The influence of caffeine on spatial-selective attention: an event-related potential study.

OBJECTIVES: Following the indications of previous studies that caffeine might have a specific effect on the processing of spatial information compared with other types of information, the present study investigated the influence of caffeine on an often used spatial-selective attention task. METHODS: Event-related potentials (ERPs) were recorded from 11 participants under conditions of caffeine (250 mg) and placebo. RESULTS: Spatial-selective attention effects were reflected in the ERPs as more positive going occipital P1 and broadly distributed P2 components, and more negative going occipital-temporal N1 and broadly distributed N2 components. A treatment effect was found as a more positive going frontal P2 component in the caffeine condition, whereas interactions between treatment and attention were observed for P2 and N2 components, but not for P1 and N1 components. CONCLUSIONS: This pattern of results suggests that caffeine has no specific influence on spatial-selective attention, but rather, has a more general facilitating effect on perceptual processing, as well as a possible effect on the frontal control mechanisms, i.e. focusing attention and increasing selectivity.

Mental fatigue and task control: planning and preparation.

The effects of mental fatigue on planning and preparation for future actions were examined, using a task switching paradigm. Fatigue was induced by "time on task," with subjects performing a switch task continuously for 2 hr. Subjects had to alternate between tasks on every second trial, so that a new task set was required on every second trial. Manipulations of response-stimulus intervals (RSIs) were used to examine whether subjects prepared themselves for the task change. Behavioral measurements, event-related potentials (ERPs), and mood questionnaires were used to assess the effects of mental fatigue. Reaction times (RTs) were faster on trials in which no change in task set was required in comparison with switch trials, requiring a new task set. Long RSIs were used efficiently to prepare for the processing of subsequent stimuli. With increasing mental fatigue, preparation processes seemed to become less adequate and the number of errors increased. A clear poststimulus parietal negativity was observed on repetition trials, which reduced with time on task. This attention-related component was less pronounced in switch trials; instead, ERPs elicited in switch trials showed a clear frontal negativity. This negativity was also diminished by time on task. ERP differences between repetition and switch trials became smaller with increasing time on task.

The influence of caffeine on sustained attention: an ERP study.

The present study investigated the effects of caffeine on sustained attention by measuring concentration and fatigue. Event-related potentials (ERPs) and behavioral measures were recorded from 12 participants who worked continuously for approximately 10 min in a self-paced reaction task under conditions of both caffeine (250 mg) and placebo. The ERP data revealed more positive frontal P2 and parietal P3 components in the caffeine condition. However, a combination of different indices of the behavioral data did not reveal any effects of caffeine intake. These results suggest that caffeine increases arousal, thereby reducing fatigue, as was observed in the ERP results. A probable explanation for the absence of any effects of caffeine in the behavioral data can be found in the demanding properties of the task that was used, thereby supporting evidence for more pronounced effects of caffeine in suboptimal conditions. In addition, these results appeal for an increase in the use of ERPs in drug research, in order to discover possible effects on the brain which do not necessarily result in behavioral changes.

Caffeine effects on perceptual and motor processes.

The effects of a single dose of caffeine on specific information processing operations were examined by using a visual selective attention task in which subjects were asked to select between a left and right hand response on the basis of two different target letters. The target was presented on a predefined position in the visual field and was either presented alone or with flanker letters, calling for the correct, the incorrect or no specific response. A dose of 3 mg/kg body weight caffeine or lactose, dissolved in a cup of decaffeinated coffee, was administered double blind and deceptively to overnight abstinence coffee drinkers. Behavioural measures were supplemented by psychophysiological measures. The present results replicated the basic findings obtained in this paradigm. The results indicated that the time to localise the target decreased and response preparation started earlier after caffeine than after placebo. These caffeine effects did not interact with the time subjects spent on the task or with the reaction time distribution, which might be due to a high level of practice.

Acute effects of caffeine on selective attention and visual search processes.

The influence of a single dose of caffeine was evaluated in focused and divided attention conditions of a visual selective search task in which subjects had to perform controlled search processes to locate a target item. Search processes were manipulated by varying display load. A dose of 3 mg/kg body weight caffeine or lactose, dissolved in a cup of decaffeinated coffee, was administered double blindly and deceptively to overnight abstinent coffee drinkers. Behavioral measures were supplemented by event-related potentials (ERPs). Subjects reacted faster in the caffeine condition. The P3b peak latency decreased after caffeine in the low display load condition and in the focused attention condition, indicating that the effects of caffeine are dependent on the number of relevant display items, not on the total number of display items presented. Search processes, as reflected in a negative ERP deflection, were not affected by caffeine.

Caffeine and selective visual processing.

