Dataset Information

Objective assessment of the human visual attentional state.

ABSTRACT: The purpose of this study was to develop an objective way to assess human visual attention using the alpha-band component of the visual-evoked potential (VEP).Six different attentional conditions were tested: eyes-open, eyes-closed, eyes-closed with backwards number counting, and three rapid-serial visual presentation (RSVP) tasks. Eighteen visually normal, young-adult subjects (ages 21-28 years) were tested binocularly at 1 m for each condition on two separate days. The Diopsys™ NOVA-TR system was used to obtain the visual-evoked potential (VEP) and extracted alpha wave and its related power spectrum. Additionally, the Visual Search and Attention Test (VSAT) was administered as a subjective measure of visual attention.Subjects exhibited significant decreases in power in the alpha band when comparing the eyes-closed with the eyes-open conditions, with power in the eyes-closed condition being, on average, twice as large. The response from the other four conditions did not reflect the differential attentional demands. The ratio of the power in the eyes-closed condition to the eyes-open condition in the lower-alpha frequencies (8-10 Hz) was found to be significantly correlated with the group's performance on the VSAT, especially the 10-Hz component.An individual's ability to attenuate their alpha component during visual processing may be a predictor of their visual attentional state. These findings solidify the role of the VEP alpha subcomponent as an objective electrophysiological correlate of visual attention, which may be useful in the diagnosis and treatment of human visual attention disorders in the future.

SUBMITTER: Willeford KT

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4130154 | biostudies-literature | 2013 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Objective assessment of the human visual attentional state.

Willeford Kevin T KT Ciuffreda Kenneth J KJ Yadav Naveen K NK Ludlam Diana P DP

Documenta ophthalmologica. Advances in ophthalmology 20121031 1

<h4>Primary objective</h4>The purpose of this study was to develop an objective way to assess human visual attention using the alpha-band component of the visual-evoked potential (VEP).<h4>Design and methods</h4>Six different attentional conditions were tested: eyes-open, eyes-closed, eyes-closed with backwards number counting, and three rapid-serial visual presentation (RSVP) tasks. Eighteen visually normal, young-adult subjects (ages 21-28 years) were tested binocularly at 1 m for each conditi ...[more]

PMID: 23111658

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Project description:Importance:The current assessment of visual field loss in diseases such as glaucoma is affected by the subjectivity of patient responses and the lack of portability of standard perimeters. Objective:To describe the development and initial validation of a portable brain-computer interface (BCI) for objectively assessing visual function loss. Design, Setting, and Participants:This case-control study involved 62 eyes of 33 patients with glaucoma and 30 eyes of 17 healthy participants. Glaucoma was diagnosed based on a masked grading of optic disc stereophotographs. All participants underwent testing with a BCI device and standard automated perimetry (SAP) within 3 months. The BCI device integrates wearable, wireless, dry electroencephalogram and electrooculogram systems and a cellphone-based head-mounted display to enable the detection of multifocal steady state visual-evoked potentials associated with visual field stimulation. The performances of global and sectoral multifocal steady state visual-evoked potentials metrics to discriminate glaucomatous from healthy eyes were compared with global and sectoral SAP parameters. The repeatability of the BCI device measurements was assessed by collecting results of repeated testing in 20 eyes of 10 participants with glaucoma for 3 sessions of measurements separated by weekly intervals. Main Outcomes and Measures:Receiver operating characteristic curves summarizing diagnostic accuracy. Intraclass correlation coefficients and coefficients of variation for assessing repeatability. Results:Among the 33 participants with glaucoma, 19 (58%) were white, 12 (36%) were black, and 2 (6%) were Asian, while among the 17 participants with healthy eyes, 9 (53%) were white, 8 (47%) were black, and none were Asian. The receiver operating characteristic curve area for the global BCI multifocal steady state visual-evoked potentials parameter was 0.92 (95% CI, 0.86-0.96), which was larger than for SAP mean deviation (area under the curve, 0.81; 95% CI, 0.72-0.90), SAP mean sensitivity (area under the curve, 0.80; 95% CI, 0.69-0.88; P?=?.03), and SAP pattern standard deviation (area under the curve, 0.77; 95% CI, 0.66-0.87; P?=?.01). No statistically significant differences were seen for the sectoral measurements between the BCI and SAP. Intraclass coefficients for global and sectoral parameters ranged from 0.74 to 0.92, and mean coefficients of variation ranged from 3.03% to 7.45%. Conclusions and Relevance:The BCI device may be useful for assessing the electrical brain responses associated with visual field stimulation. The device discriminated eyes with glaucomatous neuropathy from healthy eyes in a clinically based setting. Further studies should investigate the feasibility of the BCI device for home-based testing as well as for detecting visual function loss over time.

Dataset Information

Objective assessment of the human visual attentional state.

Publications

Objective assessment of the human visual attentional state.

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