LaBar K S, Mesulam M, Gitelman D R, Weintraub S
Department of Neurology, Cognitive Neurology and Alzheimer's Disease Center, Northwestern University Medical School, Chicago, IL, USA.
Neuropsychologia. 2000;38(13):1734-40. doi: 10.1016/s0028-3932(00)00077-4.
Previous studies have shown that Alzheimer's disease, even in its early stages, decreases novelty-seeking behaviors (curiosity) and impairs the shifting of spatial attention to extrapersonal targets. In this study, early-stage probable Alzheimer's disease patients (PRAD) and young and aging controls were shown pairs of visual scenes, some of which contained emotionally-arousing material, while eye movements were recorded under free viewing conditions. In all three subject groups, emotionally-arousing scenes attracted more viewing time and also became the preferential target of the initial visual orientation. Our findings suggest that the arousing properties of sensory stimuli may overcome some of the AD-related impairments in the distribution of attention to extrapersonal targets. These results may have implications for interventions aimed at improving the cognitive symptoms of PRAD.
先前的研究表明，阿尔茨海默病即使在早期阶段，也会降低寻求新奇行为（好奇心），并损害将空间注意力转移到个人外部目标的能力。在本研究中，向早期可能患有阿尔茨海默病的患者（PRAD）以及年轻和老年对照组展示成对的视觉场景，其中一些包含能引起情绪反应的素材，同时在自由观看条件下记录眼球运动。在所有三个受试者组中，能引起情绪反应的场景吸引了更多的观看时间，并且也成为初始视觉定向的优先目标。我们的研究结果表明，感觉刺激的激发特性可能会克服与AD相关的在将注意力分配到个人外部目标方面的一些损伤。这些结果可能对旨在改善PRAD认知症状的干预措施具有启示意义。
