Review

Attention training and attention state

training
Yi-Yuan Tang1,2 and Michael I. Posner2
1
Institute of Neuroinformatics, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian 116024, China
2
Department of Psychology, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR 97403, USA

The ability to attend and to exercise cognitive control are closely related to the training and to more general cogni-
vital aspects of human adaptability. Several studies tive abilities [1–4]. All of these methods involve practice in
indicate that attention training using computer based some cognitive skill by repetitive trials on tasks similar to
exercises can lead to improved attention in children and those used in schools or cognitive psychology laboratories.
adults. Randomized control studies of exposure to All of these studies aim for long term improvement in
nature, mindfulness and integrative body-mind training attention, but in most cases only short term improvements
(IBMT) yield improved attention and self-regulation. close to the training have been well studied.
Here, we ask how attention training and attention state On the surface, these AT methods differ considerably
training might be similar and different in their training from mindfulness training, exposure to nature settings or
methods, neural mechanisms and behavioral outcomes. IBMT, which we group as AST. Recently, both IBMT
Together these various methods lead to practical ways (emphasizing body-mind balance) and nature exposure
of improving attention and self-regulation. (using attention restoration theory) have used randomized
designs with attention measures similar to those used with
Improving attention AT and have also shown significantly greater improve-
A very diverse set of training methods have been shown to ments in attention following training than those from
improve aspects of attention and self- regulation. These control groups (Figure 1). Similar to studies of AT, these
methods could be classified into two different groups, based studies aim at long-term improvements. An attentional
on their origin: methods arising from Asian traditions (e.g. assay used for both types of study is the attention network
integrative body-mind training [IBMT] and mindfulness) test (ANT), which we present in more detail in Box 1.
and methods developed in Europe and the USA (practice).
Probably because these two groups of methods originate in AT
separate traditions, there has been no published discus- AT means practice in conflict-related tasks, working mem-
sion of the similarities and differences between them and ory tasks or other tasks involving executive control mech-
the mechanisms underlying them. More detailed under- anisms. These tasks often use repetitive trials that involve
standing of these methods might allow for better choices in executive control or, in some cases, use curricula designed
program design and lead to their integration in practical with the goal of exercising control mechanisms. Mental
applications for children, adults and elderly populations exercise in this form of training requires directed attention
who wish to improve these skills. and effortful control to train specific brain networks [7–10].
Here, we have chosen to discuss these two groups of
methods under the headings attention training (AT) and Child AT studies
attention state training (AST). This is partly because the Several studies of AT have involved children, on the
goal of the western approach has been to alter specific assumption that this might influence later school perform-
networks related to cognitive tasks, whereas the eastern ance. For example, one experiment [4] examined the effi-
approach has been to achieve a state leading to more ciency of attentional networks in 4- and 6-year-old children
efficient self-regulation. Different ways of categorizing before and after 5 days of computer exercises. The exercises
these methods would, of course, be possible, but by com- included learning to use a joystick, prediction, working
paring them along these lines, we hope to provide an memory and the resolution of conflict. They were designed
informative overview of the results obtained with these to require executive attention and were compared with
methods and to provide a principled basis for testing the interactive video experience for control groups. Greater
similarity and differences between their mechanisms and improvement in the executive attention network and in IQ
outcomes. was found in the experimental group in comparison to the
control group. There were no differences between the
A closer look at AT and AST groups, however, on a questionnaire [11] that dealt with
Several studies featuring random assignment to exper- various temperamental characteristics such as negative
imental and control groups involve training of attention and positive affect.
and memory and show improvement in both specific skills Another study with young children has been carried out
in classrooms using a curriculum designed to exercise
Corresponding authors: Tang, Y.-Y. ([email protected]);
executive control individually and in groups. Improve-
Posner, M.I. ([email protected]). ments in tasks involving conflict resolution were obtained
222 1364-6613/$ – see front matter ß 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.tics.2009.01.009 Available online 16 April 2009
 Review Trends in Cognitive Sciences Vol.13 No.5

Figure 1. Attentional networks comparison for exposure to nature and IBMT. (a) Performance on the ANT after exposure to nature scenes or exposure to urban scenes,
N=12, [14]. (b) Performance on the ANT after IBMT or relaxation control, N=40, [15]. The vertical axis indicates the difference in mean RTs for alerting, orienting and conflict
scores. For conflict score, the higher score shows less efficient performance. Bars indicate  1 standard error.

