Attention and distraction

وَأَنذِرۡهُمۡ يَوۡمَ ٱلۡحَسۡرَةِ إِذۡ قُضِيَ ٱلۡأَمۡرُ وَهُمۡ فِي غَفۡلَةࣲ وَهُمۡ لَا يُؤۡمِنُونَ

for they are heedless and do not believe

ٱقۡتَرَبَ لِلنَّاسِ حِسَابُهُمۡ وَهُمۡ فِي غَفۡلَةࣲ مُّعۡرِضُونَ

Ever closer to people draws their reckoning, while they turn away, heedless

قُلۡ يَٰٓأَهۡلَ ٱلۡكِتَٰبِ لِمَ تَصُدُّونَ عَن سَبِيلِ ٱللَّهِ مَنۡ ءَامَنَ تَبۡغُونَهَا عِوَجࣰ ا وَأَنتُمۡ شُهَدَآءُۗ وَمَا ٱللَّهُ بِغَٰفِلٍ عَمَّا تَعۡمَلُونَ

Say, ‘People of the Book, why do you turn the believers away from God’s path and try to make it crooked, when you yourselves [should be] witnesses to the [truth]? God is not heedless of anything you do.’

وَإِذَا كُنتَ فِيهِمۡ فَأَقَمۡتَ لَهُمُ ٱلصَّلَوٰةَ فَلۡتَقُمۡ طَآئِفَةࣱ مِّنۡهُم مَّعَكَ وَلۡيَأۡخُذُوٓاْ أَسۡلِحَتَهُمۡۖ فَإِذَا سَجَدُواْ فَلۡيَكُونُواْ مِن وَرَآئِكُمۡ وَلۡتَأۡتِ طَآئِفَةٌ أُخۡرَىٰ لَمۡ يُصَلُّواْ فَلۡيُصَلُّواْ مَعَكَ وَلۡيَأۡخُذُواْ حِذۡرَهُمۡ وَأَسۡلِحَتَهُمۡۗ وَدَّ ٱلَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ لَوۡ تَغۡفُلُونَ عَنۡ أَسۡلِحَتِكُمۡ وَأَمۡتِعَتِكُمۡ فَيَمِيلُونَ عَلَيۡكُم مَّيۡلَةࣰ وَٰحِدَةࣰۚ وَلَا جُنَاحَ عَلَيۡكُمۡ إِن كَانَ بِكُمۡ أَذࣰ ى مِّن مَّطَرٍ أَوۡ كُنتُم مَّرۡضَىٰٓ أَن تَضَعُوٓاْ أَسۡلِحَتَكُمۡۖ وَخُذُواْ حِذۡرَكُمۡۗ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ أَعَدَّ لِلۡكَٰفِرِينَ عَذَابࣰ ا مُّهِينࣰ ا

When you [Prophet] are with the believers, leading them in prayer, let a group of them stand up in prayer with you, taking their weapons with them, and when they have finished their prostration, let them take up their positions at the back. Then let the other group, who have not yet prayed, pray with you, also on their guard and armed with their weapons: the disbelievers would dearly like you to be heedless of your weapons and baggage, in order for them to take you in a single assault. You will not be blamed if you lay aside your arms when you are overtaken by heavy rain or illness, but be on your guard. Indeed, God has prepared a humiliating punishment for the disbelievers

وَلَقَدۡ ذَرَأۡنَا لِجَهَنَّمَ كَثِيرࣰ ا مِّنَ ٱلۡجِنِّ وَٱلۡإِنسِۖ لَهُمۡ قُلُوبࣱ لَّا يَفۡقَهُونَ بِهَا وَلَهُمۡ أَعۡيُنࣱ لَّا يُبۡصِرُونَ بِهَا وَلَهُمۡ ءَاذَانࣱ لَّا يَسۡمَعُونَ بِهَآۚ أُوْلَٰٓئِكَ كَٱلۡأَنۡعَٰمِ بَلۡ هُمۡ أَضَلُّۚ أُوْلَٰٓئِكَ هُمُ ٱلۡغَٰفِلُونَ

We have created many jinn and people who are destined for Hell, with hearts they do not use for comprehension, eyes they do not use for sight, ears they do not use for hearing. They are like cattle, no, even further astray: these are the ones who are entirely heedless

وَٱذۡكُر رَّبَّكَ فِي نَفۡسِكَ تَضَرُّعࣰ ا وَخِيفَةࣰ وَدُونَ ٱلۡجَهۡرِ مِنَ ٱلۡقَوۡلِ بِٱلۡغُدُوِّ وَٱلۡأٓصَالِ وَلَا تَكُن مِّنَ ٱلۡغَٰفِلِينَ

[Prophet], remember your Lord inwardly, in all humility and awe, without raising your voice, in the mornings and in the evenings- do not be one of the heedless

Warn them of the day of remorse. The Day of Remorse is the Day of Resurrection. Wretchedness preceded for one group without their having committing disobedience, and felicity for another group without their having done beautiful deeds. The Day of Remorse is the first day in the era of the Beginningless, when it was ruled and decreed that everyone would be given what was suited for him: One would be driven away without any offense, and the other caressed but not because of obedience. For one a robe of elevation was woven without bias, and the other was burned in the fire of severance without iniquity. One was full of joy on the carpet of gentleness and heard the address, “So rejoice in your sale!” [9:111]. The other was in the pit of abandonment with the attribute of deprivation and tasted the venom of “Die in your rage!” [3:119]. Yes, He put into effect the precedent as He knew it, and H

And warn them threaten O Muhammad (s) the disbelievers of Mecca of the Day of Regret namely the Day of Resurrection on which the sinner will regret not having been virtuous in the life of this world when the matter will be decided for them thereupon that they be chastised while they in this world are yet heedless of it and do not believe in it the Day of Resurrection.

