Pupil Diameter Tracks Lapses of Attention
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Pupil Diameter Tracks Lapses of Attention. / van den Brink, Ruud L; Murphy, Peter R; Nieuwenhuis, Sander.
In: PLOS ONE, Vol. 11, No. 10, 2016, p. e0165274.Research output: SCORING: Contribution to journal › SCORING: Journal article › Research › peer-review
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TY - JOUR
T1 - Pupil Diameter Tracks Lapses of Attention
AU - van den Brink, Ruud L
AU - Murphy, Peter R
AU - Nieuwenhuis, Sander
PY - 2016
Y1 - 2016
N2 - Our ability to sustain attention for prolonged periods of time is limited. Studies on the relationship between lapses of attention and psychophysiological markers of attentional state, such as pupil diameter, have yielded contradicting results. Here, we investigated the relationship between tonic fluctuations in pupil diameter and performance on a demanding sustained attention task. We found robust linear relationships between baseline pupil diameter and several measures of task performance, suggesting that attentional lapses tended to occur when pupil diameter was small. However, these observations were primarily driven by the joint effects of time-on-task on baseline pupil diameter and task performance. The linear relationships disappeared when we statistically controlled for time-on-task effects and were replaced by consistent inverted U-shaped relationships between baseline pupil diameter and each of the task performance measures, such that most false alarms and the longest and most variable response times occurred when pupil diameter was both relatively small and large. Finally, we observed strong linear relationships between the temporal derivative of pupil diameter and task performance measures, which were largely independent of time-on-task. Our results help to reconcile contradicting findings in the literature on pupil-linked changes in attentional state, and are consistent with the adaptive gain theory of locus coeruleus-norepinephrine function. Moreover, they suggest that the derivative of baseline pupil diameter is a potentially useful psychophysiological marker that could be used in the on-line prediction and prevention of attentional lapses.
AB - Our ability to sustain attention for prolonged periods of time is limited. Studies on the relationship between lapses of attention and psychophysiological markers of attentional state, such as pupil diameter, have yielded contradicting results. Here, we investigated the relationship between tonic fluctuations in pupil diameter and performance on a demanding sustained attention task. We found robust linear relationships between baseline pupil diameter and several measures of task performance, suggesting that attentional lapses tended to occur when pupil diameter was small. However, these observations were primarily driven by the joint effects of time-on-task on baseline pupil diameter and task performance. The linear relationships disappeared when we statistically controlled for time-on-task effects and were replaced by consistent inverted U-shaped relationships between baseline pupil diameter and each of the task performance measures, such that most false alarms and the longest and most variable response times occurred when pupil diameter was both relatively small and large. Finally, we observed strong linear relationships between the temporal derivative of pupil diameter and task performance measures, which were largely independent of time-on-task. Our results help to reconcile contradicting findings in the literature on pupil-linked changes in attentional state, and are consistent with the adaptive gain theory of locus coeruleus-norepinephrine function. Moreover, they suggest that the derivative of baseline pupil diameter is a potentially useful psychophysiological marker that could be used in the on-line prediction and prevention of attentional lapses.
KW - Adolescent
KW - Adult
KW - Attention
KW - Constriction
KW - Dilatation
KW - Eye Movements
KW - Female
KW - Humans
KW - Male
KW - Pupil
KW - Task Performance and Analysis
KW - Young Adult
KW - Journal Article
U2 - 10.1371/journal.pone.0165274
DO - 10.1371/journal.pone.0165274
M3 - SCORING: Journal article
C2 - 27768778
VL - 11
SP - e0165274
JO - PLOS ONE
JF - PLOS ONE
SN - 1932-6203
IS - 10
ER -