RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Distractibility and impulsivity neural states are distinct from attention states and modulate the implementation of attention
JF bioRxiv
FD Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
SP 2021.11.29.470379
DO 10.1101/2021.11.29.470379
A1 Amengual, JL
A1 Di Bello, F
A1 Ben Hadj Hassen, S
A1 Hamed, Suliann Ben
YR 2021
UL http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2021/11/30/2021.11.29.470379.abstract
AB In the context of visual attention, it has been classically assumed that missing the response to a target or erroneously selecting a distractor occurs as a consequence of the (miss)allocation of attention in space. In the present paper, we challenge this view and provide evidence that, in addition to encoding spatial attention, prefrontal neurons also encode a distractibility-to-impulsivity state. Using supervised dimensionality reduction techniques, we identify two partially overlapped neuronal subpopulations associated either with attention or overt behaviour. The degree of overlap accounts for the behavioural gain associated with the good allocation of attention. We further describe the neural variability accounting for distractibility-to-impulsivity behaviour by a two dimensional state associated with optimality in task and responsiveness. Overall, we thus show that behavioural performance arises from the integration of task-specific neuronal processes and pre-existing neuronal states describing task-independent behavioural states, shedding new light on attention disorders such as ADHD.Competing Interest StatementThe authors have declared no competing interest.