Evidence from pupillometry, fMRI, and RNN modelling shows that gain neuromodulation mediates task-relevant perceptual switches.

Perceptual updating has been hypothesised to rely on a network reset modulated by bursts of ascending neuromodulatory neurotransmitters, such as noradrenaline, abruptly altering the brain's susceptibility to changing sensory activity. To test this hypothesis at a large-scale, we analysed an ambiguous figures task using pupillometry and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Behaviourally, qualitative shifts in the perceptual interpretation of an ambiguous image were associated with peaks in pupil diameter, an indirect readout of phasic bursts in neuromodulatory tone.

Boredom signals deviation from a cognitive homeostatic set point.

Boredom is the feeling of wanting but failing to engage the mind and can be conceived as one among many signals of suboptimal utilization of cognitive and neural resources. Using homeostasis as an analogy, this perspective argues that boredom represents a signal indicating deviation from optimal engagement-that is, deviation from a cognitive homeostatic set point. Within this model, allostasis accounts for chronic boredom (i.

"I Am Easily Bored." Analysis of a Single Item Measure of Boredom.

Measuring a variety of human characteristics in large databases has been invaluable for applied (e.g., epidemiology) and basic research (e.

Plinko: Eliciting beliefs to build better models of statistical learning and mental model updating.

Prior beliefs are central to Bayesian accounts of cognition, but many of these accounts do not directly measure priors. More specifically, initial states of belief heavily influence how new information is assumed to be utilized when updating a particular model. Despite this, prior and posterior beliefs are either inferred from sequential participant actions or elicited through impoverished means.

Disentangling boredom from depression using the phenomenology and content of involuntary autobiographical memories.

Recurrent involuntary autobiographical memories (IAMs) are memories retrieved unintentionally and repetitively. We examined whether the phenomenology and content of recurrent IAMs could differentiate boredom and depression, both of which are characterized by affective dysregulation and spontaneous thought. Participants (n = 2484) described their most frequent IAM and rated its phenomenological properties (e.

Exploring EEG resting state as a function of boredom proneness in pre-adolescents and adolescents.

Boredom is a prominent experience commonly reported in school settings and associated with poor academic achievement. Little is known, however, about the age-related trajectory of boredom. Here we examined self-reported ratings of boredom in a cross-sectional sample of 8 to 15-year olds (n = 185) as a function of resting state EEG.

Left Cerebellar Lesions may be Associated with an Increase in Spatial Neglect-like Symptoms.

Each cerebellar hemisphere projects to the contralateral cerebral hemisphere. Previous research suggests a lateralization of cognitive functions in the cerebellum that mirrors the cerebral cortex, with attention/visuospatial functions represented in the left cerebellar hemisphere, and language functions in the right cerebellar hemisphere. Although there is good evidence supporting the role of the right cerebellum with language functions, the evidence supporting the notion that attention and visuospatial functions are left lateralized is less clear.

The relative importance of local contingencies and global biases for statistical learning.

Effective behavior requires adapting to the changing regularities evident in the world. Analogous to the global and local processing distinction for perception, these statistical regularities may be evident in global biases (i.e.

In search of boredom: beyond a functional account.

Boredom has been characterized as a crisis of meaning, a failure of attention, and a call to action. Yet as a self-regulatory signal writ-large, we are still left with the question of what makes any given boredom episode meaningless, disengaging, or a prompt to act. We propose that boredom is an affective signal that we have deviated from an optimal ('Goldilocks') zone of cognitive engagement.

Boredom in the COVID-19 Pandemic.

The past two and half years have been witness to an extraordinary global pandemic with obvious and devastating health outcomes [...

Boredom Proneness and Rule-Breaking: A Persistent Relation One Year into the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Research conducted within the first year of the pandemic demonstrated that boredom prone individuals were more likely to break rules (e.g., social distancing) aimed at preventing the spread of COVID-19.

Saccadic eye movement metrics reflect surprise and mental model updating.

Two experiments investigated what eye movements can reveal about how we process surprising information and how we update mental models in dynamic and unstructured environments. Participants made saccades to visual targets presented one at a time, radially, around an invisible perimeter. Target locations were normally distributed and shifted at an unannounced point during the task.

Boredom and Media Multitasking.

Media multitasking entails simultaneously engaging in multiple tasks when at least one of the tasks involves media (e.g., online activities and streaming videos).

Creativity, Boredom Proneness and Well-Being in the Pandemic.

