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Neural mechanisms of strategic adaptation in attentional flexibility
Journal article   Peer reviewed

Neural mechanisms of strategic adaptation in attentional flexibility

Anthony W Sali, Jiefeng Jiang and Tobias Egner
Journal of cognitive neuroscience, Vol.32(5), pp.989-1008
05/2020
DOI: 10.1162/jocn_a_01541
PMID: 32013688

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Abstract

Individuals are able to adjust their readiness to shift spatial attention, referred to as attentional flexibility, according to the changing demands of the environment, but the neural mechanisms underlying learned adjustments in flexibility are unknown. In the current study, we used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to identify the brain structures responsible for learning shift-likelihood. Participants were cued to covertly hold or shift attention among continuous streams of alphanumeric characters and to indicate the parity of target stimuli. Unbeknownst to the participants, the stream locations were predictive of the likelihood of having to shift (or hold) attention. Participants adapted their attentional flexibility according to contextual demands, such that the response time cost associated with shifting attention was smallest when shift cues were most likely. Learning model-derived shift prediction error scaled positively with activity within dorsal and ventral fronto-parietal regions, documenting that these regions track, and update, shift likelihood. A complementary inverted encoding model analysis revealed that the pretrial difference in attentional selection strength between to-be-attended and to-be-ignored locations did not change with increasing shift likelihood. The behavioral improvement associated with learned flexibility may primarily arise from a speeding of the shift process rather than from preparatory broadening of attentional selection.
 Reinforcement Learning Cognitive Flexibility Inverted Encoding Model Visual Attention

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