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 688
Integrating Insights from Symposium Part 1 and Part 2: Discussion of TVA in Perspective
SymposiumTalk-05
Presented by: Kathrin Finke
Kathrin Finke 1, Jan Tünnermann 2, Ingrid Scharlau 3
1 Jena University Hospital, Department of Neurology, Germany
2 Charlotte Fresenius Hochschule Köln, Allgemeine Psychologie und Kognitive Neurowissenschaften, Germany
3 Universität Paderborn, Kognitive Psychologie und Psychologiedidaktik, Germany
The concluding discussion will bring together the themes presented in both parts of the symposium on the Theory of Visual Attention (TVA). While Part 1 introduced current developments in modelling, task design, and methodological extensions of TVA, Part 2 highlighted how attentional parameters relate to neural organisation and cognitive changes in different populations. In this final session, Kathrin Finke, Jan Tünnermann, and Ingrid Scharlau will reflect on selected points that connect these perspectives.

The discussion will focus on a small number of aspects that appear promising for future TVA research, including opportunities for integrating modelling approaches with neuroimaging findings, the refinement and practical implementation of TVA tasks in laboratory and online settings, and the role of TVA in characterising variability and change across both healthy and clinical groups. Rather than aiming for a comprehensive summary, the session will outline several directions that emerged across the talks and that may guide further development of TVA-based approaches.

By linking theoretical, methodological, and applied perspectives, the concluding discussion aims to identify areas in which TVA can continue to evolve and to support an informed exchange within the community.