Nigh has drawn for mankind the people of Mecca the deniers of the Resurrection their reckoning on the Day of Resurrection yet they are heedless of it disregardful of the preparation required for it by way of embracing faith.

The Virtues of Surat Al-Anbiya' Al-Bukhari recorded that 'Abdur-Rahman bin Yazid said that 'Abdullah said, "Banu Isra'il, Al-Kahf, Maryam, Ta Ha and Al-Anbiya' - they are among the earliest and most beautiful Surahs and they are my treasure." بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. اقْتَرَبَ لِلنَّاسِ حِسَابُهُمْ وَهُمْ فِي غَفْلَةٍ مُّعْرِضُونَ - مَا يَأْتِيهِم مِّن ذِكْرٍ مِّن رَّبِّهِم مُّحْدَثٍ إِلَّا اسْتَمَعُوهُ وَهُمْ يَلْعَبُونَ - لَاهِيَةً قُلُوبُهُمْ ۗ وَأَسَرُّوا النَّجْوَى الَّذِينَ ظَلَمُوا هَلْ هَٰذَا إِلَّا بَشَرٌ مِّثْلُكُمْ ۖ أَفَتَأْتُونَ السِّحْرَ وَأَنتُمْ تُبْصِرُونَ - قَالَ رَبِّي يَعْلَمُ الْقَوْلَ فِي السَّمَاءِ وَالْأَرْضِ ۖ وَهُوَ السَّمِيعُ الْعَلِيمُ - بَلْ قَالُوا أَضْغَاثُ أَحْلَامٍ بَلِ افْتَرَاهُ بَلْ هُوَ شَاعِرٌ فَلْيَأْتِنَا بِآيَةٍ كَمَا أُرْسِلَ الْأَوَّلُونَ - مَا آمَنَتْ قَبْلَهُم مِّن ق

(And when thou (O Muhammad) art among them and arrangest (their) worship for them�) [4:102]. The teacher Abu �Uthman al-Za�farani al-Muqri� informed us in the year [4]25> Abu Muhammad �Abd Allah ibn Muhammad ibn �Ali ibn Ziyad al-Suddi in the year 363> Abu Sa�id al-Fadl ibn Muhammad al-Jazari in the Sacred Mosque, Mecca, in 304> �Ali ibn Ziyad al-Lahji> Abu Qurrah Musa ibn Tariq> Sufyan> Mansur> Mujahid> Abu �Ayyash al-Zurraqi who said: �We performed the prayer of Zuhr with the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, upon which the idolaters exclaimed: �They were in a vulnerable situation, why did we not attack them by surprise?� Then they said: �There shall come another prayer which is more beloved to them than their own fathers, which is the midafternoon (�Asr) prayer�. Gabriel, peace be upon him, then came down with these verses between the Zuhr and the �Asr prayers. (

And remember thy Lord in thyself. The rememberers are three men: One remembers with the tongue while the heart is unaware. Another remembers with both tongue and heart, but his work is in danger, as has been said, " The self-purifiers are in grave danger. " Still another is silent with the tongue but his heart is drowned in Him. The Pir of the Tariqah said, " O God, how can I remember, for I myself am all remembrance? I have given the harvest of my marks to the wind. How can I remember Him whom I have not for- gotten? O remembrance of the spirits, remembered by the hearts, and mentioned by the tongues! Remember me with Your bounty and make me happy with gentle remembrance! "

حَدَّثَنَا عَبْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ يُوسُفَ، أَخْبَرَنَا مَالِكٌ، عَنْ يَحْيَى بْنِ سَعِيدٍ، عَنْ عَبْدِ الرَّحْمَنِ الأَعْرَجِ، عَنْ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ ابْنِ بُحَيْنَةَ ـ رضى الله عنه ـ أَنَّهُ قَالَ إِنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم قَامَ مِنِ اثْنَتَيْنِ مِنَ الظُّهْرِ لَمْ يَجْلِسْ بَيْنَهُمَا، فَلَمَّا قَضَى صَلاَتَهُ سَجَدَ سَجْدَتَيْنِ ثُمَّ سَلَّمَ بَعْدَ ذَلِكَ‏.‏

Narrated `Abdullah bin Buhaina:Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) got up after the second rak`a of the Zuhr prayer without sitting in between (the second and the third rak`at). When he finished the prayer he performed two prostrations (of Sahu) and then finished the prayer with Taslim

حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو الْوَلِيدِ، حَدَّثَنَا شُعْبَةُ، عَنِ الْحَكَمِ، عَنْ إِبْرَاهِيمَ، عَنْ عَلْقَمَةَ، عَنْ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ ـ رضى الله عنه ـ أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم صَلَّى الظُّهْرَ خَمْسًا فَقِيلَ لَهُ أَزِيدَ فِي الصَّلاَةِ فَقَالَ ‏ "‏ وَمَا ذَاكَ ‏"‏‏.‏ قَالَ صَلَّيْتَ خَمْسًا‏.‏ فَسَجَدَ سَجْدَتَيْنِ بَعْدَ مَا سَلَّمَ‏.‏

Narrated' `Abdullah:Once Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) offered five rak`at in the Zuhr prayer, and somebody asked him whether there was some increase in the prayer. Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said, "What is that?" He said, "You have offered five rak`at." So Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) performed two prostrations of Sahu after Taslim

أَخْبَرَنَا إِسْحَاقُ بْنُ إِبْرَاهِيمَ، قَالَ أَنْبَأَنَا عَبْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ إِدْرِيسَ، قَالَ أَنْبَأَنَا ابْنُ جُرَيْجٍ، عَنِ ابْنِ أَبِي عَمَّارٍ، عَنْ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ بَابَيْهِ، عَنْ يَعْلَى بْنِ أُمَيَّةَ، قَالَ قُلْتُ لِعُمَرَ بْنِ الْخَطَّابِ ‏{‏ لَيْسَ عَلَيْكُمْ جُنَاحٌ أَنْ تَقْصُرُوا، مِنَ الصَّلاَةِ إِنْ خِفْتُمْ أَنْ يَفْتِنَكُمُ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا ‏}‏ فَقَدْ أَمِنَ النَّاسُ ‏.‏ فَقَالَ عُمَرُ رضى الله عنه عَجِبْتُ مِمَّا عَجِبْتَ مِنْهُ فَسَأَلْتُ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم عَنْ ذَلِكَ فَقَالَ ‏"‏ صَدَقَةٌ تَصَدَّقَ اللَّهُ بِهَا عَلَيْكُمْ فَاقْبَلُوا صَدَقَتَهُ ‏"‏ ‏.‏

It was narrated that Ya'la bin Umayyah said:"I said to 'Umar bin Al-Khattab: 'There is no sin on you if you shorten salah and if you fear that the disbelievers may put you in trial (attack you). But now the people are safe.' 'Umar said: 'I wondered the same thing, so I asked the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) about that and he said: This is a favor from Allah (SWT) to you, so accept His favor

أَخْبَرَنَا قُتَيْبَةُ، قَالَ حَدَّثَنَا اللَّيْثُ، عَنِ ابْنِ شِهَابٍ، عَنْ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ أَبِي بَكْرِ بْنِ عَبْدِ الرَّحْمَنِ، عَنْ أُمَيَّةَ بْنِ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ خَالِدٍ، أَنَّهُ قَالَ لِعَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ عُمَرَ إِنَّا نَجِدُ صَلاَةَ الْحَضَرِ وَصَلاَةَ الْخَوْفِ فِي الْقُرْآنِ وَلاَ نَجِدُ صَلاَةَ السَّفَرِ فِي الْقُرْآنِ ‏.‏ فَقَالَ لَهُ ابْنُ عُمَرَ يَا ابْنَ أَخِي إِنَّ اللَّهَ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ بَعَثَ إِلَيْنَا مُحَمَّدًا صلى الله عليه وسلم وَلاَ نَعْلَمُ شَيْئًا وَإِنَّمَا نَفْعَلُ كَمَا رَأَيْنَا مُحَمَّدًا صلى الله عليه وسلم يَفْعَلُ ‏.‏

It was narrated from Umayyah bin 'Abdullah bin Khalid that:He said to 'Abdullah bin 'Umar: "We find (mention of) prayer when one is at home (i.e., not traveling) and prayer at times of fear in the Qur'an, but we do not find any mention in the Qur'an of prayer when traveling. Ibn Umar said to him: 'O son of my brother, Allah (SWT) send Muhammad (ﷺ) to us when we did not know anything, and all we should do is to do that which we saw Muhammad (ﷺ) doing

حَدَّثَنَا ابْنُ نُمَيْرٍ، حَدَّثَنَا ابْنُ فُضَيْلٍ، حَدَّثَنَا الأَعْمَشُ، عَنْ إِبْرَاهِيمَ، عَنْ عَلْقَمَةَ، عَنْ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ ـ رضى الله عنه ـ قَالَ كُنَّا نُسَلِّمُ عَلَى النَّبِيِّ صلى الله عليه وسلم وَهُوَ فِي الصَّلاَةِ فَيَرُدُّ عَلَيْنَا، فَلَمَّا رَجَعْنَا مِنْ عِنْدِ النَّجَاشِيِّ سَلَّمْنَا عَلَيْهِ فَلَمْ يَرُدَّ عَلَيْنَا وَقَالَ ‏ "‏ إِنَّ فِي الصَّلاَةِ شُغْلاً ‏"‏‏.‏

Narrated `Abdullah:We used to greet the Prophet (ﷺ) while he was praying and he used to answer our greetings. When we returned from An-Najashi (the ruler of Ethiopia), we greeted him, but he did not answer us (during the prayer) and (after finishing the prayer) he said, "In the prayer one is occupied (with a more serious matter)

