Attention Network Test (ANT)

Field	Value
Name	Attention Network Test (ANT)
Version	v1.1.2
URL / Repository	https://github.com/TaskBeacon/T000015-ant
Short Description	ANT implementation measuring alerting, orienting, and executive-control effects from cue and flanker manipulations.
Created By	Zhipeng Cao (zhipeng30@foxmail.com)
Date Updated	2026-03-02
PsyFlow Version	0.1.9
PsychoPy Version	2025.1.1
Modality	Behavior / EEG
Language	Chinese
Voice Name	zh-CN-YunyangNeural

Run Modes

• Human (default): python main.py
• QA: python main.py qa --config config/config_qa.yaml
• Scripted Sim: python main.py sim --config config/config_scripted_sim.yaml
• Sampler Sim: python main.py sim --config config/config_sampler_sim.yaml

1. Task Overview

This ANT presents a target arrow flanked by congruent or incongruent arrows, with cue manipulations (no, center, double, spatial). Participants respond to the center arrow direction. The task enables estimation of alerting, orienting, and executive-control effects from reaction time and accuracy contrasts.

2. Task Flow

Block-Level Flow

Step	Description
Setup	Load config, initialize mode context (human/qa/sim), create window, preload stimuli, initialize triggers.
Instruction	Show instruction_text (voice optional in human mode).
Block Loop	Generate ANT conditions and run trial loop through run_trial(...).
Block Summary	Compute block accuracy and show block_break.
Finalize	Show good_bye, send exp_end, save CSV, close trigger runtime, quit PsychoPy.

Trial-Level Flow

Step	Description
Fixation	Show fixation cross (+) for fixation_duration.
Cue (optional)	Show center/double/spatial cue for cue_duration if condition requires it.
Flanker Response	Show 5-arrow stimulus and capture left/right response during stim_duration.
Feedback	Show correct/incorrect/no-response feedback text.
ITI	Blank interval sampled from iti_duration.

Controller Logic

No adaptive controller is used in this ANT baseline variant.

3. Configuration Summary

a. Subject Info

Field	Meaning
subject_id	Participant ID (3 digits).
subname	Participant name (pinyin).
age	Age (5-60).
gender	Male or Female.

b. Window Settings

Parameter	Value
window.size	[1920, 1080]
window.units	deg
window.fullscreen	true
window.bg_color	gray
window.monitor_width_cm	60
window.monitor_distance_cm	72

c. Stimuli

Name	Type	Description
fixation	text	Central fixation cross.
cue_center	text	Center cue (*).
cue_up, cue_down	text	Spatial cues at upper/lower locations.
congruent_*	text	Congruent 5-arrow arrays.
incongruent_*	text	Incongruent 5-arrow arrays.
correct_feedback	text	Correct response message.
incorrect_feedback	text	Incorrect response message.
no_response_feedback	text	Miss/no-response message.
instruction_text	textbox	Chinese ANT instructions.
block_break	text	Inter-block summary screen.
good_bye	text	End-of-task message.

d. Timing

Phase	Duration
cue_duration	0.1 s
fixation_duration	0.5 s
stim_duration	1.0 s
feedback_duration	0.5 s
iti_duration	Random in [0.8, 1.2] s

e. Triggers

Event	Code
exp_onset	254
exp_end	255
block_onset	252
block_end	253
fixation_onset	1
center_cue_onset	11
double_cue_onset	12
spatial_cue_up_onset	13
spatial_cue_down_onset	14
stim_1111 ... stim_4222	21-58 family
left_key_press	201
right_key_press	202
feedback_correct_response	221
feedback_incorrect_response	222
feedback_no_response	223

4. Methods (for academic publication)

Participants completed an Attention Network Test combining cue manipulations with flanker congruency conflict. Each trial began with fixation, followed by an optional cue (none, center, double, or spatial), and then a five-arrow target array in which the central arrow defined the required response.

Participants responded to center-arrow direction while ignoring flankers. Congruent and incongruent flankers were used to quantify executive-control costs, while cue contrasts enabled alerting and orienting effect estimates. Feedback and jittered inter-trial intervals were included to stabilize performance and timing.

The implementation is EEG-compatible and includes explicit event markers for fixation, cue class, condition-encoded target onset, response channel, and outcome.