Attention Network Test

A computer-administered cognitive task developed by Fan, Posner, and colleagues that measures three functionally distinct attention networks — alerting (sustained readiness), orienting (shifting attentional focus in space), and executive control (resolving conflict between competing responses). Participants respond to cued targets flanked by distractors; reaction-time differences across cue and flanker conditions yield separate efficiency scores for each network. Variants such as ANT-I (interaction) and ANT-Child adapt stimuli and timing for specific populations. The ANT is widely used in clinical and developmental research, including studies of autism, ADHD, and neurodegenerative disease, though its abstract stimuli and demanding pacing can limit accessibility for pediatric and neurodivergent users.