حَدَّثَنَا ابْنُ نُمَيْرٍ، حَدَّثَنَا إِسْحَاقُ بْنُ مَنْصُورٍ، حَدَّثَنَا هُرَيْمُ بْنُ سُفْيَانَ، عَنِ الأَعْمَشِ، عَنْ إِبْرَاهِيمَ، عَنْ عَلْقَمَةَ، عَنْ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ ـ رضى الله عنه ـ عَنِ النَّبِيِّ صلى الله عليه وسلم نَحْوَهُ‏.‏

Narrated `Abdullah:The same as No. 290. from the Prophet

فدلت هذه الحكايات والأخبار مع ما سبق على أن الأصل في الصلاة الخشوع وحضور القلب وأن مجرد الحركات مع الغفلة قليل الجدوى في المعاد والله أعلم

والحضور مضاد للعزوب والغفلة وإن لم يكن مفصلا

وأما ذكر الرعاية : فمثل قول الذاكر : الله معي والله ناظر إلي الله شاهدي ونحو ذلك مما يستعمل لتقوية الحضور مع الله وفيه رعاية لمصلحة القلب ولحفظ الأدب مع الله والتحرز من الغفلة والاعتصام من الشيطان والنفس

يريد بالخفي ههنا : الذكر بمجرد القلب بما يعرض له من الواردات وهذا ثمرة الذكر الأول ويريد بالخلاض من القيود : التخلص من الغفلة والنسيان والحجب الحائلة بين القلب وبين الرب سبحانه والبقاء مع الشهود : ملازمة الحضور مع المذكور ومشاهدة القلب له حتى كأنه يراه

ثم يتشعب من كل واحدة من هذه الخصال العشر عشر أخرى من الرذائل لم نطول بذكرها وتفصيل آحادها مثل الأنفة والغضب والبغضاء والطمع وحب طلب المال والجاه للتمكن من الغلبة والمباهاة والأشر والبطر وتعظيم الأغنياء والسلاطين والتردد إليهم والأخذ من حرامهم والتجمل بالخيول والمراكب والثياب المحظورة والاستحقار للناس بالفخر والخيلاء والخوض فيما لا يعني وكثرة الكلام وخروج الخشية والخوف والرحمة من القلب واستيلاء الغفلة عليه حتى لا يدري المصلي منهم في صلاته ما صلى وما الذي يقرأ ومن الذي يناجيه ولايحس بالخشوع من قلبه مع استغراق العمر في العلوم التي تعين في المناظرة مع أنها لا تنفع في الآخرة من تحسين العبارة وتسجيع اللفظ وحفظ النوادر إلى غير ذلك من أمور لا تحصى

وإذا أردت منهم هذا القدر كما ينبغي فانظر وقت أخذك في القراءة إذا أعرضت عن واجبها وتدبرها وتعقلها وفهم ما أريد بكل آية وحظك من الخطاب بها وتنزيلها على أدواء قلبك والتقيد بها كيف تدرك الختمة أو أكثرها أو ما قرأت منها بسهولة وخفة مستكثرا من القراءة فإذا ألزمت نفسك التدبر ومعرفة المراد والنظر إلى ما يخصك منه والتعبد به وتنزيل دوائه على أدواء قلبك والإستشفاء به لم تكد تجوز السورة أو الآية إلى غيرها وكذلك إذا جمعت قلبك كله على ركعتين أعطيتهما ما تقدر عليه من الحضور والخشوع والمراقبة لم تكد أن تصلي غيرهما إلا بجهد فإذا خلا القلب من ذلك عددت الركعات بلا حساب فالإستكثار من الطاعات دون مراعاة آفاتها وعيوبها ليتوب منها هي توبة العامة

Effects of L-theanine-caffeine combination on sustained attention and inhibitory control among children with ADHD: a proof-of-concept neuroimaging RCT.: We examined the acute effects of L-theanine, caffeine and their combination on sustained attention, inhibitory control and overall cognition in boys with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). L-Theanine (2.5 mg/kg), caffeine (2.0 mg/kg), their combination and a placebo were administered in a randomized four-way repeated-measures crossover with washout, to five boys (8-15 years) with ADHD. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was performed during a Go/NoGo task and a Stop-signa

Stimulating meditation: a pre-registered randomised controlled experiment combining a single dose of the cognitive enhancer, modafinil, with brief mindfulness training.: Background: Mindfulness-meditation has a variety of benefits on well-being. However, individuals with primary attentional impairments (e.g. attention deficit disorder) or attentional symptoms secondary to anxiety, depression or addiction, may be less likely to benefit, and require additional mindfulness-augmenting strategies. Aims: To determine whether a single dose of the cognitive enhancer, modafinil, acutely increases subjective and behavioural indices of mindfulness, and augments brief mindf

Mind Wandering (Internal Distractibility) in ADHD: A Literature Review.: Objective: Mind wandering, the unintended shifting of attention from a task, has been previously associated with symptoms of ADHD. To this end, we conducted a literature search to investigate the association between mind wandering and ADHD. Method: We conducted a systematic search of the literature of relevant articles assessing mind wandering and ADHD in PubMed, PsycINFO/OVID, and Medline. Included were original articles in English that had operationalized definitions of ADHD and mind wandering

