Attentional Demand: validazione di un nuovo paradigma per la quantificazione dell’impiego delle risorse attentive

This work explores the interaction between two attentional processes, selective attention, and divided attention, while also assessing the cognitive costs associated with their switching in different contexts. Despite the number of studies on task-switching, there is no data in the literature concerning the cognitive impact of switching between components of the same domain. In this study, therefore, an attempt was made to fill this gap by developing and validating the Attentional Demands Task (AD-Task). The instrument proved effective in measuring selective and divided attention, given the high correlations with established paradigms such as the Oddball task for selective attention and the Dual-Task task for divided attention. Initial results from the application of the instrument confirmed that divided attention leads to slower reaction times and less attention than selective attention due to a saturation of perceptual resources due to the concurrent processing of multiple stimuli. The innovative aspect of this research, the investigation of switching costs between different attentional states, showed that selective attention tasks, contrary to what might be expected, involve higher switching costs. Within the same work, the Revised Sleep, Circadian Rhythms, and Mood Questionnaire (rSCRAM) was validated to give more consistency in the assessment of the different samples under study, to allow reliable measurement of participants' sleep quality, chronotype, and mood by greatly reducing the battery of questionnaires. Evaluation of circadian and homeostatic variables revealed that attention is particularly vulnerable to these factors. Selective attention is more susceptible to circadian phenomena and shows greater deterioration in performance throughout the day. Divided attention and switching, on the other hand, are more vulnerable to homeostatic effects. Sleep deprivation amplifies the cognitive costs of switching, leading to prolonged reaction times and reduced accuracy, probably because prolonged wakefulness causes impairments in the functioning of the prefrontal cortex and executive processes. In addition, age-related changes in attentional capacity, a decline in attention, and greater divided attention tasks due to the increased cognitive load these tasks impose have been shown and confirmed in comparison with previous findings in the literature. This decline is related to reduced prefrontal cortex function and weakened brain connection. Overall, the results of this work contribute to the study of aging-related processes and circadian and homeostatic rhythms in the modulation of attentional components and switching ability, highlighting their impact on both short-term and long-term cognitive performance.