and these generalized widely to other domains, such as had improved ability to take in and manipulate visual
inhibitory control and working memory [1]. information [2]. This finding was confirmed with a ten-
Experiments involving working memory training have hour training study in which students randomly assigned
been carried out with older children who have been diag- to video games out-performed controls in several visual
nosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) tasks, including improved visual resolution [9].
[12]. Training working memory not only improved that Recently it has been shown that working memory train-
function but improvements were also found in an IQ test ing in adults can generalize to other cognitive tasks. One
based on the Ravens Progressive Matrices Test. study demonstrated adult improvement in more general
cognitive abilities (fluid intelligence) after practice on a
Adult AT studies working memory task [3]. The extent of gain in intelligence
Because attention networks often show rapid development depended on the amount of training.
during childhood [4], improved performance due to AT Findings in a variety of functional magnetic resonance
might be expected to be confined to children, but that imaging (fMRI) studies of overlapping activation in ventral
proved not to be the case. One adult study compared lateral prefrontal cortex (PFC) during memory tasks indi-
habitual video-game (except violent action game) players cated that the memory tasks share common executive
and non-players, finding that action-video-game players components [3,10,34]. One training regimen of working
memory tasks and a set of transfer tasks were developed
to examine the trainability of executive control process
Box 1. ANT [10]. The study was unique in choosing to train a brain area
already shown to be activated by tasks sharing a common
 ANT is an attentional assay that uses the Ericksen flanker task [5]
as a target [6] (Figure I). executive component. Results indicated that executive
 The ANT requires participants to determine whether a central control can be improved by working memory training
arrow points left or right. Participants press the left key if the and that this transfers to a wide variety of tasks.
central arrows point left and the right key if they point right. Overall, these results establish that training of atten-
 Prior to a target, cues are used to provide information about when
and where the target will be presented.
tion is possible in children and adults, improving attention
 Three subtractions provide scores for alerting, orienting and time and working memory and IQ tests measuring aspects of
to resolve conflict (executive attention). The measure of the performance quite different from those involved in the
efficiency of conflict resolution (executive attention) is given by training. There is no evidence thus far that this training
subtracting the congruent RTs from the incongruent RTs. The
improves self- or parent-reported moods or behaviors. This
alerting measure is given by subtracting the double cue (asterisks
above and below fixation) from the no cue condition; the orienting difference between cognitive and emotional changes, how-
measure by subtracting the RTs when the cue is at the target ever, might be because of the fact that investigators have
location from those where it is presented at fixation. usually only tested cognitive tasks.

AST
AST refers to changes in state that accompany certain
forms of experience such as meditation or exposure to
nature. These methods have in common an altered state
of mind and body but they use different sensory inputs to
achieve their effects on mind and body and improve
performance. Several of these studies have used random-
Figure I. The Ericksen flanker task is a paradigm in which participants are
ized assignment between experimental and control
asked to respond to a centered and directed item surrounded or flanked by
distracting symbols like arrows or letters. Congruent flanking arrows all groups and often they have used cognitive assays that
point in the same direction; incongruent flanking arrows point in different overlap those used in AT tasks. They also include
directions. Congruency affects the speed and accuracy with which the task is
performed.
measures of self-regulation such as mood and response
to stress [13–15].

