Searching for a tactile target: the impact of set-size on the N140cc

Frontiers in Human Neuroscience

Neuroscience

Fabiola Rosaria Fiorino¹  Sandro Rubichi²  Cristina Iani³  Elena Gherri⁴ 

[1] Department of Biomedical, Metabolic and Neural Science, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Modena, Italy;Department of Biomedical, Metabolic and Neural Science, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Modena, Italy;Center of Neuroscience and Neurotechnology, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Modena, Italy;Department of Surgery, Medicine, Dentistry and Morphological Sciences With Interest in Transplant, Oncology and Regenerative Medicine, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Modena, Italy;Center of Neuroscience and Neurotechnology, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Modena, Italy;Dipartimento di Filosofia e Comunicazione, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy;

关键词: touch;    event-related potentials (ERP);    selective attention;    N140cc;    tactile search;    set-size;   

DOI  :  10.3389/fnhum.2023.1209555

 received in 2023-04-20, accepted in 2023-06-08,  发布年份 2023

来源: Frontiers

【 摘 要 】

The time needed to find a visual target amongst distractors (search task) can increase as a function of the distractors’ number (set-size) in the search-array (inefficient search). While the allocation of attention in search tasks has been extensively investigated and debated in the visual domain, little is known about these mechanisms in touch. Initial behavioral evidence shows inefficient search behavior when participants have to distinguish between target and distractors defined by their vibro-tactile frequencies. In the present study, to investigate the allocation of attention to items of the search-array we measured the N140cc during a tactile task in which the set-size was manipulated. The N140cc is a lateralized component of event-related brain potentials recently described as a psychophysiological marker of attentional allocation in tactile search tasks. Participants localized the target, a singleton frequency, while ignoring one, three or five homogeneous distractors. Results showed that error rates linearly increased as a function of set-size, while response times were not affected. Reliable N140cc components were observed for all set-sizes. Crucially, the N140cc amplitude decreased as the number of distractors increased. We argue that the presence of additional distractors hindered the preattentive analysis of the search array resulting in increased uncertainty about the target location (inefficient preattentive stage). This, in turn, increased the variability of the deployment of attention to the target, resulting in reduced N140cc amplitudes. Consistent with existing behavioral evidence, these findings highlight systematic differences between the visual and the tactile attentional systems.

【 授权许可】

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Copyright © 2023 Gherri, Fiorino, Iani and Rubichi.