Abstract
Cancellation tasks have been widely used to neurologically assess selective attention and visual search in various clinical and research settings. However, there is still a lack of evidence regarding the effect of the level of task difficulty on brain activity in the prefrontal cortex (PFC). This study implemented cancellation tasks to investigate the effects of varying task difficulty on oxygenated hemoglobin (oxy-Hb) concentrations. Data from 21 healthy adults were analyzed based on performance during three-block-design types of cancellation tasks with different T/D ratios (i.e., 1/9, 2/8, and 3/7). Performance was assessed via the number of correct responses, incorrect responses, hit ratios, achievement ratios, and performance scores (PS), while PFC activity was examined using near-infrared spectroscopy. Both the numbers of correct responses and PS were the lowest for the smallest T/D ratio. Similarly, we observed that the oxy-Hb concentration in the PFC was significantly increased during the task. Our results support the findings of previous studies that used conventional cancellation tasks, thus suggesting that block design types are suitable for examinations in the same contexts. Regarding the above-mentioned changes in the oxy-Hb concentration, the findings suggest that the PFC region is involved in selective attention.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
Availability of data and material
The datasets generated and analyzed during the current study can be made available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
Code availability
Not applicable.
References
Brucki SM, Nitrini R (2008) Cancellation task in very low educated people. Arch Clin Neuropsychol 23:139–147. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.acn.2007.11.003
Chiang M, Gau SS (2008) Validation of attention-deficit-hyperactivity disorder subtypes among Taiwanese children using neuropsychological functioning. Aust NZJ Psychiatry 42:526–535. https://doi.org/10.1080/00048670802050603
Corbetta M, Shulman GL (2011) Spatial neglect and attention networks. Annu Rev Neurosci 34:569–599. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-neuro-061010-113731
Deng ID, Chung L, Talwar N, Tam F, Churchill NW, Schweizer TA, Graham SJ (2019) Functional MRI of letter cancellation task performance in older adults. Front Hum Neurosci 13:97. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2019.00097
Di Luca S, Pesenti M, Vallar G, Girelli L (2013) Numbers reorient visuo-spatial attention during cancellation tasks. Exp Brain Res 225:549–557. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00221-012-3393-0
Geldmacher DS (1996) Effects of stimulus number and target-to-distractor ratio on the performance of random array letter cancellation tasks. Brain Cogn 32:405–415. https://doi.org/10.1006/brcg.1996.0073
Geldof CJ, de Kieviet JF, Dik M, Kok JH, van Wassenaer-Leemhuis AG, Oosterlaan J (2013) Visual search and attention in five-year-old very preterm/very low birth weight children. Early Hum Dev 89:983–988. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.earlhumdev.2013.08.021
Huang HC, Wang TY (2008) Visualized representation of visual search patterns for a visuospatial attention test. Behav Res Methods 40:383–390. https://doi.org/10.3758/brm.40.2.383
Huang HC, Wang TY (2009) Stimulus effects on cancellation task performance in children with and without dyslexia. Behav Res Methods 41:539–545. https://doi.org/10.3758/BRM.41.2.539
Japan Society for Higher Brain Dysfunction (2006) Clinical Assessment for Attention (CAT). Shinko-Igaku Press, Tokyo, Japan
Jones KE, Craver-Lemley C, Barrett AM (2008) Asymmetrical visual-spatial attention in college students diagnosed with ADD/ADHD. Cogn Behav Neurol 21:176–178. https://doi.org/10.1097/WNN.0b013e318185e6a9
Kato M (2006) The development and standardization of Clinical Assessment for Attention (CAT) and Clinical Assessment for Spontaneity (CAS). High Brain Funct Res 26(3):310–319. https://doi.org/10.2496/hbfr.26.310
Landau YE, Gross-Tsur V, Auerbach JG, Van der Meere J, Shalev RS (1999) Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder and developmental right-hemisphere syndrome: congruence and incongruence of cognitive and behavioral aspects of attention. J Child Neurol 14:299–303. https://doi.org/10.1177/088307389901400506
Rinaldi L, Di Luca S, Henik A, Girelli L (2014) Reading direction shifts visuospatial attention: an interactive account of attentional biases. Acta Psychol Amst 151:98–105. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actpsy.2014.05.018
Rinaldi L, Di Luca S, Toneatto C, Girelli L (2020) The effects of hemispheric dominance, literacy acquisition, and handedness on the development of visuospatial attention: a study in preschoolers and second graders. J Exp Child Psychol 195:104830. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jecp.2020.104830
Saito R, Ikeda Y, Okuzumi H, Kokubun M (2018) Heightened attention demand of the walking cancellation task and its relation to ADHD tendency in young adults. J Spec Educ Res 6:81–89. https://doi.org/10.6033/specialeducation.6.81
Tanaka Y, Ichikawa H, Ono K (2016) Standardization of the Japanese Versions of the ADHD-RS. Seishin Igaku 58:317–326. https://doi.org/10.11477/mf.1405205148
Toichi M, Findling RL, Kubota Y, Calabrese JR, Wiznitzer M, McNamara NK, Yamamoto K (2004) Hemodynamic differences in the activation of the prefrontal cortex: attention vs. higher cognitive processing. Neuropsychologia 42:698–706. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2003.08.012
Weintraub S, Mesulam MM (1988) Visual hemispatial inattention: stimulus parameters and exploratory strategies. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry 51:1481–1488. https://doi.org/10.1136/jnnp.51.12.1481
Yamada T, Umeyama S, Matsuda K (2012) Separation of fNIRS signals into functional and systemic components based on differences in hemodynamic modalities. PLoS ONE 7:e50271. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0050271
Yasumura A, Kokubo N, Yamamoto H, Yasumura Y, Nakagawa E, Kaga M, Hiraki K, Inagaki M (2014) Neurobehavioral and hemodynamic evaluation of Stroop and reverse Stroop interference in children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Brain Dev 36:97–106. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.braindev.2013.01.005
Yasumura A, Omori M, Fukuda A et al (2019) Age-related differences in frontal lobe function in children with ADHD. Brain Dev 41:577–586. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.braindev.2019.03.006
Yasuhara A (2006) Continuous performance test (CPT) using personal computer in children with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorders (ADHD). Jpn J Clin Neurophysiol 34:152–159. http://search.jamas.or.jp/link/ui/2006318375
Yasuhara A (2007) Development of attention function and its abnormality: examination by visual continuous processing task (Mograz). Clin EEG 49:1–5. http://search.jamas.or.jp/link/ui/2007109516
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank Dr. Akira Yasumura, Graduate School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Kumamoto University, for his guidance in writing the treatise. This work was supported by the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science KAKENHI Grant (JP21H00891), awarded to AY. We would like to thank Editage (www.editage.com) for English language editing.
Funding
No funding was received to assist with the preparation of this manuscript.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Contributions
All authors contributed to the study's conception and design. KY and AY performed material preparation, data collection, and analysis. KY wrote the first draft of the manuscript, and all authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflicts of interest
The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
Ethics approval
The study protocol was approved by the Ethics Review Committee of the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Kumamoto University (reception number: 45).
Consent to participate
Written informed consent was obtained from all participants.
Consent for publication
Written informed consent was obtained from all participants for the publication of this study.
Additional information
Communicated by Melvyn A. Goodale.
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Yano, K., Yasumura, A. Brain activity in the prefrontal cortex during a cancellation task: effects of the target-to-distractor ratio. Exp Brain Res 239, 2851–2858 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00221-021-06177-7
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00221-021-06177-7