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There have been increased efforts to develop methods for improving attention across a range of tasks including those assessing sustained attention. Using a variety of techniques, researchers have reported modest reductions in errors on sustained attention tasks. However, published reports often have not documented changes in response times (RTs) that might accompany error reductions, which is problematic given that the error reductions could be mediated by a slowing strategy (i.e., speed-accuracy trade-off). In three studies, I explored the effects of speed-accuracy trade-offs in a sustained attention task (The Sustained Attention to Response Task; SART). In Study 1, I examined the effects of changing SART instructions from the double-edged "be fast and accurate" to the more conceptually accurate goal of maintaining high accuracy by responding slowly and carefully, and found that instructions to respond slowly and accurately resulted in both significantly longer RTs and fewer SART errors. In Studies 2 and 3, I developed a modified version of the SART that allowed me to experimentally manipulate RTs and found that errors were a systematic function of manipulated differences in RT independent of individual differences in response strategies. The results of these experiments indicate that it is possible that any technique that alters RT might indirectly alter error rates independently of improvements in sustained attention. I therefore conclude that investigators need to carefully attend to, control for, and report any changes in RT that accompany improvements in accuracy of performance, or alternatively employ tasks controlling for RT.

There have been increased efforts to develop methods for improving attention across a range of tasks including those assessing sustained attention. Using a variety of techniques, researchers have reported modest reductions in errors on sustained attention tasks. However, published reports often have not documented changes in response times (RTs) that might accompany error reductions, which is problematic given that the error reductions could be mediated by a slowing strategy (i.e., speed-accuracy trade-off). In three studies, I explored the effects of speed-accuracy trade-offs in a sustained attention task (The Sustained Attention to Response Task; SART). In Study 1, I examined the effects of changing SART instructions from the double-edged "be fast and accurate" to the more conceptually accurate goal of maintaining high accuracy by responding slowly and carefully, and found that instructions to respond slowly and accurately resulted in both significantly longer RTs and fewer SART errors. In Studies 2 and 3, I developed a modified version of the SART that allowed me to experimentally manipulate RTs and found that errors were a systematic function of manipulated differences in RT independent of individual differences in response strategies. The results of these experiments indicate that it is possible that any technique that alters RT might indirectly alter error rates independently of improvements in sustained attention. I therefore conclude that investigators need to carefully attend to, control for, and report any changes in RT that accompany improvements in accuracy of performance, or alternatively employ tasks controlling for RT.

Aim The experiment proposed to study the effect of sustained visual attention in an effective visual field of 40 degrees, in cued and uncued conditions with different set-sizes. Methods The participants had a normal contrast and visual acuity with normal ocular/general health. The experiments were performed both for central (0 - 20degrees) and peripheral (>20 – 50 degrees) visual fields. The targets were presented with valid and invalid cued conditions in different set-sizes of 500, 1000 and 2000. The targets were Gabor gratings oriented at 90 or 180deg subtending a minimum angle of resolution (MAR) ranging from 1.5-10minarc at 25cm. The spatial frequency of the Gabor ranged from 1- 29cycles/degrees and contrast from 20-100%. The observer had to identify the Gabor with horizontal grating and register the response. The accuracy and the reaction times for the targets were evaluated. Results The central targets had lower reaction times and high accuracy compared to the peripheral targets. There was a significantly increasing eccentricity effect as the targets were displayed much peripherally. It was less with presentation of valid sustained cues but it was not eliminated. The diminishing contrast of the target had a significant increase in reaction times and reduced accuracy. The effect of increasing number of items in the display didn’t show any significant increase in reaction time, i.e. there was no “set-size effect” seen both central and peripheral targets. The valid cues improved the performance with lower reaction times, compared to the neutral cued conditions, in each of the different experiments and resulted in an improved accuracy in both the central and peripheral visual field. Conclusion Visual attention is affected by contrast, target size and spatial gratings. Reaction time is high and accuracy less for low contrast targets, high spatial frequency and larger set-size, except for set-size 2000 in the central field where it was seen that the reaction times were reduced. The effect is consistent in both central and peripheral visual fields. The set-size also has an effect on the reaction times and on accuracy. The effects are more pronounced in the peripheral visual field.

Aim The experiment proposed to study the effect of sustained visual attention in an effective visual field of 40 degrees, in cued and uncued conditions with different set-sizes. Methods The participants had a normal contrast and visual acuity with normal ocular/general health. The experiments were performed both for central (0 - 20degrees) and peripheral (>20 – 50 degrees) visual fields. The targets were presented with valid and invalid cued conditions in different set-sizes of 500, 1000 and 2000. The targets were Gabor gratings oriented at 90 or 180deg subtending a minimum angle of resolution (MAR) ranging from 1.5-10minarc at 25cm. The spatial frequency of the Gabor ranged from 1- 29cycles/degrees and contrast from 20-100%. The observer had to identify the Gabor with horizontal grating and register the response. The accuracy and the reaction times for the targets were evaluated. Results The central targets had lower reaction times and high accuracy compared to the peripheral targets. There was a significantly increasing eccentricity effect as the targets were displayed much peripherally. It was less with presentation of valid sustained cues but it was not eliminated. The diminishing contrast of the target had a significant increase in reaction times and reduced accuracy. The effect of increasing number of items in the display didn’t show any significant increase in reaction time, i.e. there was no “set-size effect” seen both central and peripheral targets. The valid cues improved the performance with lower reaction times, compared to the neutral cued conditions, in each of the different experiments and resulted in an improved accuracy in both the central and peripheral visual field. Conclusion Visual attention is affected by contrast, target size and spatial gratings. Reaction time is high and accuracy less for low contrast targets, high spatial frequency and larger set-size, except for set-size 2000 in the central field where it was seen that the reaction times were reduced. The effect is consistent in both central and peripheral visual fields. The set-size also has an effect on the reaction times and on accuracy. The effects are more pronounced in the peripheral visual field.