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Exposure to nature for 5 days of short-term training (20 min per day). Students
When people are required to focus their attention and put were given IBMT (experimental group) or relaxation train-
forth sustained cognitive effort, there is a possibility of ing (control group). Training was presented in a standar-
mental fatigue. Attention restoration theory was proposed dized way via a CD and guided by a skillful IBMT coach
by Kaplan [16,17] to highlight the benefits of exposure to whose job was to make sure of quality training in each
nature to restore directed attention. Mental restoration session. The two groups were given a battery of tests before
seems to work by encouraging a period of higher levels of training and after the final training session. The IBMT
involuntary attention, while decreasing directed, voluntary group showed significantly greater improvement of per-
attention to restore efficient mental effort [16,17]. Recent formance in executive attention using the ANT (Figure 1b).
psychological studies comparing an experimental group They also showed lower anxiety, depression, anger and
exposed to pictorial scenes of nature with a control group fatigue, and higher vigor on the Profile of Mood States
exposed to urban scenes indicated that interacting with scale, in addition to significantly reduced stress as
nature improves executive attention (Figure 1a). Figure 1 measured by cortisol secretion after a stressful experience
shows improvement (reduced reaction time [RT] to resolve and increased immunoreactivity [15].
conflict in the ANT) in executive attention after exposure to IBMT does not stress efforts to control thoughts, but
nature compared to an urban scene. No differences in self- instead induces a state of restful alertness, enabling a high
reported mood were found because of training [14]. degree of awareness of body, mind and external instruc-
The mechanism for improved attention after nature tions. It seeks a balanced state of relaxation while focusing
exposure was thought be because of a state change restor- attention. Control of thought is achieved gradually through
ing attentional efficiency [14,16]. Recent studies [18,19] posture and relaxation. The coach works to achieve a
have shown that performing mental tasks involving cog- balanced and harmonious state rather than by having
nitive control can lead to a reduction in systemic glucose. the trainee attempt an internal struggle to control
Replenishment of glucose leads to a return to high levels of thoughts in accordance with instruction.
performance. These data indicate that sustained mental In short, IBMT improves attention and self-regulation
effort can produce a state of fatigue that influences per- through state changes involving both body and mind.
formance. It would be useful to test further the possibility Training leads to better performance in cognition, emotion
that increased glucose is one mechanism for the restor- and social behaviors [15]. The combined use of body and
ation of attention after exposure to nature. mind training is also supported by studies of embodied
cognition, in which changes in the body, particularly in
Mindfulness facial expression, influence emotional processing and
Mindfulness is awareness of one’s present thoughts, facilitate retrieval of autobiographical memories [25,26].
emotions or actions. Mindfulness training involves bring-
ing one’s awareness back from the past or the future into Interaction within AST streams
the present moment. Many studies have shown the train- AST has a long history worldwide but seldom draws great
ing effects of mindfulness, including reduced pain and attention in the scientific community. Being in harmony
stress, improvement of cognitive functioning and positive with nature is the central life attitude and philosophical
emotion [20–23]. Mindfulness requires awareness of the idea in Chinese and Eastern cultures. For many hundreds
present moment and focuses mainly on changes in the of years, practitioners chose natural environments such as
state of the mind. One study observed changes in perform- parks, forests and mountains to practice body and mind
ance on the second of two repeated target stimuli during training such as Tai Chi, Yoga, martial arts and medita-
rapid visual presentation [24]. Failure of people to detect a tion. In the West, walking or hiking in nature, doing
second target soon after the first has been called ‘the exercise and vacationing in national parks are popular
attentional blink’. Three months of intensive mental train- activities that attract many millions of people.
ing resulted in improved second target detection (reduced AST includes several stages. The early stage involves
attentional blink) and also reduced brain-resource allo- mental restoration, releasing fatigue to perform atten-
cation to the first target, indicating that mental training tional and related cognitive tasks effectively. IBMT and
can result in increased control over the distribution of exposure to nature share this stage. The most important
limited brain resources, resulting in an improvement in difference between IBMT and nature exposure is whether
the executive attention network [24]. one has a cumulative set of experiences that produce a
deeper body-mind state in each session. In nature
IBMT exposure, the eyes are open, making it more difficult for
IBMT was adopted from traditional Chinese medicine and a novice to get into a deeper mental state, whereas for the
incorporates aspects of meditation and mindfulness train- IBMT practitioner the eyes are closed and different tech-
ing. However, IBMT views cooperation between the body niques such as breath adjustment and mental imagery are
and mind as important. This meditative state is difficult to used in each session to produce an increasingly deep
achieve unless there is a balance and optimization of mind mental state.
and body [15,25,26]. IBMT is designed to facilitate the After continued practice, a stage of improved perform-
achievement of this balanced state and maintain it to ance is commonly obtained in which subjects reach a
improve attention and performance. comfortable equilibrium, triggering the autonomic nervous
In one study [15], Chinese undergraduates were ran- system (ANS) to further regulate the brain. The role of
domly assigned to an experimental group or a control group ANS has received support from brain imaging studies

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Figure 2. AT, AST and performance mind wandering and mental fatigue are two extremes of the untrained mind (left and right gray rectangles). AT requires effortful control
to improve performance whereas AST changes body-mind state through effortless practice. Optimal balance (attention balance state) is hypothesized to trigger the most
efficient performance (middle cylinder area).

