‹
Back
11:00 - 12:30
Parallel sessions 5
›
11:00 - 12:30
Room: C-Building - N14
Chair/s:
Kathrin Finke, Ingrid Scharlau, Jan Tünnermann
Part II of the symposium on the Theory of Visual Attention (TVA) extends Part I, moving to research that highlights TVA’s potential for measuring  attentional changes in diverse populations, relating them to underlying neural changes, perceptual and awareness phenomena. Simon Schrenk opens with a machine-learning study linking resting-state functional connectivity to TVA parameters—visual processing speed (C), short-term visual memory capacity (K), and top-down control (α)—in healthy older adults. This work identifies distinct neural network signatures for each attentional component, providing a framework for connecting TVA-based measures with intrinsic brain organization in aging. Hannah Klink et al. follow by demonstrating that alterations within frontoparietal networks are associated with reduced top-down control in patients with mild cognitive impairment, situating TVA within altered brain-network dynamics. Thomas Sørensen presents findings on expectancy modulations interacting with the κ parameter, offering new perspectives on attentional weighting within the TVA framework. 
Solveig Menrad’s talk relates attentional parameters in patients with ADHD to subjective and objective polysomnographic measures of sleep quality in patients with ADHD. Finally, Kathrin Finke, Jan Tünnermann and Ingrid Scharlau will discuss the development and challenges of TVA. Together, these contributions aim to chart the clinical frontiers of TVA—linking theory, neural markers, and potential translational uses in diverse populations. 
Submission 661
Parameters of Visual Attention and Their Associations with Objective and Subjective Sleep Parameters in Adult ADHD
SymposiumTalk-04
Presented by: Solveig Menrad
Solveig Menrad 1, 2, Erika Künstler 1, 2, Torsten Schultze 1, 2, Heiko Schneider 3, Peter Bublak 1, Kathrin Finke 1, 4, Sven Rupprecht 1, 2
1 Department of Neurology, Jena University Hospital, Germany
2 Interdisciplinary Centre of Sleep and Respiratory Medicine, Jena University Hospital, Germany
3 MEDIGRA Arztpraxen Apolda, Germany
4 Memory Centre, Jena University Hospital, Germany
Aims: Adults with ADHD often report poor sleep quality, which may contribute to their attentional deficits. However, polysomnographic evidence of sleep alterations remains sparse. We examined 1) whether objective and subjective sleep measures differ between adults with and without ADHD, and 2) how they relate to attentional performance -specifically visual processing speed C and visual short-term memory (vSTM) capacity K based on the Theory of Visual Attention (TVA).

Methods: 35 unmedicated adults with ADHD and 37 healthy controls (HC) completed 84 whole-report trials of brief letter arrays, sleep questionnaires, and one night of polysomnography. TVA-based modelling of whole-report performance estimated vSTM capacity K and processing speed C. Group differences were tested using one-way MANOVAs. Correlations and regressions examined group-related associations between sleep and attentional parameters.

Results: The groups did not differ in polysomnographic measures, but subjective sleep quality was significantly worse in adults with ADHD than in HC. Two regression analyses showed that (a) subjective sleep quality and ADHD status, and (b) subjective sleep efficiency, ADHD status, and their interaction, each significantly predicted vSTM capacity K. REM duration significantly predicted processing speed C, whereas ADHD status and their interaction did not.

Conclusions: Adults with ADHD report poorer sleep quality than HC, which is not reflected in polysomnographic macrostructure. Investigating sleep microstructure may clarify this discrepancy. Subjective sleep disturbances in adults with ADHD are associated with reduced vSTM capacity K, suggesting a link between sleep and attentional functioning in ADHD. Sleep interventions may complement ADHD treatment.