Spatial attention in HIV-1 infection: a preliminary report

In a preliminary study, 30 nondemented human immunodeficiency virus (HIV-1) seropositive subjects without acquired immunodeficiency syndrome and 14 seronegative controls performed a reaction time measure of spatial attention. Compared with controls, seropositive asymptomatic subjects showed normal facilitation of reaction time at short cue- target intervals when attention was precued, but symptomatic subjects were impaired. However, asymptomatic subjects showed no evidence of normal inhibition of attention at the cued location at longer cue- target intervals, suggesting possible subtler spatial attentional deficits in this group. Cognitive slowing in HIV-1 infection may have an attentional component, with possible involvement of both automatic and controlled processes.