Lise Paquet

Evidence for selective target processing with a low perceptual load flankers task

In this article, we demonstrate that selective target processing is possible when the perceptual load of the task is low. We presented a row of three items with two different identities: one identity for the target letter and one for the two flankers (B. A. Eriksen & C. W. Eriksen, 1974). Such stimulus arrays have been defined as low-load displays (Lavie & Tsal, 1994). We investigated whether subjects could ignore the irrelevant flankers, which were never response alternatives, by manipulating the predictive relationship between the flankers and the response (Miller, 1987). In a high-correlation block, the identity of the flankers was highly predictive of the target identity, whereas in a lowcorrelation block, the predictive value of the flankers was reduced. We varied (1) whether or not the target location was precued, (2) the flanker’s category (digit vs. letter), (3) the target-flanker proximity (near = 3° vs. far = 5°), and (4) the size of the characters. The results indicate that subjects were influenced by the predictive value of near flankers and that the magnitude of this effect was jointly modulated by the target-flanker categorical overlap and by the size of the characters. In contrast, null flanker effects were obtained for far letter flankers in the precue condition, and for far digit flankers, regardless of attentional cuing. These findings (1) are inconsistent with suggestions (Lavie, 1995) that irrelevant stimuli automatically capture attention, and (2) support the notion that target-flanker distinctiveness plays a role when the perceptual load of the task is low.

Global and local processing in nonattended objects: a failure to induce local processing dominance

Paquet and Merikle (1988) found that subjects can ignore the category of unattended local forms but not that of global forms. Does this finding reflect a priority for global information during perception? In 5 studies, 2 compound stimuli, each surrounded by a frame, were presented side by side, and attention was directed to 1 of the stimuli. The first 2 studies examined whether local dominance would emerge if a small gap (Experiment 1) or the presence of small white lines (Experiment 2) on the surrounding frame specified the target object. No evidence for local dominance was found. Three additional studies examined whether local dominance would be obtained if subjects had extensive practice identifying the local aspect of stimulus displays. Although local practice led to automatic detection of unattended local targets, it did not affect the processing of the global aspect. These results are proposed to exemplify the priority of global information during perception.

Eliminating flanker effects and negative priming in the flankers task: Evidence for early selection

Reports of negative priming in the absence of flanker effects (Fox, 1995) provide support for the notion that unattended stimuli are identified. I evaluated the hypothesis that such results are the outcome of attentional leakage to the flanker location. In Experiment 1, I assessed flanker effects and negative priming as a function of target-flanker proximity (.9° and 2.7° for near and far flankers, respectively) and of attention cuing to the target location (precued vs. uncued) on the prime trials. I report larger flanker effects in uncued than in precued conditions, and larger effects for near than for far flankers. More critically, when attention was precued, both flanker effects and negative priming vanished for far flankers. In Experiment 2, I show that the latter result was not linked to prime-probe contextual similarity (Neill, 1997). These results demonstrate that selective target processing is possible when attention is optimally focused to the target location.

A pilot study of prospective memory functioning in early breast cancer survivors

AIMS To evaluate prospective memory (PM) functioning in early breast cancer (BC) survivors and its association with fatigue and depression. METHODS The Memory for Intention Screening Test, the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale and the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Fatigue subscale were administered to 80 patients and 80 aged-matched healthy controls. RESULTS Patients performed more poorly than controls on the memory test (p < 0.001) and had a higher rate of impairment (odds ratio = 5.5, p < 0.01). Fatigue mediated the relationship between Group membership and PM performance. CONCLUSIONS BC survivors exhibited a clear pattern of PM deficit and fatigue was a major contributor to this deficit. This suggests that a common mechanism may be involved in fatigue symptoms and memory disturbances experienced by patients. Further research is needed to evaluate the role of adjuvant therapy in PM deficits and to explore whether interventions targeted at improving fatigue may also improve memory functioning in BC survivors.

Does the attentional state determine processing dominance in to-be-ignored compound stimuli?

