Callosal efficiency is related to sustained attention

Neuropsychologia. 1994 Feb;32(2):159-73. doi: 10.1016/0028-3932(94)90003-5.

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine whether there is a relationship between the efficiency of interhemispheric communication (IHC) and the ability to sustain attention. Children were tested on a vigilance task in which the amount of time between target presentations (interstimulus intervals; ISI) was varied. IHC was assessed by comparing within-field and between-field matches on a tachistoscopic task. Subjects who showed better IHC had faster RTs on the long ISI trials of the vigilance task, suggesting callosal involvement in the ability to sustain attention over a long period of time in the absence of sensory input.

Publication types

  • Comparative Study
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.

MeSH terms

  • Arousal / physiology
  • Attention / physiology*
  • Brain / physiology
  • Child
  • Corpus Callosum / physiology*
  • Female
  • Functional Laterality
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Reaction Time
  • Visual Fields