Research perceived mental effort correlates with changes in tonic arousal during attentional tasks

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dc.contributor.authorHowells, Fleuren_ZA
dc.contributor.authorStein, Danen_ZA
dc.contributor.authorRussell, Vivienneen_ZA
dc.date.accessioned2015-11-11T12:03:33Z
dc.date.available2015-11-11T12:03:33Z
dc.date.issued2010en_ZA
dc.description.abstractBACKGROUND: It has been suggested that perceived mental effort reflects changes in arousal during tasks of attention. Such changes in arousal may be tonic or phasic, and may be mediated by the locus-coeruleus norepinephrine (LC-NE) system. We hypothesized that perceived mental effort during attentional tasks would correlate with tonic changes in cortical arousal, as assessed by relative electroencephalogram (EEG) band power and theta/beta ratio, and not with phasic changes in cortical arousal, assessed by P300 amplitude and latency. METHODS: Forty-six healthy individuals completed tasks that engage the anterior and posterior attention networks (continuous performance task, go/no-go task, and cued target detection task). During completion of the three attentional tasks a continuous record of tonic and phasic arousal was taken. Cortical measures of arousal included frequency band power, theta/beta ratios over frontal and parietal cortices, and P300 amplitude and latency over parietal cortices. Peripheral measures of arousal included skin conductance responses, heart rate and heart rate variance. Participants reported their perceived mental effort during each of the three attentional tasks. RESULTS: First, changes in arousal were seen from rest to completion of the three attentional tasks and between the attentional tasks. Changes seen between the attentional tasks being related to the task design and the attentional network activated. Second, perceived mental effort increased when demands of the task increased and correlated with left parietal beta band power during the three tasks of attention. Third, increased mental effort during the go/no-go task and the cued target detection task was inversely related to theta/beta ratios. CONCLUSION: These results indicate that perceived mental effort reflects tonic rather than phasic changes in arousal during tasks of attention. We suggest that perceived mental effort may reflect in part tonic activity of the LC-NE system in healthy individuals.en_ZA
dc.identifier.apacitationHowells, F., Stein, D., & Russell, V. (2010). Research perceived mental effort correlates with changes in tonic arousal during attentional tasks. <i>Behavioral and Brain Functions</i>, http://hdl.handle.net/11427/14906en_ZA
dc.identifier.chicagocitationHowells, Fleur, Dan Stein, and Vivienne Russell "Research perceived mental effort correlates with changes in tonic arousal during attentional tasks." <i>Behavioral and Brain Functions</i> (2010) http://hdl.handle.net/11427/14906en_ZA
dc.identifier.citationHowells, F. M., Stein, D. J., & Russell, V. A. (2010). Perceived mental effort correlates with changes in tonic arousal during attentional tasks.en_ZA
dc.identifier.ris TY - Journal Article AU - Howells, Fleur AU - Stein, Dan AU - Russell, Vivienne AB - BACKGROUND: It has been suggested that perceived mental effort reflects changes in arousal during tasks of attention. Such changes in arousal may be tonic or phasic, and may be mediated by the locus-coeruleus norepinephrine (LC-NE) system. We hypothesized that perceived mental effort during attentional tasks would correlate with tonic changes in cortical arousal, as assessed by relative electroencephalogram (EEG) band power and theta/beta ratio, and not with phasic changes in cortical arousal, assessed by P300 amplitude and latency. METHODS: Forty-six healthy individuals completed tasks that engage the anterior and posterior attention networks (continuous performance task, go/no-go task, and cued target detection task). During completion of the three attentional tasks a continuous record of tonic and phasic arousal was taken. Cortical measures of arousal included frequency band power, theta/beta ratios over frontal and parietal cortices, and P300 amplitude and latency over parietal cortices. Peripheral measures of arousal included skin conductance responses, heart rate and heart rate variance. Participants reported their perceived mental effort during each of the three attentional tasks. RESULTS: First, changes in arousal were seen from rest to completion of the three attentional tasks and between the attentional tasks. Changes seen between the attentional tasks being related to the task design and the attentional network activated. Second, perceived mental effort increased when demands of the task increased and correlated with left parietal beta band power during the three tasks of attention. Third, increased mental effort during the go/no-go task and the cued target detection task was inversely related to theta/beta ratios. CONCLUSION: These results indicate that perceived mental effort reflects tonic rather than phasic changes in arousal during tasks of attention. We suggest that perceived mental effort may reflect in part tonic activity of the LC-NE system in healthy individuals. DA - 2010 DB - OpenUCT DO - 10.1186/1744-9081-6-39 DP - University of Cape Town J1 - Behavioral and Brain Functions LK - https://open.uct.ac.za PB - University of Cape Town PY - 2010 T1 - Research perceived mental effort correlates with changes in tonic arousal during attentional tasks TI - Research perceived mental effort correlates with changes in tonic arousal during attentional tasks UR - http://hdl.handle.net/11427/14906 ER - en_ZA
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/11427/14906
dc.identifier.urihttp://dx.doi.org/10.1186/1744-9081-6-39
dc.identifier.vancouvercitationHowells F, Stein D, Russell V. Research perceived mental effort correlates with changes in tonic arousal during attentional tasks. Behavioral and Brain Functions. 2010; http://hdl.handle.net/11427/14906.en_ZA
dc.language.isoengen_ZA
dc.publisherBioMed Central Ltden_ZA
dc.publisher.departmentDepartment of Psychiatry and Mental Healthen_ZA
dc.publisher.facultyFaculty of Health Sciencesen_ZA
dc.publisher.institutionUniversity of Cape Town
dc.rightsThis is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Licenseen_ZA
dc.rights.holder2010 Howells et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.en_ZA
dc.rights.urihttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0en_ZA
dc.sourceBehavioral and Brain Functionsen_ZA
dc.source.urihttp://behavioralandbrainfunctions.biomedcentral.com/en_ZA
dc.titleResearch perceived mental effort correlates with changes in tonic arousal during attentional tasksen_ZA
dc.typeJournal Articleen_ZA
uct.type.filetypeText
uct.type.filetypeImage
uct.type.publicationResearchen_ZA
uct.type.resourceArticleen_ZA
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