Previous studies (Paquet, 1992, 1994; Paquet and Merikle, 1988) have shown that identification of the local aspect of an attended compound stimulus is delayed by the presence of global distractors within a to-be-ignored compound stimulus, whereas identification of the global aspect is unaffected by local distractors. This asymmetrical pattern of interference indicates that processing of to-be-ignored compound stimuli is characterized by global dominance. In this study, I investigated the hypothesis that these findings were the outcome of subjects adopting an attentional state which favoured processing of global information. Following a procedure developed by Ward (1982), subjects were asked to perform two consecutive identification judgments of the global or the local aspects of two successive relevant compound stimuli, each presented with a to-be-ignored compound stimulus. The first and second judgments were performed either at the same level (i.e., both global or both local), or required switching attention across levels (i.e., global on the first judgment and local on the second, or local on the first judgment and global on the second). The results confirmed that the attentional state (switched vs. unswitched) influences global/local processing speed on the second judgment (Ward, 1982). However, no evidence for local dominance was found when the attentional state favored processing of local information. Instead, global distractors always affected local target identification, whereas interference effects of local distractors upon global target identification were restricted to the attention switching conditions. These findings suggest that the pattern of dominance in to-be-ignored stimuli is not determined by the attentional state, but may be related to fundamental differences in the strength of global and local information channels.

Metamemory function in chemotherapy‐treated patients with breast cancer: an explanation for the dissociation between subjective and objective memory measures?

The purpose of this study was to determine if a deficit in metamemory could account for the disparity between subjective and objective measures of memory function commonly observed in patients with breast cancer (BC). Metamemory refers to the awareness and management of ones own memory function. It is considered an aspect of executive functioning, one of the most common areas of cognitive compromise associated with BC and its treatment.

Mental rotation of compound stimuli: The effects of task demands, practice, and figural goodness

Four experiments examined whether or not mental rotation of compound stimuli is a holistic process. Large letters (global aspect) composed of small letters (local aspect) were presented, and the format (normal vs. reflected) of each aspect was manipulated independently. In Experiment 1, the rate of mental rotation was compared under divided- and focused-attention instructions. The overall rate of mental rotation was faster under focused-attention instructions than under divided-attention instructions. Also, contrary to previous findings, in the divided-attention task, the slope of the rotation function was smaller when the stimulus configurations-contained aspects with congruent formats (both aspects were normal or mirror-reversed- letters)than when they contained aspects with incongruent formats (one normal and one mirror-reversed letter). This pattern of results is unlikely to be caused by the subjects’ level of familiarity with the divided-attention task (Experiment 2), by postrotation processes (Experiment 3), or by stimulus attributes (figural goodness) confounded with the format-congruency variable (Experiment 4). The implications of these results for models of mental rotation of compound stimuli are discussed.

Prospective memory impairment in chemotherapy-exposed early breast cancer survivors: Preliminary evidence from a clinical test

ABSTRACT We report the results of a secondary analysis of a cross-sectional study (Paquet et al., 2013) to evaluate the cognitive operations involved in prospective memory (PM) deficits exhibited by chemotherapy-exposed breast cancer (BC) survivors. PM was assessed with the memory for intentions screening test administered to 80 patients and 80 healthy controls. Patients performed worse than controls on the PM tasks and had more “omission” errors (indices of the prospective component of the tasks) than the controls. No group differences emerged on a recognition test. Although further studies will be needed to disentangle the multiple cognitive operations involved in PM, these findings are consistent with the notion that self-initiated retrieval processes rather than encoding are implicated in PM impairment among BC survivors.

Trust in physician in relation to blame, regret, and depressive symptoms among women with a breast cancer experience