showing a close connection between the anterior cingulate The working memory method used to train children
cortex and autonomic control [27,28]. with ADHD was used in an fMRI study to examine areas
In one Chinese study, it was shown that IBMT reduces of brain activity that changed after five weeks of training
cortisol secretion in response to stress in a dose dependent [33,34]. Several areas of the lateral PFC were increased in
manner after between 5 days and one month of training activity after training.
[29]. After one month of training, the baseline of cortisol One fMRI study of the attention network task [35]
seems to have been reduced. It is not clear whether other showed that the task produced increases in connectivity
forms of AT or AST would have similar effects and this between the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and
possibility warrants further exploration. lateral PFC during performance. This suggests that the
A natural tendency of the mind is to be restless, that is, ANT might involve both midline and lateral areas during
to wander as the focus of attention is switched. AT directly task performance. However, this study did not involve any
exercises the executive control networks. Because control explicit training.
increases mental effort, its overuse often leads to mental Overall there is some evidence that AT involves changes
fatigue. Figure 2 summarizes the relationship between a in anterior cingulate and lateral prefrontal areas, perhaps
state in which the mind is wandering freely at one extreme, mainly through increased connectivity between the two.
to a state of fatigue at the other. The goal of AST is to Further research is needed to examine brain changes
produce an optimal balance (attention balance state) be- during AT and particularly connectivity changes between
tween the two extremes. This state is also thought to frontal areas.
produce better performance.
The different roles of ACC and PFC in AST
Brain mechanisms Recent studies have involved 2-week and 4-week long
AT mechanism practice of IBMT. In comparison with a relaxation control
Imaging studies of AT are limited so our discussion of the group, the IBMT group showed increased ACC involve-
neural mechanisms involved is speculative, but can yield ment during a resting condition [29,36]. This increase in
testable hypotheses. In an fMRI study of conflict tasks such activity in the ACC is similar to what is found in AT during
as the ANT, but without training, the ability to resolve task performance and could account for the improved
conflict activates both midline frontal activity (anterior executive attention with both methods. In the IBMT stu-
cingulate cortex) and lateral PFC [30,31]. dies, measures of heart rate variability reflecting ANS
Rueda et al. [4] used high density electroencephalogra- activity and regulation were correlated with frontal mid-
phy (EEG) before and after AT. A child version of the ANT line theta activity recorded from scalp electrodes. Because
was used with 4- and 6-year-old children, and the results midline theta has been associated with autonomic control
were compared with adult EEG. It was found that the [37,38], these results indicate the importance of both the
trained 6-year-old children showed an adult pattern of central nervous system and the ANS as mechanisms for
greater negativity following incongruent than congruent improved performance after IBMT.
flankers over midfrontal electrodes after training. In In his book on mindfulness, Siegel [39] suggests that
adults, this EEG pattern has been associated with activity when midline cortical regions (e.g. the anterior cingulate)
in the dorsal anterior cingulate [32]. No such activity was are engaged without activation of lateral prefrontal areas
found in 6-year-olds before training or in 4-year-olds either involved in working memory, a mindful state might be
before or after training. obtained without effort [39]. IBMT practice has been

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described as proceeding from effortful practice to effortless attention serves to enhance development of other cognitive
practice. In initial stages, a practitioner devotes mental processes [42]. It seems likely that other methods of quieting
effort to enter into a quiet and relaxed state quite different and directing the mind serves to change state. These topics
from his or her daily life, with restless wandering thoughts would need to be explored in future studies (Box 3).
and diverse emotions. This requires strong executive func- Paying attention has a very important role in school
tion and capacity that heavily involves the PFC. performance and education. AT exercises executive control
With practice, the practitioner experiences a deeply and transfers to cognitive capacities for learning, and
relaxed state, entering the mid-stage of meditation. The adding AT to pre-school classroom work has been shown
process still requires effortful control, but at this stage the to improve students’ cognitive control [1]. AST in children
ANS starts to work in parallel. Because the ACC has been has also been shown to facilitate learning and improve
implicated in self-regulation [40] and is also important in cognition, emotion and performance [29,36]. These two
regulation of autonomic activity [27], we speculate that the types of training influence somewhat different brain net-
ACC has an important role in this stage to maintain the works and in future studies they might be combined to
balance of cognitive control and autonomic activity. In later enhance their effectiveness. Future studies could also shed
meditation stages, the practitioner does not need strong light on how to design training appropriately for persons
effort and uses only effortless experience to maintain the differing in temperament or learning style.
meditative state. When deeply in this state, practitioners
totally forget the body, the self and the environment. In Acknowledgements
this stage, the ANS is in control and ACC activity should be Mary Rothbart, the journal editor and three referees helped to improve
the presentation of this paper. This work was supported by NSFC
dominant [41]. We speculate that it is these deeper late 30670699, Program for New Century Excellent Talents in University,
stages of meditation that differ most clearly from AT. More NCET-06-0277, the James S. Bower and John S. Templeton Foundation
research will be needed to test these hypotheses. and NICHF grant HD 38051.

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