Learning Outcomes

• Differentiate between arousal and selective attention

• Understand top-down vs. bottom-up attentional control with examples

• Identify and localize 6 major brain regions linked to attention

• Distinguish symptoms of Bálint's syndrome vs. Neglect

• Understand overt vs. covert attention

• Explain the cocktail party effect and its assessment

Alerting

• Maintenance of an aroused state

Relay neurons have two modes (difference in depolarization levels of neuron):

• Burst Mode: moment-to-moment fluctuations

• Tonic Alertness: sustained vigilance

2. Conflict Monitoring

• Relies on frontoparietal and cingulo-opercular networks

• Involves detecting/resolving competition between dominant and non-dominant responses

• Example: Stroop Task (red the word or the color of the word)

3. Orienting (Selective Attention)

• Prioritizing certain stimuli over others!

• Can be top-down (goal-driven) or bottom-up (salient stimuli)

• Measured with spatial attention tasks

Anatomy of Attention

• Involves cortical and subcortical areas

  • Posterior Parietal: Information about “where in space” shifts our eyes

  • Superior Frontal Cortex: Frontal eye fields

  • Superior colliculus: Head and eye movements

• Key region: Anterior cingulate cortex

Selective Attention vs. Arousal

• Arousal: global physiological/psychological state

• Selective Attention: prioritizing certain stimuli, not multitasking

• Attention is limited; multitasking involves rapid switching

Processing Types

Top-down Processing

• Hypothesis-driven; influences stimulus analysis

Bottom-up Processing

• Data-driven; relies on incoming stimulus data

• Example: Learning to read

Differences between Top-down and Bottom-up Processing

• Key aspects: Automaticity, Inference, Encoding, Sensitivity

Neural Systems of Attention

• Brain imaging, damage studies, physiology

• Focus on areas affected in ADHD

Symptoms of Bálint’s Syndrome

• Can see only one object at a time

• Difficulty perceiving whole visual field

• Inability to guide eye movements

Causes of Bálint’s Syndrome

• Bilateral damage to posterior parietal and occipital cortex

Visuospatial Neglect

• Patients exhibit left side neglect post-unilateral damage

• Symptoms include ignoring half of visual field

Extinction in Neglect

• Patients can detect isolated items but fail when two stimuli are present

Cortical Systems of Attention

Dorsal Attentional Network

• Involves voluntary attention based on spatial location

Ventral Attentional Network

• Focus on stimulus novelty and salience

• Right hemisphere dominant

Summary

• Goal-directed systems influence perception

• Attentional control involves distributed brain regions

• Interaction between goal-directed attention and stimulus saliency determines awareness.