On the origins and evolution of the Attention Network Tests

Rafael de Souza Almeida; Aydamari Faria-Jr; Raymond M Klein

doi:10.1016/j.neubiorev.2021.02.028

On the origins and evolution of the Attention Network Tests

Neurosci Biobehav Rev. 2021 Jul:126:560-572. doi: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2021.02.028. Epub 2021 Mar 22.

Authors

Rafael de Souza Almeida¹, Aydamari Faria-Jr¹, Raymond M Klein²

Affiliations

¹ Universidade Federal Fluminense, Rua Desembargador Ellis Hermydio Figueira, Number: 783, Aterrado, Volta Redonda, Rio de Janeiro, 27213-145, Brazil.
² Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, 1355 Oxford Street, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS, B3H 4R2, Canada. Electronic address: ray.klein@dal.ca.

PMID: 33766674
DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2021.02.028

Abstract

Attention is a pivotal cognitive function and efforts to understand its properties and operations are fundamental. Building upon the best known taxonomy of attention put forward by Posner and colleagues, the Attention Network Test (ANT) was designed to efficiently provide scores that reflect the efficacy of alerting, orienting and executive control. The ANT has not only been very widely adopted by scholars around the world, it has inspired a wide range of variants, the ANTs, - each with its own purpose. This review will describe the origin of the ANT in the taxonomic contributions of Posner and the evolution of the ANTs with some discussion of the nature and rationale for each major variant described here. We briefly allude to minor modifications of the ANT and present some suggestions related to data reporting and data analysis. We end with some projections about the future use of the original ANT and its notable variants.

Keywords: Alerting; Attention; Attention Network Test; Child; Endogenous; Executive control; Exogenous; Lateralized; Orienting; Vigilance.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Review

MeSH terms

Cognition*
Executive Function*
Humans
Neuropsychological Tests
Reaction Time
Research Design