Auditory Attentional Network Task (ANT-A)

Background

The Auditory Attentional Network Task (ANT-A) is an approximate auditory analog of the visual Revised Auditory Attentional Network Task (ANT-R) by Jin Fan and colleagues. As part of the general Attentional Network Tasks, the ANT-A is a behavioral measure of alerting, orienting and executive attention in the auditory domain. The Inquisit ANT-A task is based on the published paradigm by Xia Wu and colleagues in 2021.

To mimic visual target arrows and their flankers, the ANT-A uses sequential tones that can differ in their frequency (analog to the visual screen position of the arrows) and can be either of a long or a short duration (analog to the direction visual arrows can point to). The first tone played is the target tone. The second played tone represents the flanker. The flanker tone always has the same frequency as the target tone but can be of a different duration.

The two sounds may be preceded by a binaurally cue sound. This cue sound falls into four different categories that are analog to the cues used in the visual ANT-R:

1. no cue => no cue sound is actually played
   
2. double cue => one high frequency and one low frequency tone is played through each ear
   
3. valid cue => the binaurally cues are of the same frequency as the following target
   
4. invalid cue => the binaurally cues are of the opposite frequency as the following target
   

Differences in mean reaction times (and accuracy) in the different cue/flanker conditions can be used to calculate several Attentional Network Effects, analog to the visual ANT-R.

Task Procedure

The participant is presented with two binaurally sounds sequentially. The first sound is the TARGET sound. It can either be long or short (and of a high or low frequency). The second sound is the 'flanker'. It can either be long or short (it always has the same frequency as the target).

If both sounds are of the same duration, the sounds are congruent. If they are not, they are incongruent. Participants have to press one key when the TARGET sound is short, and another when the target sound is long (all irrespective of the duration of the flanker sound.)

What it Measures

The Auditory Attentional Network Task (ANT-A) is a cognitive behavioral test to measure the effects of three attentional networks on accuracy and response times in the auditory domain.

Psychological domains

• Attention: Assessment of Attentional Networks
• Vigilance: Measures the ability to achieve and maintain a state of high sensitivity to incoming stimuli
• Selective Attention: Measures the ability to select information from sensory input by directing attention to a specific location in space
• Executive Control: Measures the ability to resolve conflict among competing stimuli, involving response inhibition and decision-making

Main Performance Metrics

• alertingEffect: The effect of alerting signals on response speed and performance
• orientingEffect: The effect of orientation signals on response speed and performance
• flankerConflictEffect: The cost effect of flanker incongruence on response speed and performance
• validityEffect: The cost effect of invalid (frequency) cues on response speed and performance

Psychiatric Conditions

ANT performance tends to be impaired in patients with the following psychiatric conditions.

• Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
• Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)
• Schizophrenia
• Major Depressive Disorder
• Anxiety Disorders
• Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)