Oculometric investigation of internally directed cognition
Oculometric investigation of internally directed cognition
Disciplines
Medical-Theoretical Sciences, Pharmacy (50%); Psychology (50%)
Keywords
-
Attention,
Creativity,
Eye tracking,
Neuroscience,
Imagination
Even though our eyes are open for the most of the time when awake, our attention is often directed to internal processes, thus disregarding visual stimulation from the environment. This is particularly true for cognitive tasks that are independent of external information such as creative imagination, or thinking about the future. Monitoring the focus of attention is crucial in many fields of cognitive (neuroscience) research. In the past, eye tracking has been successfully used to assess the focus of attention within the external world. So far, however, there is no objective measure of whether attention is directed to external or internal events. Different lines of research suggest that internally directed cognition (IDC) implies a state of visual disengagement and thus can be characterized by a specific oculometric response. As a first central aim, this project will hence examine the validity of oculometric parameters (OPs; i.e., eye parameters) as objective, continuous indicators of an internal vs. external focus of attention. Here we will consider well-established oculometric parameters, as well as eye vergence as a novel, straightforward measure that reflects dis-accommodation and hence is involved in visual disengagement. As another goal of the project, we will investigate interindividual differences in the capacity to enter and maintain visual disengagement, and whether these differences predict task performance in IDC tasks and are related to traits associated with cognitive control and creativity. Finally, the availability of a continuous indicator of internally directed (vs. externally directed) attention also provides new ways to study the neural correlates of IDC. This project hence is expected to represent a major advancement in research on IDC by providing insights directly relevant to our understanding of the cognitive and neural basis of attention, vision, and creativity.
Different cognitive activities imply that we direct our attention externally (e.g., reading, visual search) or externally (e.g., imagination, mental arithmetic). This research project investigated how eye behavior differs between externally and internally directed attention, and how reliably we can predict attention focus from eye behavior. Across serval studies, internal attention was indeed observed to elicit changes in various eye. Some of these changes can be attributed, in line with the perceptual decoupling hypothesis, to a reduced consideration of visual stimuli (e.g., fewer fixations); other changes can be attributed to a generally reduced visual engagement (e.g., more blinks) and higher mental load associated with the internal activity (e.g. increased pupil dilation); yet other changes may be due to an coupling of eye behavior to the internal events of ongoing imagination processes (e.g. increased variance in various eye parameters). In further studies we were able to show that these changes occur largely automatically and not due to a proactive gating of expected visual interference. In sum, we can conclude that many eye parameters are sensitive to a shift between external and internal attention focus, with several of them, however, being moderated by the specific kind of external/internal activity. Further investigations showed that the attention focus can be predicted or classified based on eye behavior. One study showed that present eye behavior predicts the likelihood of attending to a subsequent distractor. Additional studies showed that the attention focus of a person can be automatically classified, with classification accuracy depending on the amount of data and the type of external/internal activity. We also found that people are able to identify the attention focus in others through observation, even though maybe not as reliably as we might have thought. For doing so, people again mainly focus on the eye behavior of others. Another part of this project investigated the relationship between eye behavior and brain activation in the context of attention focus. An EEG study found showed that internal attention was associated with increased alpha activity in posterior brain regions, and that alpha activity further covaries with pupil dilation (an important index of internal attention) across time. An MRI study showed that internal attention was associated with increased activation in the lingual gyrus, a region associated with visual imagination; moreover, regions of the visual cortex showed a temporal covariation again exclusively with pupil dilation. Together, this project highlights that eye behavior represents a sensitive, objective indicator of whether attention is focused on external versus internal worlds. These findings could be used to assess changes in attention focus in an unobtrusive way (e.g., mind wandering or distractions in the context of driver safety or education).
