Altered interactions between attentional networks in older adults with mild cognitive impairment

Previous research using the Attention Network Test (ANT) paradigm has indicated that older adults with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) experience declines in attentional performance across the three core networks: alerting, orienting, and executive control, primarily focusing on main effects. The present study sought to expand these findings by exploring whether interactions between these networks are also affected in the presence of MCI. To achieve this, we used the Revised Attention Network Test (ANT-R) to examine both the individual attentional networks and their interactions in 21 older adults with MCI and 27 healthy controls (HCs) matched on demographic variables. Results indicated that the MCI group exhibited lower accuracy than the HC group in both executive control and orienting functions. In addition, the MCI group demonstrated a weakened interaction between the orienting and executive control networks, suggesting that valid cues are less effective in facilitating conflict resolution for individuals with MCI compared to HCs. No significant group differences were observed for the interaction between the executive control and alerting networks, or between the flanker conflict effect and the location conflict effect within the executive control network. This study extends previous findings by identifying changes related to MCI in the interaction between the orienting and executive control networks, highlighting the challenges individuals with MCI face in utilizing spatial cues during attentional processing.