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A Dual Task Procedure Combined with Rapid Serial Visual Presentation to Test Attentional Blink for Nontargets
Published on: December 5, 2014
Attentional blink in patients with multiple sclerosis
1Department of Neurology, The University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, NY, USA. Voykok@gmail.com
Neuropsychologia
|December 15, 2010
Summary
Patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) exhibit a more pronounced attentional blink (AB), a deficit in visual attention, suggesting impaired inhibitory processes linked to white matter integrity.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Cognitive Psychology
- Clinical Neurology
Background:
- The attentional blink (AB) is a key indicator of attention's temporal dynamics.
- Our prior work proposed a model linking AB to working memory capacity and inhibitory processes dependent on white matter integrity.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the influence of white matter integrity on the attentional blink.
- To examine attentional blink performance in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients with known white matter impairments.
Main Methods:
- A rapid serial visual presentation (RSVP) task was administered to 22 MS patients and 22 age-matched controls.
- MS patients also underwent assessments of motor function (9HPT, 8m walk) and working memory (PASAT, DOT).
Main Results:
- MS patients demonstrated significantly longer and greater attentional blinks compared to controls.
- No significant working memory impairments were observed in the MS group on average.
- These findings suggest unreliable inhibitory processes contribute to attentional deficits in MS.
Conclusions:
- The results support the hypothesis that white matter integrity is crucial for effective inhibitory processes in attention.
- Attentional impairments in MS may stem from compromised functional connectivity between perceptual and working memory systems.
- Future research should integrate neuroanatomical and attentional measures in MS patients.
