6 Subcortical Attentional Control Primed States & Introduction to Emotionsbarebones

Prefrontal cortex (PFC)

Executive control center integrating cognition emotion and behavior

Executive functions

Higher-order processes including planning decision-making impulse control and working memory

Working memory

Temporary storage and manipulation of information for tasks

Dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC)

Logical reasoning decision-making and cognitive control “Spock-like”

Ventromedial prefrontal cortex (VMPFC)

Integrates emotion and value from limbic inputs for decision-making

PFC-emotion interaction

PFC both regulates and is influenced by emotional systems like the amygdala

Amygdala (low road)

Fast automatic emotional response via thalamus without conscious processing

Amygdala (high road)

Slower processed emotional response involving cortex and interpretation

Startle response

Immediate reflexive reaction occurring before conscious interpretation

Cognitive load theory

Limited mental resources cause performance decline when overloaded

Cognitive load

Total demand placed on working memory and attention systems

Working memory load effect

Higher load increases distraction and errors

Attention

PFC-guided allocation of cognitive resources to relevant stimuli

Top-down control

PFC-driven regulation of attention and perception

Priming

Exposure to stimuli influences behavior without conscious awareness

Emotion influence on decision-making

Emotions bias perception judgment and PFC processing

Sleep deprivation effect

Reduces PFC efficiency leading to poor decisions and attention

Hunger effect

Impairs decision-making and increases focus on basic needs

Stress effect

Alters PFC function and shifts behavior toward survival responses

Self-control depletion

Reduced PFC resources lead to impulsive or dishonest behavior

Dishonesty study finding

People are more likely to cheat when cognitively depleted

Judge decision fatigue

Favorable decisions decrease over time and reset after breaks (food/rest)

Homeostasis

Physiological balance achieved by reallocating energy across systems

Maslow hierarchy link

Basic needs must be met before higher cognition functions optimally

Behavioral influence factors

Emotion environment experience physiology and social context shape behavior

Subcortical attentional control

Attention is influenced by subcortical structures such as the superior colliculus pulvinar and amygdala which can bias perception and behavior before conscious awareness

Pulvinar cortical loop

Visual areas project to the pulvinar which sends feedback back to cortex allowing attention to modulate processing across multiple visual regions

Low road attention mechanism

Fast subcortical pathway allows sensory input to reach the amygdala quickly biasing attention and behavior before full cortical processing

High road attention mechanism

Slower cortical pathway allows detailed analysis of sensory input before influencing emotional and attentional responses

Cognitive load definition

Cognitive load is the amount of mental effort used by working memory particularly involving prefrontal cortex processing

Cognitive load tradeoff

When prefrontal cortex resources are heavily used for one task other functions such as attention perception and self control are impaired

Working memory load effect on perception

High working memory demands reduce the ability to process other stimuli demonstrating limited cognitive resources

Cognitive load and self control

Increased cognitive load reduces self control leading to more impulsive or biased decisions

dlPFC vs vmPFC interaction

Logical reasoning from dlPFC and emotional input from vmPFC interact to guide decision making rather than functioning independently

Emotion regulation cognitive load

Regulating emotions consumes prefrontal resources and reduces capacity for other forms of self control

Interoceptive load effect

Bodily states such as hunger or thirst consume cognitive resources and impair executive decision making

Sleep deprivation effect on amygdala

Reduced sleep increases amygdala reactivity leading to heightened emotional responses and altered perception

Hypothalamus autonomic control

The hypothalamus regulates switching between sympathetic fight or flight and parasympathetic rest and digest systems

Prefrontal cortex as limbic regulator

The prefrontal cortex regulates emotional responses by interacting with limbic system structures such as the amygdala

Hypofrontality

Reduced prefrontal cortex activity leads to impulsivity poor decision making and reduced behavioral control

Constructed emotion theory

Emotions are constructed from past experience context and physiological states rather than being fixed brain modules

Fear conditioning

Neutral stimuli become associated with fear responses through amygdala dependent learning

Fear extinction

Extinction forms a new memory that suppresses fear rather than erasing the original fear association

vmPFC role in fear extinction

vmPFC inhibits amygdala activity allowing suppression of conditioned fear responses

Spontaneous recovery of fear

Extinguished fear responses can return over time showing the original memory is not erased