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Eye behavior predicts susceptibility to visual distraction during internally directed cognition.

ABSTRACT: When we engage in internally directed cognition (e.g., planning or imagination), our eye behavior decouples from external stimuli and couples to internal representations (e.g., internal visualizations of ideas). Here, we investigated whether eye behavior predicts the susceptibility to visual distraction during internally directed cognition. To this end, participants performed a divergent thinking task, which required internally directed attention, and we measured distraction in terms of attention capture by unrelated images. We used multilevel mixed models to predict visual distraction by eye behavior right before distractor onset. In Study 1 (N = 38), visual distraction was predicted by increased saccade and blink rate, and higher pupil dilation. We replicated these findings in Study 2 using the same task, but with less predictable distractor onsets and a larger sample (N = 144). We also explored whether individual differences in susceptibility to visual distraction were related to cognitive ability and task performance. Taken together, variation in eye behavior was found to be a consistent predictor of visual distraction during internally directed cognition. This highlights the relevance of eye parameters as objective indicators of internal versus external attentional focus and distractibility during complex mental tasks.

SUBMITTER: Annerer-Walcher S

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7536161 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Eye behavior predicts susceptibility to visual distraction during internally directed cognition.

Annerer-Walcher Sonja S Körner Christof C Beaty Roger E RE Benedek Mathias M

Attention, perception & psychophysics 20201001 7

When we engage in internally directed cognition (e.g., planning or imagination), our eye behavior decouples from external stimuli and couples to internal representations (e.g., internal visualizations of ideas). Here, we investigated whether eye behavior predicts the susceptibility to visual distraction during internally directed cognition. To this end, participants performed a divergent thinking task, which required internally directed attention, and we measured distraction in terms of attentio ...[more]

PMID: 32500390

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Project description:Distracted eating can lead to increased food intake, but it is unclear how. We aimed to assess how distraction affects motivated, goal-directed responses for food reward after satiation. Thirty-eight healthy normal-weight participants (28F; 10M) performed a visual detection task varying in attentional load (high vs. low distraction) during fMRI. Simultaneously, they exerted effort for sweet and savory food rewards by repeated button presses. Two fMRI runs were separated by sensory-specific satiation (outcome devaluation) of one of the (sweet or savory) reward outcomes, to assess outcome-sensitive, goal-directed, responses (valued vs. devalued reward, post vs. pre satiation). We could not verify our primary hypothesis that more distraction leads to less activation in ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) during goal-directed effort. Behaviorally, distraction also did not affect effort for food reward following satiation across subjects. For our secondary hypothesis, we assessed whether distraction affected other fronto-striatal regions during goal-directed effort. We did not obtain such effects at our whole-brain corrected threshold, but at an exploratory uncorrected threshold (p?<?0.001), distraction decreased goal-directed responses (devalued vs. valued) in the right inferior frontal gyrus (rIFG). We continued with this rIFG region for the next secondary hypothesis; specifically, that distraction would reduce functional connectivity with the fronto-striatal regions found in the previous analyses. Indeed, distraction decreased functional connectivity between the rIFG and left putamen for valued versus devalued food rewards (pFWE(cluster)?<?0.05). In an exploratory brain-behavior analysis, we showed that distraction-sensitive rIFG-responses correlated negatively (r?=?- 0.40; p?=?0.014) with the effect of distraction on effort. Specifically, decreased distraction-related rIFG-responses were associated with increased effort for food reward after satiation. We discuss the absence of distraction effects on goal-directed responses in vmPFC and in behavior across participants. Moreover, based on our significant functional connectivity and brain-behavior results, we suggest that distraction might attenuate the ability to inhibit responses for food reward after satiation by affecting the rIFG and its connection to the putamen.

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Eye behavior predicts susceptibility to visual distraction during internally directed cognition.

Publications

Eye behavior predicts susceptibility to visual distraction during internally directed cognition.

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