Attention and Higher Cognition – Key Vocabulary

These flashcards present essential vocabulary from the lecture on attention, consciousness, executive function, and ADHD, covering key terms, brain regions, cognitive tasks, neurotransmitters, and treatment concepts.

Attention (Selective Attention)

The cognitive process of focusing on one or more specific stimuli or thoughts for enhanced processing while ignoring others.

Vigilance

A global state of alertness or readiness to detect and respond to stimuli, distinct from selective attention.

Overt Attention

Attention that is aligned with sensory orientation—for example, looking directly at what you are attending to.

Covert Attention

Attention directed independently of eye or sensory orientation; you mentally attend to one stimulus while looking elsewhere.

Attentional Spotlight

A steerable focus of selective attention that highlights particular stimuli for enhanced processing.

Sustained-Attention Task

An experimental task requiring continuous focus on a single stimulus source or location over an extended period.

Voluntary (Endogenous) Attention

Intentional, goal-driven direction of attention toward chosen aspects of the environment.

Divided-Attention Task

A task in which an individual must focus on two or more stimuli simultaneously.

Reaction Time

The interval, measured in milliseconds, between stimulus presentation and a participant’s response.

Alternating Attention

The ability to shift focus back and forth between tasks or stimuli.

Selective Attention (Clinical)

Maintaining behavioral or cognitive focus in the presence of competing stimuli.

Focused Attention

Being immediately responsive to events occurring in the surrounding environment.

Reflexive (Exogenous) Attention

Involuntary reorienting of attention toward an unexpected or salient stimulus.

Feature Search

A visual search in which a target ‘pops out’ because it differs on a single feature such as color or shape.

Conjunction Search

A visual search requiring integration of multiple features; distractors slow detection and the target does not pop out.

Superior Colliculus

A midbrain structure that guides eye movements toward objects of attention, especially in overt attention.

Pulvinar

The posterior thalamic region involved in visual processing and in orienting or shifting attention via widespread connections.

Lateral Intraparietal Area (LIP)

A parietal-cortical region important for generating and directing voluntary shifts of attention.

Intraparietal Sulcus (IPS)

A parietal sulcus containing neurons that help control the attentional spotlight and visual spatial attention.

Frontal Eye Field (FEF)

A frontal-lobe area that directs eye movements and contributes to top-down control of attention.

Temporoparietal Junction (TPJ)

Right-hemisphere region that mediates reflexive shifts of attention to novel or unexpected stimuli.

Hemispatial Neglect

A syndrome, often after right-hemisphere damage, in which individuals ignore stimuli on the contralateral (usually left) side.

Consciousness

Awareness of one’s own existence, thoughts, emotions, and experiences.

Default Mode Network

A frontoparietal circuit active during rest and introspective thought, implicated in conscious awareness.

Cognitively Impenetrable Process

Neural operations that occur without access to introspection or conscious awareness.

Easy Problem of Consciousness

The challenge of linking specific patterns of neural activity to particular conscious experiences.

Hard Problem of Consciousness

The challenge of explaining how neural processes give rise to subjective, qualitative experiences (qualia).

Quale (plural: Qualia)

A purely subjective, first-person experience of perception, such as ‘the redness’ of red.

Executive Function

A set of high-level cognitive processes—planning, inhibition, working memory—that organize and control lower-level functions.

Wisconsin Card Sorting Task (WCST)

A neuropsychological test assessing cognitive flexibility and executive function through changing sorting rules.

Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortex

Prefrontal region linked to planning, working memory, and the dysexecutive syndrome when damaged.

Orbitofrontal Cortex

Prefrontal region involved in social behavior and impulse control; damage leads to disinhibited behavior.

Dysexecutive Syndrome

A pattern of diminished planning, judgment, and cognitive focus following dorsolateral prefrontal damage.

Disinhibited Syndrome

Impulsive, stimulus-driven behavior with poor social insight due to orbitofrontal damage.

Apathetic Syndrome

Reduced spontaneity, speech, and motor activity associated with mediofrontal prefrontal damage.

Dopamine (Attention)

Neurotransmitter crucial for motivation, reward processing, and sustained focus.

Norepinephrine (Attention)

Neurotransmitter that promotes arousal, alertness, and vigilance essential for attention.

Acetylcholine (Attention)

Neurotransmitter supporting attention, memory, and overall cognitive function via cholinergic pathways.

Glutamate

Primary excitatory neurotransmitter involved in learning and memory processes underlying attention.

GABA

Primary inhibitory neurotransmitter that regulates neuronal excitability, aiding focused attention.

Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)

A common neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity.

Frontostriatal Network

Circuit connecting prefrontal cortex and striatum, implicated in executive control and ADHD pathology.

Frontocerebellar Network

Connections between prefrontal cortex and cerebellum contributing to timing and executive aspects of attention.

Amphetamine-Based Stimulants

FDA-approved ADHD medications (e.g., Adderall) that enhance dopamine and norepinephrine signaling.

Methylphenidate-Based Stimulants

ADHD drugs (e.g., Ritalin, Concerta) that block reuptake of dopamine and norepinephrine to improve focus.

Atomoxetine

A non-stimulant ADHD medication acting as a selective norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor.

Guanfacine XR

An α2-adrenergic agonist non-stimulant used (mainly in children) to reduce hyperactivity and impulsivity in ADHD.

Clonidine XR

An extended-release α2-adrenergic agonist approved for pediatric ADHD to decrease hyperactivity and impulsivity.

Viloxazine ER

A newer non-stimulant norepinephrine modulating agent approved for treating ADHD in adults and children.