Reducing alertness does not affect line bisection bias in neurotypical participants

Area of Science:

• Cognitive Psychology
• Neuroscience

Background:

• Alertness, or readiness to respond, influences spatial attention.
• Previous research primarily used speeded reaction tasks, not clinical spatial attention assessments like the line bisection task.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the effect of decreased alertness on spatial attention using a modified line bisection task.
• To compare the sensitivity of unspeeded line bisection tasks versus speeded tasks in assessing alertness effects on spatial attention.

Main Methods:

• Ninety-seven neurotypical participants completed a line bisection task before and after a 50-minute vigilance task designed to reduce alertness.
• The line bisection task was administered both with and without spatial cues.

Main Results:

• Participants exhibited reduced alertness after the vigilance task.
• No significant effects of decreased alertness on spatial attention were observed in the line bisection task, with or without cues.
• A decrease in general attention was observed, correlating with reduced alertness.

Conclusions:

• Alertness does not appear to affect spatial attention in neurotypical individuals when measured by an unspeeded line bisection task.
• Speeded response tasks are more sensitive than unspeeded tasks for detecting the influence of alertness on spatial attention in neurotypical participants.