A novel digital intervention for actively reducing severity of paediatric ADHD (STARS-ADHD): a randomised controlled trial.: Background: Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a common paediatric neurodevelopmental disorder with substantial effect on families and society. Alternatives to traditional care, including novel digital therapeutics, have shown promise to remediate cognitive deficits associated with this disorder and may address barriers to standard therapies, such as pharmacological interventions and behavioural therapy. AKL-T01 is an investigational digital therapeutic designed to target attenti

Randomised sham-controlled study of high-frequency bilateral deep transcranial magnetic stimulation (dTMS) to treat adult attention hyperactive disorder (ADHD): Negative results.: Objectives: Recent studies support the possible effectiveness of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) as a treatment for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The objective of this study was to evaluate the safety and possible efficacy of bilateral prefrontal deep rTMS for the treatment of adult ADHD. Methods: Twenty-six adult ADHD patients were randomised blindly to sham or actual deep TMS (dTMS). Twenty daily sessions were conducted using the bilateral H5 dTMS coil (B

Atomoxetine treatment of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder in young adults with assessment of functional outcomes: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial.: Background: Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is associated with significant impairment in multiple functional domains. This trial evaluated efficacy in ADHD symptoms and functional outcomes in young adults treated with atomoxetine. Methods: Young adults (18-30 years old) with ADHD were randomized to 12 weeks of double-blind treatment with atomoxetine (n = 220) or placebo (n = 225). The primary efficacy measure of ADHD symptom change was Conners' Adult ADHD Rating Scale (CAARS): In

Less food for thought. Impact of attentional instructions on intrusive thoughts about snack foods.

Intrusive thoughts about food may play a role in unhealthy eating behaviours. Food-related thoughts that capture attention can lead to craving and further intrusive thoughts (Kavanagh, Andrade, & May, 2005). We tested whether diverting attention to mental images or bodily sensations would reduce the incidence of intrusive thoughts about snack foods. In two experiments, participants reported their thoughts in response to probes during three 10min periods. In the Baseline and Post-task period, participants were asked to let their mind wander. In the middle, Experimental, period, participants followed mind wandering (Control), thought diversion, or Thought Suppression instructions. Self-directed or Guided Imagery, Mindfulness-based Body Scanning, and Thought Suppression all reduced the proportion of thoughts about food, compared to Baseline. Following Body Scanning and Thought Suppression, …

matched on Attention (mesh), mind wandering (text)

Trait anxiety and impoverished prefrontal control of attention.

Many neurocognitive models of anxiety emphasize the importance of a hyper-responsive threat-detection system centered on the amygdala, with recent accounts incorporating a role for prefrontal mechanisms in regulating attention to threat. Here we investigated whether trait anxiety is associated with a much broader dysregulation of attentional control. Volunteers performed a response-conflict task under conditions that posed high or low demands on attention. High trait-anxious individuals showed reduced prefrontal activity and slower target identification in response to processing competition when the task did not fully occupy attentional resources. The relationship between trait anxiety and prefrontal recruitment remained after controlling for state anxiety. These findings indicate that trait anxiety is linked to impoverished recruitment of prefrontal attentional control mechanisms to inh…

matched on Attention (mesh), attentional control (text)

Efficacy and effectiveness of school-based prevention and early intervention programs for anxiety.

A systematic review was conducted of school-based prevention and early intervention programs for anxiety. The aim of the review was to identify and describe the programs available, and to evaluate their effectiveness in reducing symptoms of anxiety. Twenty-seven outcome trials, describing 20 individual programs, were identified through the Cochrane Library, PsycInfo and PubMed databases. Results of the review indicated that most universal, selective and indicated prevention programs are effective in reducing symptoms of anxiety in children and adolescents, with effect sizes ranging from 0.11 to 1.37. Most programs targeted adolescents (59%), were aimed at reducing the symptoms of nonspecific anxiety (67%), and delivered cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT; 78%). Further quality school-based research is required that involves longer-term follow-up, the use of attention control conditions a…

matched on Attention (mesh), attentional control (text)

Anatomy of an error: a bidirectional state model of task engagement/disengagement and attention-related errors.

We present arguments and evidence for a three-state attentional model of task engagement/disengagement. The model postulates three states of mind-wandering: occurrent task inattention, generic task inattention, and response disengagement. We hypothesize that all three states are both causes and consequences of task performance outcomes and apply across a variety of experimental and real-world tasks. We apply this model to the analysis of a widely used GO/NOGO task, the Sustained Attention to Response Task (SART). We identify three performance characteristics of the SART that map onto the three states of the model: RT variability, anticipations, and omissions. Predictions based on the model are tested, and largely corroborated, via regression and lag-sequential analyses of both successful and unsuccessful withholding on NOGO trials as well as self-reported mind-wandering and everyday cogn…

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When attention matters: the curious incident of the wandering mind.

Attention plays an essential role in the construction of the mental models necessary to make sense of ongoing events. In this article, we consider the implications of temporary inattention during reading for the construction and updating of the situation model during text comprehension. We examined how self-reported mind wandering during reading relates to the online construction of the situation model of the narrative, which in this case involved the pseudonym used by a villain in a detective novella. In successful readers, mind wandering without awareness, referred to as zoning out, was less frequent when the text revealed a clue about the villain's identity. Additional analyses indicated that mind wandering interfered with the construction of the situation model independent of the participants' ability to retrieve factual information. The analysis of the temporal consequences of zonin…

matched on Attention (mesh), mind wandering (text)

Going AWOL in the brain: mind wandering reduces cortical analysis of external events.

