OBJECTIVE Somatosensory event-related brain potentials (ERPs) were measured to investigate the spatial distribution of selective attention in touch, and whether the focus of tactile attention can be split between non-contiguous areas of the body surface. METHODS On each trial, vibratory tactile stimuli were delivered to one of 4 possible locations of the right hand. Participants had to attend...

AIMS Many theoretical perspectives suggest that alcohol-related stimuli bear on attentional processes. Building upon these ideas and recent advances regarding the attention-constricting impact of approach motivational states, we predicted that mere exposure to alcohol-related images would suffice to reduce the breadth of attention among individuals who possessed a strong motivation to consume a...

Appropriate verbal instruction is critical to effective guidance of movements. Internal (movement focus) and external (outcome focus) attentional focusing instructions have been shown to influence movement kinetics and muscular activity; this study investigated their effects during a force production task. Twenty-five participants (mean age of 22.72 +/- 1.88 years) completed 10 repetitions of s...

In addition to sensory decline, age-related losses in auditory perception also reflect impairments in attentional modulation of perceptual saliency. Using an attention and intensity-modulated dichotic listening paradigm, we investigated electrophysiological correlates of processing conflicts between attentional focus and perceptual saliency in 25 younger and 26 older adults. Participants were i...

Attention and visual perception are important in fencing, as they affect the levels of performance and achievement in fencers. This study identifies the levels of attention and visual perception among male and female fencers and the relationship between attention and visual perception dimensions and the sport performance in fencing. The researcher employed a descriptive method in a sample of 16...

Auditory brainstem responses (ABRs) and their steady-state counterpart (subcortical steady-state responses, SSSRs) are generally thought to be insensitive to cognitive demands. However, a handful of studies report that SSSRs are modulated depending on the subject׳s focus of attention, either towards or away from an auditory stimulus. Here, we explored whether attentional focus affects the envel...

The purpose of present study was investigation of the effect of attentional focus of novice players’ self-statements in basketball free throw practice on their state anxiety in transfer test with spectators’ presence. Therefore, 38 novice females (mean of the age=22 yrs.) who had intermediate trait anxiety were selected randomly by sports competitive anxiety test (SCAT). The participants were a...

Studies investigating the influence of the learner’s focus of attention suggest that, in general, directing performers’ attention to the effects of their movements (external focus of attention) is more beneficial than directing their attention to their own movements (internal focus of attention). It has been shown that different attentional foci are associated with different motor control proce...

We examined whether the attentional focus induced by a suprapostural task has an influence on the learning of a dynamic balance task. Participants balanced on a stabilometer and were required to hold a tube horizontal with both hands. In Experiment 1, the tube contained a table tennis ball, whereas it was empty in Experiment 2. Participants were instructed to focus on either their hands (intern...