- Universität Graz - 100%
- Roger E. Beaty, The Pennsylvania State University - USA
- Jonathan Smallwood, University of York - United Kingdom
Research Output
- 505 Citations
- 21 Publications
- 2 Datasets & models
- 2 Disseminations
- 7 Scientific Awards
- 1 Fundings
-
2022
Title What’s Creative About Sentences? A Computational Approach to Assessing Creativity in a Sentence Generation Task DOI 10.1080/10400419.2022.2124777 Type Journal Article Author Weinstein T Journal Creativity Research Journal Pages 419-430 Link Publication -
2022
Title Multimodal EEG and Eye Tracking Feature Fusion Approaches for Attention Classification in Hybrid BCIs DOI 10.3389/fcomp.2022.780580 Type Journal Article Author Vortmann L Journal Frontiers in Computer Science Pages 780580 Link Publication -
2021
Title Neurophysiological indicators of internal attention: An fMRI–eye-tracking coregistration study DOI 10.1016/j.cortex.2021.07.005 Type Journal Article Author Ceh S Journal Cortex Pages 29-46 Link Publication -
2021
Title Imaging Time Series of Eye Tracking Data to Classify Attentional States DOI 10.3389/fnins.2021.664490 Type Journal Article Author Vortmann L Journal Frontiers in Neuroscience Pages 664490 Link Publication -
2020
Title Neurophysiological indicators of internal attention: An electroencephalography–eye-tracking coregistration study DOI 10.1002/brb3.1790 Type Journal Article Author Ceh S Journal Brain and Behavior Link Publication -
2021
Title How Reliably Do Eye Parameters Indicate Internal Versus External Attentional Focus? DOI 10.1111/cogs.12977 Type Journal Article Author Annerer-Walcher S Journal Cognitive Science Link Publication -
2020
Title Eye behavior predicts susceptibility to visual distraction during internally directed cognition DOI 10.3758/s13414-020-02068-1 Type Journal Article Author Annerer-Walcher S Journal Attention, Perception, & Psychophysics Pages 3432-3444 Link Publication -
2018
Title Are you with me? Probing the human capacity to recognize external/internal attention in others’ faces DOI 10.1080/13506285.2018.1504845 Type Journal Article Author Benedek M Journal Visual Cognition Pages 511-517 Link Publication -
2017
Title Eye Behavior Associated with Internally versus Externally Directed Cognition DOI 10.3389/fpsyg.2017.01092 Type Journal Article Author Benedek M Journal Frontiers in Psychology Pages 1092 Link Publication -
2017
Title Creativity on tap? Effects of alcohol intoxication on creative cognition DOI 10.1016/j.concog.2017.06.020 Type Journal Article Author Benedek M Journal Consciousness and Cognition Pages 128-134 Link Publication -
2017
Title Looking for ideas: Eye behavior during goal-directed internally focused cognition DOI 10.1016/j.concog.2017.06.009 Type Journal Article Author Walcher S Journal Consciousness and Cognition Pages 165-175 Link Publication -
2017
Title Data on eye behavior during idea generation and letter-by-letter reading DOI 10.1016/j.dib.2017.09.009 Type Journal Article Author Walcher S Journal Data in Brief Pages 18-24 Link Publication -
2020
Title Elements of creative thought: Investigating the cognitive and neural correlates of association and bi-association processes DOI 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2020.116586 Type Journal Article Author Benedek M Journal NeuroImage Pages 116586 Link Publication -
2018
Title Eye behavior does not adapt to expected visual distraction during internally directed cognition DOI 10.1371/journal.pone.0204963 Type Journal Article Author Annerer-Walcher S Journal PLOS ONE Link Publication -
2018
Title Eye behavior does not adapt to expected visual distraction during internally directed cognition DOI 10.31234/osf.io/cvpj5 Type Preprint Author Annerer-Walcher S -
2018
Title Dozing Off or Thinking Hard? DOI 10.1145/3242969.3243000 Type Conference Proceeding Abstract Author Putze F Pages 258-262 -
2018
Title Internally Directed Attention in Creative Cognition DOI 10.1017/9781316556238.011 Type Book Chapter Author Benedek M Publisher Cambridge University Press (CUP) Pages 180-194 -
2019
Title Real-Time Multimodal Classification of Internal and External Attention DOI 10.1145/3351529.3360658 Type Conference Proceeding Abstract Author Vortmann L Pages 1-7 -
2017
Title To create or to recall original ideas: Brain processes associated with the imagination of novel object uses DOI 10.1016/j.cortex.2017.10.024 Type Journal Article Author Benedek M Journal Cortex Pages 93-102 Link Publication -
2019
Title Eye behavior predicts susceptibility to visual distraction during internally directed cognition DOI 10.31234/osf.io/afcq6 Type Preprint Author Annerer-Walcher S -
2019
Title Toward a neurocognitive framework of creative cognition: the role of memory, attention, and cognitive control DOI 10.1016/j.cobeha.2018.11.002 Type Journal Article Author Benedek M Journal Current Opinion in Behavioral Sciences Pages 116-122
-
2017
Link
Title Open archive for this project at Open Science Framework DOI 10.17605/OSF.IO/6QVCG Type Database/Collection of data Public Access Link Link -
2017
Title Data on eye behavior during idea generation and letter-by-letter reading DOI 10.1016/j.dib.2017.09.009 Type Database/Collection of data Public Access
-
2021
Title Seraphine Puchleitner Recognition Award Type Research prize Level of Recognition Regional (any country) -
2020
Title Invited Fellow of International Society for the Study of Creativity and Innovation Type Awarded honorary membership, or a fellowship, of a learned society Level of Recognition Continental/International -
2019
Title Keynote at the European Collaborative Creativity Conference (EC3) Type Personally asked as a key note speaker to a conference Level of Recognition Continental/International -
2019
Title William Stern Award Type Research prize Level of Recognition Continental/International -
2018
Title Featured speaker at the 4th annual meeting of the Society for the Neuroscience of Creativity (SfNC) Type Personally asked as a key note speaker to a conference Level of Recognition Continental/International -
2017
Title Keynote at annual meeting of IngeSt Type Personally asked as a key note speaker to a conference Level of Recognition Regional (any country) -
2017
Title INGE St Research Award Type Research prize Level of Recognition Regional (any country)
-
2020
Title Ocular mechanisms in internally directed cognition, FWF stand-alone grant Type Research grant (including intramural programme) Start of Funding 2020 Funder Austrian Science Fund (FWF)