Converging evidence from neuroscience suggests that our attention to the outside world waxes and wanes over time. We examined whether these periods of "mind wandering" are associated with reduced cortical analysis of the external environment. Participants performed a sustained attention to response task in which they responded to frequent "nontargets" (digits 0-9) and withheld responses for infrequent "targets" (the letter X). Mind wandering was defined both behaviorally, indicated by a failure to withhold a response to a target, and subjectively, via self-report at a thought probe. The P300 event-related potential component for nontargets was reduced prior to both the behavioral and subjective reports of mind wandering, relative to periods of being "on-task." Regression analysis of P300 amplitude revealed significant common variance between behavioral and subjective markers of mind wand…

matched on Attention (mesh), mind wandering (text)

For whom the mind wanders, and when: an experience-sampling study of working memory and executive control in daily life.

An experience-sampling study of 124 undergraduates, pretested on complex memory-span tasks, examined the relation between working memory capacity (WMC) and the experience of mind wandering in daily life. Over 7 days, personal digital assistants signaled subjects eight times daily to report immediately whether their thoughts had wandered from their current activity, and to describe their psychological and physical context. WMC moderated the relation between mind wandering and activities' cognitive demand. During challenging activities requiring concentration and effort, higher-WMC subjects maintained on-task thoughts better, and mind-wandered less, than did lower-WMC subjects. The results were therefore consistent with theories of WMC emphasizing the role of executive attention and control processes in determining individual differences and their cognitive consequences.

matched on Attention (mesh), mind wandering (text)

The lights are on but no one's home: meta-awareness and the decoupling of attention when the mind wanders.

In a recent review, we suggested that an important aspect of mind-wandering is whether participants are aware that they are off task (Smallwood & Schooler, 2006). We tested this hypothesis by examining the information-processing correlates of mind wandering with and without awareness in a task requiring participants to encode words and detect targets with either a high or a low probability. Target detection was measured via response inhibition. Mind wandering in the absence of awareness was associated with a failure to supervise task performance, as indicated by short RTs, and was predictive of failures in response inhibition. Under conditions of low target probability, mind wandering was associated with a relative absence of the influence of recollection at retrieval. The results are consistent with the notion that mind wandering involves a state of decoupled attention and emphasizes th…

matched on Attention (mesh), mind wandering (text)

Attention control, memory updating, and emotion regulation temporarily reduce the capacity for executive control.

This research tested the hypothesis that initial efforts at executive control temporarily undermine subsequent efforts at executive control. Four experiments revealed that controlling the focus of visual attention (Experiment 1), inhibiting predominant writing tendencies (Experiment 2), taking a working memory test (Experiment 3), or exaggerating emotional expressions (Experiment 4) undermined performance on subsequent tests of working memory span, reverse digit span, and response inhibition, respectively. The results supported a limited resource model of executive control and cast doubt on competing accounts based on mood, motivation, or task difficulty. Prior efforts at executive control are a significant contextual determinant of the operation of executive processes.

matched on Attention (mesh), attentional control (text)

Counting the cost of an absent mind: mind wandering as an underrecognized influence on educational performance.

Successful learning requires that individuals integrate information from the external environment with their own internal representations. In this article, we consider the role that mind wandering plays in education. Mind wandering represents a state of decoupled attention because, instead of processing information from the external environment, our attention is directed toward our own private thoughts and feelings. In principle, because mind wandering is a state of decoupled attention, it represents a fundamental breakdown in the individual's ability to attend (and therefore integrate) information from the external environment. We consider evidence that mind wandering impairs the encoding of information, leading to failures in building a propositional model of a sentence and, ultimately, impairing the building of a narrative model with sufficient detail to allow generating inferences. N…

matched on Attention (mesh), mind wandering (text)

Working memory and executive function: the influence of content and load on the control of attention.

In a series of three experiments, increasing working memory (WM) load was demonstrated to reduce the executive control of attention, measured via task-switching and inhibitory control paradigms. Uniquely, our paradigms allowed comparison of the ability to exert executive control when the stimulus was either part of the currently rehearsed memory set or an unrelated distractor item. The results demonstrated a content-specific effect-insofar as switching attention away from, or exerting inhibitory control over, items currently held in WM was especially difficult-compounded by increasing WM load. This finding supports the attentional control theory that active maintenance of competing task goals is critical to executive function and WM capacity; however, it also suggests that the increased salience provided to the contents of WM through active rehearsal exerts a content-specific influence o…

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Individual differences in visual attention and self-regulation: A multimethod longitudinal study from infancy to toddlerhood.

Given the importance of self-regulation for a broad range of developmental outcomes, identifying reliable precursors of self-regulation early in development is important for early prevention of developmental problems. The aim of this study was to examine whether three visual attention measures (fixation duration, variation in fixation duration, and disengagement) in infancy (9.10-11.43 months of age) predicted effortful control and compliance in toddlerhood (26.71-31.80 months). The sample consisted of 74 children (50% boys). In infancy, two eye-tracking tasks were conducted: a visual search task to assess fixation duration and variation in fixation duration (n = 58) and the gap-overlap task to assess disengagement (n = 49). In toddlerhood, children's effortful control (n = 65) and compliance (n = 65) were assessed by parent reports and observed during a delay of gratification task and a…

matched on Attention (mesh), Fixation, Ocular (mesh)

Developmental changes in social attention and oxytocin levels in infants and children.

