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Negative mood and mind wandering increase long-range temporal correlations in attention fluctuations
Mona Irrmischer1, C Natalie van der Wal2,3, Huibert D Mansvelder1
1Department of Integrative Neurophysiology, Center for Neurogenomics and Cognitive Research (CNCR), Amsterdam Neuroscience, VU Amsterdam, HV Amsterdam, Netherlands.
Mind wandering and mood impact performance variability. This study reveals that fluctuations in sustained attention follow critical-state dynamics, showing long-range temporal correlations linked to slower reaction times.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive psychology
- Neuroscience
- Behavioral science
Background:
- Mind wandering episodes and mood significantly influence performance variability.
- The temporal dynamics of attention lapses are not well understood.
- Critical-state dynamics may explain attention fluctuations.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the temporal dynamics of sustained attention fluctuations.
- To test if these dynamics align with critical-state dynamics and long-range temporal correlations.
- To examine the impact of mind wandering and mood on response variability.
Main Methods:
- Behavioral experiments measuring reaction times in a visual sustained attention task.
- Probe-caught reports assessing mind wandering and mood.
- Analysis of trial-to-trial dependencies and temporal correlations.
Main Results:
- Trial-to-trial reaction time variability demonstrated long-range temporal correlations, supporting the criticality hypothesis.
- Faster responses were observed in individuals with weaker long-range temporal correlations.
- Mind wandering and negative mood significantly affected response variability.
Conclusions:
- Sustained attention dynamics appear to follow critical-state principles with long-range temporal correlations.
- Individual differences in temporal correlations correlate with reaction speed.
- Behavioral variability, influenced by mind wandering and mood, warrants further investigation.
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