This work addressed five issues: a) Does caffeine modulate electroencephalogram (EEG) background activity in a manner consistent with the idea of cortical "arousal"? b) Is performance in a simple speeded task improved under caffeine? c) Is visual processing more selective under caffeine? d) Does caffeine affect sensory discrimination? and e) Does it affect motor processes? We presented 16 subjects with a visual selection task under conditions of either caffeine or placebo. Background EEG data, gathered before administration of the task, revealed that caffeine resulted in lower slow-alpha power, relative to placebo, which is consistent with the idea of increased cortical "arousal." During the selection task, subjects had to respond manually to a given target conjunction of spatial frequency and orientation. Other conjunctions shared spatial frequency, orientation, or neither with the target. The four conjunctions were presented in a random sequence, with SOAs ranging between 750 and 950 ms. Event-related potentials (ERPs) to the conjunctions were recorded at standard scalp locations Fz, Cz, Pz, and Oz. Under caffeine, subjects made faster responses to target conjunctions (382.9 vs. 404.5 ms) and more hits, whereas the false-alarm rate was equal across conditions. Caffeine did not affect the selection potentials normally obtained in this task by subtracting, from ERPs to nontargets with the target spatial frequency, those to nontargets with the other frequency. However, an early differential positivity (50-160 ms) was found specifically under caffeine, indicative of increased selectivity. Difference ERPs as a function of physical parameters were not affected by caffeine, indicating no effect on sensory discrimination. Onsets of response-related lateralizations above the motor cortex were not affected by caffeine, suggesting that the shorter reaction times under caffeine were due to faster central or peripheral motor processes.

Aging, caffeine, and information processing: an event-related potential analysis.

Structural and energetic processes in information processing were studied in young and elderly subjects. A visually focussed selective search task was used, in which subjects had to select relevant information, followed by controlled memory search processes to locate a target item. Caffeine was used to manipulate the energetic state of the subjects. During task performance event-related potentials (ERPs) and reaction time (RT) were recorded. Subjects were 15 young and 15 elderly healthy, non-smoking, moderate caffeine consumers (250-600 mg/day). Before the experimental sessions they abstained from caffeine for > or = 12 h. In the experiment subjects received 250 mg caffeine or placebo dissolved in decaffeinated coffee. RT data seem to indicate that aging effects are at least partly due to a shift in the speed-accuracy trade-off. ERP results provide evidence for decreased levels of energy resources in the elderly. The identification of relevant information and stimulus evaluation processes were delayed in the elderly, suggesting an additional effect of aging on structural processes. Caffeine improved performance and increased the amplitude of the N1, N2b, and P3b, in both young and old subjects. These results suggest that caffeine makes more energy resources available for task performance. The effects of aging on P3b latency were counteracted by caffeine. Other caffeine effects did not differ significantly between young and elderly subjects.

Influence of caffeine on selective attention in well-rested and fatigued subjects.

Effects of caffeine were studied in a visual focused selective search task in well-rested and fatigued subjects. A dose of 200 + 50 mg caffeine or placebo, dissolved in decaffeinated coffee, was administered in a double-blind and deceptive fashion. The task was to detect a target letter on one diagonal of a visual display designated as relevant and ignore stimuli presented on the irrelevant diagonal. Behavioral measures were supplemented by event-related potential (ERP) measures. Subjects reacted faster in the caffeine condition. Caffeine enhanced the N1 and the N2b components. Selection of relevant information apparently was more adequate in this condition. Search negativity was not affected by caffeine. Caffeine effects on the P3 elicited by target letters were more pronounced in the fatigued than in the well-rested subjects, indicating that the effects of caffeine are dependent on the state of the subject. The results suggest that caffeine has specific rather than general effects on information processing.

Influence of caffeine on information processing stages in well rested and fatigued subjects.

The effects of caffeine on different information processing stages were examined by using choice reaction time tasks. Independent variables were stimulus degradation, stimulus-response compatibility, time-uncertainty, state of the subject, and caffeine treatment. The task variables were assumed to affect the following processing stages; encoding, response selection and motor preparation, respectively. A 200 mg dose at the beginning of the experiment and a maintenance dose of 50 mg caffeine or lactose half-way through the session were administered to well rested and fatigued subjects, double-blind and deceptively. Behavioural measurements, event-related potentials (ERPs) and mood questionnaires were used to assess caffeine effects. The data showed that caffeine shortened reaction time. This effect showed an interaction with stimulus degradation and time uncertainty. In addition, ERP results supported the view that caffeine increases cortical arousal and perceptual sensitivity. Stimulating effects of caffeine were mainly located at input and output stages of the information processing system. Central processes were unaffected by caffeine. Fatigued subjects showed larger improvements in performance after caffeine than well-rested subjects. The results also indicated that caffeine effects were not stimulating in all subjects: 6 out of 30 subjects did not show arousing effects of caffeine.

Visual search and spatial attention: ERPs in focussed and divided attention conditions.

ERPs and performance were measured in divided and focussed attention visual search tasks. In focussed attention tasks, to-be-attended and to-be-ignored letters were presented simultaneously. We varied display load, mapping conditions and display size. RT, P3b-latency and negativity in the ERP associated with controlled search all increased with display load. Each of these measures showed selectivity of controlled search, in that they decreased with focussing of attention. An occipital N230, on the other hand, was not sensitive to focussing of attention, but was primarily affected by display load. ERPs to both attended and unattended targets in focussed attention conditions showed and N2 compared to nontargets, suggesting that both automatic and controlled letter classifications are possible. These effects were not affected by display size. Consistent mapping resulted in shorter RT and P3b-latency in divided attention conditions, compared to varied mapping conditions, but had no effect in focussed attention conditions.