Throughout the course of the pandemic, it has become clear that the strictures of social isolation and various levels of lockdown constraints have impacted people's well-being. Here, our aim was to explore relations between trait dispositions associated with boredom proneness, self-regulation and well-being using data collected early in the pandemic. Specifically, we explored whether the tendency to engage in everyday creative pursuits (e.

Morphology of the prefrontal cortex predicts body composition in early adolescence: cognitive mediators and environmental moderators in the ABCD Study.

Morphological features of the lateral prefrontal cortex (PFC) in late childhood and early adolescence may provide important clues as to the developmental etiology of clinical conditions such as obesity. Body composition measurements and structural brain imaging were performed on 11 226 youth at baseline (age 9 or 10 years) and follow-up (age 11 or 12 years). Baseline morphological features of the lateral PFC were examined as predictors of body composition.

Perceptions of Control Influence Feelings of Boredom.

Conditions of low and high perceived control often lead to boredom, albeit for different reasons. Whereas, high perceived control may be experienced as boring because the situation lacks challenge, low perceived control may be experienced as boring because the situation precludes effective engagement. In two experiments we test this proposed quadratic relationship.

Morphometry of the lateral orbitofrontal cortex is associated with eating dispositions in early adolescence: findings from a large population-based study.

Early adolescence is a critical period for eating behaviors as children gain autonomy around food choice and peer influences increase in potency. From a neurodevelopmental perspective, significant structural changes take place in the prefrontal cortex during this time, including the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC), which is involved in socially contextualized decision-making. We examined the morphological features of the OFC in relation to food choice in a sample of 10 309 early adolescent children from the Adolescent Brain and Cognitive Development Study.

Boredom proneness, political orientation and adherence to social-distancing in the pandemic.

Research recently showed that boredom proneness was associated with increased social distancing rule-breaking in a sample collected early in the COVID-19 pandemic. Here we explore data collected early in the pandemic to examine what factors might drive this relation. We focus on political affiliation.

Blindsight.

For over a century, research has demonstrated that damage to primary visual cortex does not eliminate all capacity for visual processing in the brain. From Riddoch's (1917) early demonstration of intact motion processing for blind field stimuli, to the iconic work of Weiskrantz et al. (1974) showing reliable spatial localization, it is clear that secondary visual pathways that bypass V1 carry information to the visual brain that in turn influences behavior.

Boredom proneness is associated with noisy decision-making, not risk-taking.

Previous research shows that individuals who tend to get bored frequently and intensely-the highly boredom prone-are more likely to engage in risky behaviors. However, these studies are based largely on self-reports. Here we address this gap and suggest that noisy decision-making (DM) is a potential driver for this relationship between boredom proneness and risk-taking.

Cerebellar lesions disrupt spatial and temporal visual attention.

The current study represents the first comprehensive examination of spatial, temporal and sustained attention following cerebellar damage. Results indicated that, compared to controls, cerebellar damage resulted in a larger cueing effect at the longest SOA - possibly reflecting a slowed the onset of inhibition of return (IOR) during a reflexive covert attention task, and reduced the ability to detect successive targets during an attentional blink task. However, there was little evidence to support the notion that cerebellar damage disrupted voluntary covert attention or the sustained attention to response task (SART).

Behavioral and electroencephalographic evidence for reduced attentional control and performance monitoring in boredom.

Boredom, the unfulfilled desire to be engaged in a satisfying mental activity, is an aversive state characterized by poor self-regulation. There is ample evidence that both state and trait boredom are associated with failures of attention in both experimental and everyday settings. The neural correlates of boredom, however, remain underexplored.

A Primer on the Role of Boredom in Self-Controlled Sports and Exercise Behavior.

Self-control is critical for successful participation and performance in sports and therefore has attracted considerable research interest. Yet, knowledge about self-control remains surprisingly incomplete and inconsistent. Here, we draw attention to boredom as an experience that likely plays an important role in sports and exercise (e.

Boredom in the COVID-19 pandemic: Trait boredom proneness, the desire to act, and rule-breaking.

The state of boredom presents a conundrum: When bored, we want to engage with an activity, but we don't want to engage with whatever is currently available. This conflict is exacerbated when external factors impose restrictions on the range of behaviors we can engage in, which is precisely the scenario we are currently facing, at a global level, during this period of social isolation in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. We collected data from 924 North American participants (530 Male, Mean age = 37.