Oxytocin (OT) signalling represents one of the most critical systems involved in human social behaviour. Although several studies have examined the relationship between social functioning and peripheral OT levels, the association between OT and the development of social attention has not been well studied. Therefore, we investigated the developmental relationship between gaze fixation for social cues and OT levels during young childhood. We examined visual attention using an eye tracking system in infants and children (5-90 months of age) and measured the concentration of OT in saliva samples. We observed a negative association between age and both attention toward social cues and salivary OT levels, and a positive association between age and attention for non-social cues. We also observed that salivary OT levels were modulated by polymorphisms in oxytocin receptor (OXTR) rs53576. Our re…

matched on Attention (mesh), Fixation, Ocular (mesh)

Ego depletion and attention regulation under pressure: is a temporary loss of self-control strength indeed related to impaired attention regulation?

In the current study we investigated whether ego depletion negatively affects attention regulation under pressure in sports by assessing participants' dart throwing performance and accompanying gaze behavior. According to the strength model of self-control, the most important aspect of self-control is attention regulation. Because higher levels of state anxiety are associated with impaired attention regulation, we chose a mixed design with ego depletion (yes vs. no) as between-subjects and anxiety level (high vs. low) as within-subjects factor. Participants performed a perceptual-motor task requiring selective attention, namely, dart throwing. In line with our expectations, depleted participants in the high-anxiety condition performed worse and displayed a shorter final fixation on bull's eye, demonstrating that when one's self-control strength is depleted, attention regulation under pre…

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Amygdala lesions in rhesus macaques decrease attention to threat.

Evidence from animal and human studies has suggested that the amygdala plays a role in detecting threat and in directing attention to the eyes. Nevertheless, there has been no systematic investigation of whether the amygdala specifically facilitates attention to the eyes or whether other features can also drive attention via amygdala processing. The goal of the present study was to examine the effects of amygdala lesions in rhesus monkeys on attentional capture by specific facial features, as well as gaze patterns and changes in pupil dilation during free viewing. Here we show reduced attentional capture by threat stimuli, specifically the mouth, and reduced exploration of the eyes in free viewing in monkeys with amygdala lesions. Our findings support a role for the amygdala in detecting threat signals and in directing attention to the eye region of faces when freely viewing different ex…

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Fear of Negative Evaluation Influences Eye Gaze in Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Pilot Study.

Social anxiety is common among adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). In this modest-sized pilot study, we examined the relationship between social worries and gaze patterns to static social stimuli in adolescents with ASD (n = 15) and gender-matched adolescents without ASD (control; n = 18). Among cognitively unimpaired adolescents with ASD, self-reported fear of negative evaluation predicted greater gaze duration to social threat cues (i.e., faces depicting disgust and anger). By comparison, there was no relationship between self-reported social fears and gaze duration in the controls. These findings call attention to the potential import of the impact of co-occurring psychopathology such as social anxiety, and particularly fear of negative evaluation, on social attention and cognition with adolescents who have ASD.

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Elevated amygdala response to faces and gaze aversion in autism spectrum disorder.

Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are often associated with impairments in judgment of facial expressions. This impairment is often accompanied by diminished eye contact and atypical amygdala responses to face stimuli. The current study used a within-subjects design to examine the effects of natural viewing and an experimental eye-gaze manipulation on amygdala responses to faces. Individuals with ASD showed less gaze toward the eye region of faces relative to a control group. Among individuals with ASD, reduced eye gaze was associated with higher threat ratings of neutral faces. Amygdala signal was elevated in the ASD group relative to controls. This elevated response was further potentiated by experimentally manipulating gaze to the eye region. Potentiation by the gaze manipulation was largest for those individuals who exhibited the least amount of naturally occurring gaze toward the eye …

matched on Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity (mesh), Fixation, Ocular (mesh)

The contribution of emotion and cognition to moral sensitivity: a neurodevelopmental study.

Whether emotion is a source of moral judgments remains controversial. This study combined neurophysiological measures, including functional magnetic resonance imaging, eye-tracking, and pupillary response with behavioral measures assessing affective and moral judgments across age. One hundred and twenty-six participants aged between 4 and 37 years viewed scenarios depicting intentional versus accidental actions that caused harm/damage to people and objects. Morally, salient scenarios evoked stronger empathic sadness in young participants and were associated with enhanced activity in the amygdala, insula, and temporal poles. While intentional harm was evaluated as equally wrong across all participants, ratings of deserved punishments and malevolent intent gradually became more differentiated with age. Furthermore, age-related increase in activity was detected in the ventromedial prefronta…

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Prefrontal mediation of age differences in cognitive reappraisal.

