| Abstract: | Keywords: gender; attention networks; alerting network; orienting network; executive control network
Background Selective attention is considered one of the main components of cognitive functioning. A number of studies have demonstrated gender differences in cognition, but there has been little research focused on gender differences in selective attention in healthy subjects.
Methods The present experiment examined the gender differences associated with the efficiency of 3 attention networks: alerting, orienting, and executive control attention in 73 healthy subjects (38 males). All participants performed a modified version of the Attention Network Test (ANT).
Results The main result showed females had higher orienting scores than males (t = 2.172, P < 0.05). Specifically, females were faster at covert orienting of attention to a spatially cued location. There were no gender differences between males and females in alerting (t = 0.813, P > 0.05) and executive control (t = 0.945, P > 0.05) attention networks.
Conclusions There was a significant gender difference between males and females associated with the orienting network. Enhanced orienting attention in females may function to motivate females to direct their attention to a spatially cued location. |
