes how to conduct temporal-order experiments to measure visual processing speed and the attentional resource distribution. The ...

Using Rapid Serial Visual Presentation to Measure Set-Specific Capture, a Consequence of Distraction While Multitasking

This method uses a rapid serial visual presentation (RSVP) paradigm to measure the cost of distraction when participants maintain multiple search goals. The protocol identifies two types of distraction within a single task - contingent attentional capture and set-specific capture - that represent different types of limitations of cognitive processing. Participants search for letters in two or more &#34;target&#34; ink colors (e.g., green and orange) within a continuous RSVP stream of heterogeneously colored letters, while ignoring two peripheral RSVPs of letters. Upon detecting a target, participants are to identify the letter. On some trials, target-colored distractors appear in the periphery just prior to the presentation of a target, causing a drop in target identification performance. Contingent attentional capture is observed by examining performance on trials in which the peripheral distractor is the same color as the target on that trial (e.g., both orange). Set-specific capture is represented by performance on trials in which the peripheral distractor is target-colored (e.g., orange), but not the same color as the target on that trial (e.g., green.) By varying the amount of time (i.e., the number of stimuli appearing) between the presentation of the distractor and the target, researchers can observe how participants recover from these distraction costs over time. As compared to static displays that are often used to measure contingent attentional capture, the dynamic display produces much larger effects, allowing the researcher to identify subtle effects of smaller manipulations. An unusual aspect of our design is that it employs a continuous display; &#34;filler&#34; stimuli connect one trial to the next seamlessly, and participants respond during this interval whenever they detect a target. The continuous display reduces chance performance to near-zero levels (rather than 50%) and provides researchers with a more sensitive measure of performance differences across trial types.

This method uses a dynamic visual display to index costs of distraction during visual search, including both &#34;contingent attentional capture&#34; and &#34;set-specific capture,&#34; which is a cost of distraction that occurs when the participants maintain multiple search goals simultaneously. This method has revealed basic mechanisms and limitations of visual attention.

This method uses a rapid serial visual presentation (RSVP) paradigm to measure the cost of distraction when participants maintain multiple search goals. ...

Gaze in Action: Head-mounted Eye Tracking of Children's Dynamic Visual Attention During Naturalistic Behavior

Young children's visual environments are dynamic, changing moment-by-moment as children physically and visually explore spaces and objects and interact with people around them. Head-mounted eye tracking offers a unique opportunity to capture children's dynamic egocentric views and how they allocate visual attention within those views. This protocol provides guiding principles and practical recommendations for researchers using head-mounted eye trackers in both laboratory and more naturalistic settings. Head-mounted eye tracking complements other experimental methods by enhancing opportunities for data collection in more ecologically valid contexts through increased portability and freedom of head and body movements compared to screen-based eye tracking. This protocol can also be integrated with other technologies, such as motion tracking and heart-rate monitoring, to provide a high-density multimodal dataset for examining natural behavior, learning, and development than previously possible. This paper illustrates the types of data generated from head-mounted eye tracking in a study designed to investigate visual attention in one natural context for toddlers: free-flowing toy play with a parent. Successful use of this protocol will allow researchers to collect data that can be used to answer questions not only about visual attention, but also about a broad range of other perceptual, cognitive, and social skills and their development.

Gaze in Action: Head-mounted Eye Tracking of Children&#039;s Dynamic Visual Attention During Naturalistic Behavior

Young children do not passively observe the world, but rather actively explore and engage with their environment. This protocol provides guiding principles and practical recommendations for using head-mounted eye trackers to record infants' and toddlers' dynamic visual environments and visual attention in the context of natural behavior.

Young children's visual environments are dynamic, changing moment-by-moment as children physically and visually explore spaces and objects and interact ...

Spotlighting Customers' Visual Attention at the Stock, Shelf and Store Levels with the 3S Model

Several models of the in-store search process exist in the fields of retailing, marketing, and consumer-based research. The present article presents a new conceptualization of this search process, which captures customers&#8217; visual attention at three distinct levels of analysis: Stock, Shelf, and Store. We refer to this conceptualization as the 3S Model and illustrate its usefulness through three eye-tracking studies, one from each level of analysis. Our experimental examples, which range from manipulating certain stimuli on a single product (e.g., the placement of textual and pictorial packaging elements) to manipulating the entire shopping trip for customers during their stay in a store (e.g., through more or less specific shopping tasks), highlight the broad applicability of this alternative approach for understanding customers&#8217; in-store search behavior. Thus, our model can be seen as a helpful tool for researchers interested in how to conduct experimental eye-tracking studies that shed light on the perceptual processes preceding product choices and purchase decisions. The 3S Model is equally suitable in controlled lab conditions and under ecologically valid settings in the real retail environment. Furthermore, it can be used from the micro level, with a focus on the meaningful metrics on a particular product, through the intermediate level, with the emphasis on the area surrounding products in shelves and other in-store spaces, all the way to the macro level, examining customers&#8217; navigational paths throughout a store as a function of their shopping tasks, cognitive capacity, or ability to acquire in-store information.

Spotlighting Customers&#039; Visual Attention at the Stock, Shelf and Store Levels with the 3S Model

This article presents a new conceptualization of the in-store search process, the 3S Model, which captures customers&#8217; visual attention at three distinct levels of analysis: Stock, Shelf, and Store. We illustrate the usefulness of our conceptualization through three eye-tracking studies, one from each level of analysis in the 3S Model.

Several models of the in-store search process exist in the fields of retailing, marketing, and consumer-based research. The present article presents a new ...