Gillard-Crewther Sheila, Lawson Murray L, Bello Katrina, Crewther David P
School of Psychological Science, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Australia.
Clin Exp Optom. 2007 Jul;90(4):282-9. doi: 10.1111/j.1444-0938.2007.00160.x.
Most theories related to the attentional blink (AB), defined as the refractory period of 300 to 500 msecs following a conscious visual identification, during which a second detection task is impaired, argue that limitations of 'visual working memory' (VWM) underlie the phenomenon rather than suppression of attention. The current study examined the relationship between performance on an AB task and classical measures of visual and auditory memory and executive function (EF).
Fifty-one adult volunteers completed the AB task but only 27 of these also completed an extensive battery of traditional measures of short-term and working memory, processing speed and EF. Correlation and regression methods were used to analyse the data.
Bivariate correlation showed a significant relationship between AB duration and non-verbal intelligence and processing speed. Multiple regression analysis demonstrated that four factors (non-verbal intelligence, letter-number sequencing, visual search and visuo-spatial recognition memory) explained 40 per cent of the variance, with better reasoning skills and letter-number sequencing associated with a shorter AB, and better visuo-spatial recognition memory associated with a longer AB.
The positive beta weight in the model for visuo-spatial recognition memory may reflect that the ability to later recall a target depends on its depth of encoding. On the other hand, the negative betas in the regression model for verbal intelligence and processing speed indicate that AB duration may be a potentially useful measure of temporal rate of visual processing. Finally, the lack of any relationship between the AB and executive function performance measures used suggests that the mechanism of the AB is primarily confined to early sensory processing and lower level working memory.
大多数与注意瞬脱（AB）相关的理论认为，注意瞬脱是指在有意识的视觉识别之后300至500毫秒的不应期，在此期间第二项检测任务会受到损害，该现象的基础是“视觉工作记忆”（VWM）的局限性，而非注意力的抑制。本研究考察了注意瞬脱任务的表现与视觉和听觉记忆以及执行功能（EF）的经典测量指标之间的关系。
51名成年志愿者完成了注意瞬脱任务，但其中只有27人还完成了一系列广泛的传统短期和工作记忆、处理速度及执行功能测量。采用相关和回归方法分析数据。
双变量相关显示注意瞬脱持续时间与非言语智力和处理速度之间存在显著关系。多元回归分析表明，四个因素（非言语智力、字母数字排序、视觉搜索和视觉空间识别记忆）解释了40%的方差，推理能力和字母数字排序越好，注意瞬脱越短，视觉空间识别记忆越好，注意瞬脱越长。
视觉空间识别记忆模型中的正β权重可能反映出随后回忆目标的能力取决于其编码深度。另一方面，言语智力和处理速度回归模型中的负β表明，注意瞬脱持续时间可能是视觉处理时间速率的一个潜在有用指标。最后，注意瞬脱与所使用的执行功能表现测量指标之间缺乏任何关系，这表明注意瞬脱的机制主要局限于早期感觉处理和较低水平的工作记忆。
