Attentional performance

Hatzakis A, Kokkevi A, Katsouyanni K, et al. 1987. Psychometric intelligence and attentional performance deficits in lead-exposed children. In Lindberg SE, Hutchinson TC, eds. International Conference on Heavy Metals in the Environment, Vol. 1, New Orleans, LA, September. Edinburgh, UK CEP Consultants, Ltd., 204-209. 

Marks DF, MacAvoy MG. (1989). Divided attention performance in cannabis users and non-users following alcohol and cannabis separately and in combination. Psychopharmacology (Berlin). 99(3) 397-401. 

Himmelheber AM, Sarter M, Bruno JP. 2000. Increases in cortical acetylcholine release during sustained attention performance in rats. Brain Res Cogn Brain Res 9(3) 313-325. 

Arginine vasopressin (AVP), 281 Aromatase, 272 Arousal, 133-134 Atomoxetine, 425 Atropine, 308, 399-300 Attention, 117, 125, 127, 130-134, 137 Attentional performance, 146, 160-161 Attention deficit hyperactive disorder (ADHD), 117-118... 

Rodent models thus provide opportunities to explore the relationship between dopaminergic function, attention and consciousness. Based upon the well designed study of Granon et al. (2000) showing a clear improvement of attentional performance after the infusion of a D1 agonist into the prefrontal cortex, further study of cortical arousal and variability of reaction times in these models may provide important information. The preliminary data indicating that D2 receptor antagonists may increase cortical arousal (Sebban et al., 1999) is contrary to expectation and requires confirmation... 

Gill, T.M., Sarter, M., and Givens, B. (2000) Sustained visual attention performance-associated prefrontal neuronal activity evidence for cholinergic modulation. / Neurosci 20 4745 757. 

Attention. Performance Performance No effect Weak effects if... 

Dinges DF, Weaver T. Effects of modafinil on sustained attention performance and quality of life in OSA patients with residual sleepiness while being treated with nCPAP. Sleep Med. 2003 4 393-402. 

Doran SM, Van Dongen HP, Dinges DF. Sustained attention performance during sleep deprivation evidence of state instability. Archi Ital Biol Neurosci 2001 139 253-267. 

A later study supported the findings that methylphenidate s benefits are most apparent in sleep-deprived/sleep-restricted volunteers. Roehrs et al. (52) compared the effects of 09 00 doses of 10 mg methylphenidate to placebo on sleepiness (Multiple Sleep Latency Test, MSLT), Profile of Mood States (POMS) ratings, and divided-attention performance after either 4 or 8 hr of sleep. After these test days, the 4- and 8-hr sleep conditions were repeated, but this time subjects were given their choice of drug or placebo. Results indicated that performance was improved by methylphenidate, most notably after the 4-hr condition. Methylphenidate also improved sleep latency and mood, but only after restricted sleep. During the choice phase of the study, subjects showed a preference for methylphenidate after 4 hr sleep (in 88% of opportunities), but not after 8 hr sleep (in only 29% of opportunities), suggesting that the preference for methylphenidate depended on the perceived sleepiness level of the individual. 

Granon S, Passetti F, Thomas KL, Dailey JW, Everitt BJ, Robbins TW. Enhanced and impaired attentional performance after infusion of D1 dopaminergic receptor agents into rat prefrontal cortex. J Neurosci 2000 20 1208-1215. 

The effects of alcohol combined with either zaleplon or triazolam have been studied in 18 healthy volunteers (21). Triazolam, with and without ethanol, impaired digit symbol substitution, symbol copying, simple and complex reaction times, and divided attention performance compared with placebo. Zaleplon without ethanol impaired only digit symbol substitution and divided attention tracking, but when it was combined with ethanol all measures were impaired. However, zaleplon without ethanol was consistently better than triazolam alone. Zaleplon produced less performance impairment and a shorter period of ethanol potentiation than triazolam. 

Mills, K.C., and E.Z. Bisgrove. 1983. Body sway and divided attention performance under the influence of alcohol Dose-response differences between males and females. Alcohol Clin. Exp. Res. 7(4) 393-397. 

A decrease in attention performance was associated with thujone content of beverages administered to healthy volunteers at concentrations of 0,10, or 100 mg/1 thujone in alcohol, leading to an average thujone dose of 0, 0.026, or 0.26 mg/kg (doses were adjusted to provide equal amounts of alcohol in each dose). The thujone concentration was associated with a temporary counteracting of the anxiolytic effect of alcohol (Dettling et al. 2004). 

Deiml, T., R. Haseneder, W. ZiegJgUnsberger, et aL 2004, a-Thujone reduces S-HTg receptor activity by an effect on the agonist-reduced desensitization. Neuropharmacology 46 192-201. Detthng, A., H. Grass, A. Schuff, et al. 2004. Absinthe Attention performance and mood under the influence of thujone. /. Stud. Alcohol 65(5) 573-581. 

In a recent investigation, an ethanol drink high in thujone (100 mg/1) was demonstrated to have a negative effect on attention performance in human volunteers and to counteract the anxiolytic effects of ethanol alone a low-thujone (10 mg/1) preparation did not have these properties (Dettling et al. 2004). 

In comparison to single-task performance test situations, in which the attention processor may not be working at capacity, the additional demand is designed to change (compared to a single-task baseline) and sometimes maximizes the stress on attention performance resources. Performance on both primary and secondary tasks, compared to levels attained when each task is independently performed, can provide an indirect measure of capacity associated with attention [Parasuraman and Davies, 1984]. This approach... 

---