Attention Network Test - Interaction (ANT-I)

Background

The Attentional Network Task (ANT), originally introduced by Jin Fan and colleagues in 2002, is a cognitive behavioral assessment tool of different attentional components referred to as 'attentional networks': Alerting ('vigilance'), Orienting ('selective attention'), and Executive Attention (in the form of conflict resolution). The Interaction Attentional Network Task (ANT-I), introduced by Alicia Callejas and colleagues in 2005, builds upon this earlier framework to further isolate and measure interactions between these three networks. Key additions to the ANT-I paradigm include auditory signals to the alerting network as well as the validity manipulation of the visual spatial cues.

Task Procedure

The participant sees a configuration of 5 arrows above or below a fixation cross and is asked to press as fast as possible the left response button if the central arrow points to the left or the right response button if the central arrow points to the right (irrespective of where the flanking arrows point). The arrow configuration may be preceded by a brief visual cue. In the example below, the participant receives no auditory cue and sees one star (below the fixation cross) that signal that the arrows will come along shortly ('alerting') and (incorrectly) imply that the arrows will appear below the fixation cross.

What it Measures

The Interaction Attentional Network Task (ANT-I) is a cognitive behavioral test to measure the effects of three attentional networks and their interactions on accuracy and response times.

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 achieving and maintaining alertness
• orientingEffect: The effect of orienting attention towards a specific location of information
• conflictEffect: The (cost) effect of resolving conflict between several possible responses (executive function)

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)