Related Experiment Video
Updated: Apr 15, 2026
Quantifying Cognitive Decrements Caused by Cranial Radiotherapy
Published on: October 18, 2011
Sustained attention abnormalities in breast cancer survivors with cognitive deficits post chemotherapy: An
J W Y Kam1, C A Brenner1, T C Handy1
1Department of Psychology, University of British Columbia, 2136 West Mall, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4, Canada.
Objective:
Many breast cancer survivors (BCS) report cognitive problems following chemotherapy, yet controversy remains concerning which cognitive domains are affected. This study investigated a domain crucial to daily function: the ability to maintain attention over time.
Methods:
We examined whether BCS who self-reported cognitive problems up to 3 years following cancer treatment (n=19) performed differently from healthy controls (HC, n=12) in a task that required sustained attention. Participants performed a target detection task while periodically being asked to report their attentional state. Electroencephalogram was recorded during this task and at rest.
Results:
BCS were less likely to maintain sustained attention during the task compared to HC. Further, the P3 event-related potential component elicited by visual targets during the task was smaller in BCS relative to HC. BCS also displayed greater neural activity at rest.
Conclusions:
BCS demonstrated an abnormal pattern of sustained attention and resource allocation compared to HC, suggesting that attentional deficits can be objectively observed in breast cancer survivors who self-report concentration problems.
Significance:
These data underscore the value of EEG combined with a less traditional measure of sustained attention, or attentional states, as objective laboratory tools that are sensitive to subjective complaints of chemotherapy-related attentional impairments.