Following a diagnosis of breast cancer women experience considerable distress and often present with elevated symptoms of depression. A womans relationship with her oncologist, and particularly trust in the physician, might influence depressive symptoms, as well as emotional and cognitive reactions to medical decisions made concerning treatment. To assess these relationships, women currently undergoing treatment for breast cancer (n = 40) and women who had previously been treated for breast cancer (n = 74) were asked about (1) trust in their physician, (2) who they blamed for negative events during treatment, (3) who made the treatment decisions, (4) regret, and (5) depressive symptoms. As well, community participants (n = 146) without breast cancer were asked about trust in their physician, levels of depression, and questions regarding blame if they hypothetically had breast cancer. Depression was greatest among women in treatment, and trust in physician was greatest among women posttreatment. However, trust in physician was neither related to depressive symptoms, decision making, nor responsibility for presence of metastases/relapse. Paradoxically, greater trust in physician was related to increased blame of the doctor for other negative events that had occurred. Furthermore, depressive scores were higher among women who blamed their doctor for negative events in comparison to women who ascribed blame to no one. As well, individuals who blamed themselves for negative events reported greater regret than individuals who blamed no one. Thus, though a woman may not hold her physician directly responsible for health outcomes, this relationship may be important to consider in other aspects of her psychological well-being.

Prevalence of Insulin Resistance, Metabolic Syndrome, and Type 2 Diabetes in Canadian Women at High Risk for Breast Cancer

To the Editor: There is considerable literature on the surveillance and management of women at high risk for developing breast cancer (BC) due to genetic mutations, family history, and mantle radiotherapy at a young age or a high score on risk calculation models (1). These women may benefit from more effective risk management interventions and heightened screening (1). Many of the afore-mentioned BC risk factors are nonmodifiable and it is therefore desirable to identify potential modifiable risk factors and related prevention strategies in high-risk women. There have been observations of an increased risk of BC associated with markers of insulin resistance (IR) such as hyperglycemia and hyperinsulinemia (2,3) and in patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D) (4). IR is believed to be a core component of the metabolic syndrome (MetS), which is a cluster of suboptimal physiological conditions, including abdominal obesity, dyslipidemia, high blood pressure, hyperglycemia, or receiving drug treatment for these conditions (5). MetS has shown to be associated with an increased risk of BC among postmenopausal women (6). Despite the evidence showing an association between IR, MetS, T2D, and BC (2–6), the prevalence of these conditions has never been reported in women at high risk for BC. To study this further, we undertook the study described below. Of the 368 identified eligible women engaged in follow-up at the High Risk Clinic of the Women’s Breast Health Centre (WBHC) in Ottawa (ON, Canada), 100 women consented to participate in this study approved by the research ethics boards of the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute. Eligible women had to be ≥35 years old and Caucasian (because the Gail model that we used to assess risk had been validated in this subgroup of women) (7) and had to have any of the following criterion: 5-year Gail score ≥1.7; BC Gene (BRCA) mutation; biopsy-proven lobular carcinoma in-situ; atypical ductal hyperplasia; or previous mantle radiation. Participants could be preor postmenopausal but women with surgically/medically induced menopause were excluded. Participants completed a questionnaire and had anthropometric measurements (height, weight, and waist circumference) and blood pressure taken at the WBHC. Fasting blood samples were drawn at a Gamma-Dynacare Medical Laboratory (Ottawa, ON) for measurements of glucose, insulin, HDL-cholesterol and triglycerides. IR was established using the Homeostasis model assessment of IR (HOMA-IR) with a cut-point of 2.29 for Caucasians (8). MetS was based on having three out of five criteria defined by the AHA/NHLBI (9). T2D was diagnosed using the 2008 Canadian Diabetes Association guidelines. Due to blood work requisition or laboratory errors, we derived MetS in 88 participants, 96 for IR, and 97 for T2D. Characteristics between preand postmenopausal women were compared using independent t-tests (continuous variables) or Fisher’s exact test (categorical variables). On average, women were in their late fifties (58.2 0.8), nonsmokers (98%), moderate alcohol consumers (≤5 drinks/week; 77%), sedentary (≤5 hours of exercise/week; 75%), and had normal body mass index (BMI) (49%). Compared to premenopausal women (n = 17), postmenopausal women (n = 83) were on average 12.1 1.9 years older (p < 0.0001) and had 2.5 1.3 kg/m higher mean BMI (p = 0.05) but did not differ for other characteristics. MetS was the most prevalent condition with 33.0%, followed by IR with 17.7% and T2D with Address correspondence and reprint requests to: Benedicte Fontaine-Bisson RD, PhD, School of Nutrition Sciences, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada, or email: bfontain@uottawa.ca