Characterizing alterations in attention networks under high mental workload

Abstract

Abstract With the rapid development of modern society, occupational populations commonly face work states characterized by high mental workload (HMW). HMW can rapidly mobilize and deplete an individual’s cognitive resources within a short timeframe. As attention constitutes a fundamental cognitive quality, it is inevitably impacted by HMW, leading to issues such as impaired attentional function and decreased task performance. This study aimed to investigate the characteristics of alterations in attention network under HMW. Participants were recruited from a medical university using convenience sampling. The 1-back Stroop (BS) cognitive task was employed to induce an HMW state. The Attention Network Test-Revised (ANT-R) was completed before and after the induction of the HMW to assess attention network behavior. Eye tracking was assessed using an eye tracker, and subjective assessment was conducted using a visual analog scale (VAS). Statistical analysis was performed using a paired t-test or Wilcoxon signed-rank test. Subjective VAS ratings showed significant increases in mental fatigue (MF), mental effort (ME), mental stress (MS), boredom, and mind wandering (MW) following HMW induction compared to baseline. Behavioral results showed that, compared with before HMW state induction, there were significant differences in alert (sustained attention for maintaining arousal), moving+engaging (selective attention for adjusting and focusing on valid stimuli), flanker conflict (directional conflict between target stimuli and surrounding distracting stimuli) and location conflict (directional conflict between target stimuli and stimulus locations) changes. Alert efficiency values decreased significantly, while moving+engaging, flanker and location conflict values increased significantly. No significant differences were observed in the number of correct trials. Eye tracking results showed that, compared with the state before HMW induction, there were significant differences in average saccade duration and blink count, with a notable increase in both. The ANT-R demonstrates utility both as an experimental paradigm for assessing attention networks and as a behavioral indicator for evaluating HMW. Under the HMW state, significant changes were observed in a subset of behavioral, subjective rating scale, and eye-tracking indicators related to the attention network. This study validated the effectiveness of the BS cognitive task paradigm in inducing the HMW and provided new experimental evidence for revealing the characteristics of attention network changes in the HMW, laying the foundation for the development of assessment and intervention strategies.