Meditation training has been shown to improve attention and emotion regulation. However, the mechanisms responsible for these effects are largely unknown. In order to make further progress, a rigorous interdisciplinary approach that combines both empirical and theoretical experiments is required. This dissertation uses such an approach to analyze electroencephalogram (EEG) data collected during two three-month long intensive meditation retreats in four steps. First, novel tools were developed for preprocessing the EEG data. These tools helped remove ocular artifacts, muscular artifacts, and interference from power lines in a semi-automatic fashion. Second, in order to identify the cortical correlates of meditation, longitudinal changes in the cortical activity were measured using spectral analysis. Three main longitudinal changes were observed in the retreat participants: (1) reduced individual alpha frequency after training, similar reduction has been consistently found in experienced meditators; (2) reduced alpha-band power in the midline frontal region, which correlated with improved vigilance performance; and (3) reduced beta-band power in the parietal-occipital regions, which correlated with daily time spent in meditation and enhanced self-reported psychological well-being. Third, a formal computational model was developed to provide a concrete and testable theory about the underlying mechanisms. Four theoretical experiments were run, which showed, (1) reduced intrathalamic gain after training, suggesting enhanced alertness; (2) increased cortico-thalamic delay, which strongly correlated with the reduction in individual alpha frequency (found during spectral analysis); (3) reduction in intrathalamic gain provided increased stability to the brain; and (4) anterior-posterior division in the modeled reticular nucleus of the thalamus (TRN) layer and increased connectivity in the posterior region of TRN after training. Fourth, correlation analysis was performed to ground the changes in cortical activity and model parameters into changes in behavior and self-reported psychological functions. Through these four steps, a concrete theory of the mechanisms underlying focused-attention meditation was constructed. This theory provides both mechanistic and teleological reasoning behind the changes observed during meditation training. The theory further leads to several predictions, including the possibility that customized meditation techniques can be used to treat patients suffering from neurodevelopmental disorders and epilepsy. Lastly, the dissertation attempts to link the theory to the long-held views that meditation improves awareness, attention, stability, and psychological well-being. / text

Stress research has recently gained attention in the importance of adapting to life stressors as well as to temporary stressors created in a laboratory. Much attention has recently been paid to the influence of individual differences in their contribution to performance and adaptation to stressful situations. The contribution of individual differences ranges from personality characteristics such as extraversion and introversion, optimism or pessimism and even in some cases, clinical diagnoses. On the other hand, coping with traumatic stress and its potential long-term implication sparks much controversy in various fields of psychology. Certain views predict higher resilience to stress with the ability to rise above the occasion and triumph in spite of stress while other theories indicate a decline in productivity and an inability to cope with stress. The goal of the present study was to empirically examine the effect of long-term traumatic exposure on adaptation to stress. This project was designed to detect trauma and traumatic symptomology in a nonclinical sample. This was done in order to determine the effect of traumatic stress in an operational context. The premise for the research involves the complex interplay of encoding traumatic memories. It involves main theories of the traumatic memory argument and the trauma equivalency argument which subsequently argue for varying levels of prevalence for traumatic occurrences. The main implications investigated include the functionality of traumatized individuals under the stress of sustained attention in the maximal adaptability model in stress and performance research. In order to conduct the investigation of trauma and human adaptability in performance, there were considered 3 main groupings for traumatized individuals in accordance to their range of stressful experiences. All participants were asked to perform a sustained attention task. Seventy-five participants in the age range of 18-41 enrolled in the study through the Sona System website for class participation in their respective psychology classes. The investigation used measures of demographics, the Dissociative Experiences Scale, the Traumatic Events Questionnaire, the Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Checklist, the Dundee Stress State Questionnaire, Conner's Continuous Performance Task II, and the NASA Task Load Index to assess traumatic stress, subjective distress and workload as well as to impose stress through sustained attention. Results indicated that significant differences in measures of impulsiveness in traumatized individuals suggest a heightened awareness and hypervigilance in their reactivity to performance measures. Meanwhile, interactions in performance and gender suggest differences attributed to biological influence to the stress reaction. Gender differences, when isolated by male and female groups showed differences in omission, the absence of a correctly hit target, and hit rate for females while males exhibited more impact on attentional capacity. The pertinence of these findings maintain significant differences in the subjects included in this sample. However, the limitations of the research propose design and measurement strategy differences to further explore trauma's full and versatile impact in stress performance. Implications for this research extend to military optimization and selection as well as training methods. The findings of the project contribute to clinical intervention and understanding of trauma while expanding the literature and knowledge in the field of psychology.

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