Despite cognitive and physical declines, it has been suggested that older adults remain able to regulate their emotions effectively. However, whether this is true for all emotion regulation processes has not been established. We hypothesized that cognitive reappraisal, a form of emotion regulation requiring intact cognitive control ability, may be compromised in older age, and that this age difference would be mediated by reduced activation in prefrontal cortex (PFC). Sixteen younger and 15 older adults used gaze-directed reappraisal to increase and decrease emotion in response to unpleasant pictures. This was compared with simply viewing the pictures. Relative to younger adults, older adults were less successful using reappraisal to decrease unpleasant emotion but more successful using reappraisal to increase unpleasant emotion. They also exhibited reduced activation in dorsomedial and …

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Neural correlates of training-related working-memory gains in old age.

Working memory (WM) functioning declines in old age. Due to its impact on many higher-order cognitive functions, investigating whether training can modify WM performance has recently been of great interest. We examined the relationship between behavioral performance and neural activity following five weeks of intensive WM training in 23 healthy older adults (M=63.7 years). 12 participants received adaptive training (i.e. individually adjusted task difficulty to bring individuals to their performance maximum), whereas the others served as active controls (i.e. fixed low-level practice). Brain activity was measured before and after training, using fMRI, while subjects performed a WM task under two difficulty conditions. Although there were no training-related changes in WM during scanning, neocortical brain activity decreased post training and these decreases were larger in the adaptive tr…

matched on Attention (mesh), Fixation, Ocular (mesh)

Amygdala activity correlates with attentional bias in PTSD.

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is an anxiety disorder arising in the aftermath of a traumatic event. The most prevalent hypothesis is that of an increased amygdala activity to threat cues. The amygdala has also shown an implication in orienting attention toward threat. The aim of the study was to explore the correlations between amygdala activity, symptom severity and attentional bias in PTSD. Patients and healthy controls were assayed on an fMRI emotional face matching task and an attentional detection of target (DOT) task. The amygdala showed enhanced activity in PTSD (vs. controls). It positively correlated with anxiety scores and PTSD symptomatology. It also positively correlated with the disengagement index. Mostly, these results provide preliminary support for an implication of the amygdala in attention orientation to threat in PTSD. These results are further discussed in li…

matched on Attention (mesh), Fixation, Ocular (mesh)

Television and video game exposure and the development of attention problems.

Objectives: Television viewing has been associated with greater subsequent attention problems in children. Few studies have examined the possibility of a similar association between video games and attention problems, and none of these has used a longitudinal design. Methods: A sample of 1323 middle childhood participants were assessed during a 13-month period by parent- and child-reported television and video game exposure as well as teacher-reported attention problems. Another sample of 210 late adolescent/early adult participants provided self-reports of television exposure, video game exposure, and attention problems. Results: Exposure to television and video games was associated with greater attention problems. The association of television and video games to attention problems in the middle childhood sample remained significant when earlier attention problems and gender were statis…

matched on Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity (mesh), Fixation, Ocular (mesh)

Distressed mothers and their infants use a less efficient timing mechanism in creating expectancies of each other's looking patterns.

The prediction of events and the creation of expectancies about their time course is a crucial aspect of an infant's mental life, but temporal mechanisms underlying these predictions are obscure. Scalar timing, in which the ratio of mean durations to their standard deviations is held constant, enables a person to use an estimate of the mean for its standard deviation. It is one efficient mechanism that may facilitate predictability and the creation of expectancies in mother-infant interaction. We illustrate this mechanism with the dyadic gaze rhythm of mother and infant looking at and looking away from each other's faces. Two groups of Hi- and Lo-Distress mothers were created using self-reported depression, anxiety, self-criticism and childhood experiences. Lo-Distress infants (controls) used scalar timing 100% of the time, about double that of Hi-Distress infants. Lo-Distress mothers us…

matched on Attention (mesh), Fixation, Ocular (mesh)

Gaze fixations predict brain activation during the voluntary regulation of picture-induced negative affect.

Recent studies have identified a distributed network of brain regions thought to support cognitive reappraisal processes underlying emotion regulation in response to affective images, including parieto-temporal regions and lateral/medial regions of prefrontal cortex (PFC). A number of these commonly activated regions are also known to underlie visuospatial attention and oculomotor control, which raises the possibility that people use attentional redeployment rather than, or in addition to, reappraisal as a strategy to regulate emotion. We predicted that a significant portion of the observed variance in brain activation during emotion regulation tasks would be associated with differences in how participants visually scan the images while regulating their emotions. We recorded brain activation using fMRI and quantified patterns of gaze fixation while participants increased or decreased the…

matched on Attention (mesh), Fixation, Ocular (mesh)

Anxiety and orienting of gaze to angry and fearful faces.

Neuroscience research indicates that individual differences in anxiety may be attributable to a neural system for threat-processing, involving the amygdala, which modulates attentional vigilance, and which is more sensitive to fearful than angry faces. Complementary cognitive studies indicate that high-anxious individuals show enhanced visuospatial orienting towards angry faces, but it is unclear whether fearful faces elicit a similar attentional bias. This study compared biases in initial orienting of gaze to fearful and angry faces, which varied in emotional intensity, in high- and low-anxious individuals. Gaze was monitored whilst participants viewed a series of face-pairs. Results showed that fearful and angry faces elicited similar attentional biases. High-anxious individuals were more likely to direct gaze at intense negative facial expressions, than low-anxious individuals, wherea…

matched on Attention (mesh), Fixation, Ocular (mesh)