12/7 Flashcards
Attention is a
selective focus allows cognitive processing to be optimally used
process of focusing on a particular type of stimuli, can be applied more broadly to internal cognitive processes
Change blindness
large changes not noticed because not paying attention to them
Dichotic presentation
simultaneous delivery of different stimuli to both ears at the same time.
report little about stimuli in un-attended ear
(opposite of R ear advantage)
Inattentional blindness
failure to perceive un-attended visual stimuli
(focus on particular stimuli, not remember what not attended on)
Endogenous attention
voluntary
What pay attention to
can be maintained longer than reflexive attention
TOP DOWN
Exogenous attention
reflexive
comes from outside - important stimuli draws attention whether want to or not (ex. glass braking)
BOTTOM UP
Overt attention
Obvious (move eye)
Covert attention
Not Obvious (gaze fixed on something but attention shifted)
Symbolic Queuing test
stare at dot (fixation), cue given (arrow provides info), delay, target
Valid trial
cue has correct information
Invalid trial
Cue has incorrect information
Neutral trial
not correct or incorrect info (arrow going both ways)
Voluntary shift in attention
decrease in processing speed (if shift where target is)
ERP on EEG
Average of recording over time (so much random activity, need to average)
shows shift in attention
N1
Auditory stimulus
P3
P300 also
wave associated with higher order cognitive processing or attention (ex. novelty)
~300ms after stimulus
N
negative going (upwards)
P
positive going (downwards)
Valid cue and ERP
P1 & N1 larger (than invalid)
N1 effect
size of N1 is greater for attended vs non-attended
Subcortical areas controlling shift in attention
Superior colliculus
Pulvinar
Superior colliculus
mid brain, early visual processing, direct gaze towards attention
guides movement of eyes towards object of attention
Pulvinar
Back part of the thalamus
orient gaze, shifts attention, filtering stimuli
larger number of distracters, greater activation
Cortical areas controlling shift in attention
Dorsal frontoparietal network
Right temporoparietal network
Dorsal frontoparietal network
necessary for endogenous attention and directs gaze via the frontal eye field
spans frontal and parietal lobes (both hemispheres)
Cognitive control of voluntary
TOP DOWN mechanism
Active in directing gaze (in dorsal frontoparietal network)
Intraparietal sulcus (IPS) frontal eye fields
Right temporoparietal network
temporal and parietal lobes
Primarily in the R side
reflexive capture of attention
scans for novel stimuli drawling exogenous attention
involves TPJ
BOTTOM UP
Right hemisphere
plays a greater role in attention
Hemi-spatial neglect
stroke destroyed part of cortical attention networks on R hand side
Usually neglect of L hand side of the world
extends to other modalities (sensation from L leg/hand)
Balint’s syndrome
Bilateral damage to parts of the parietal lobe
narrowing of attention
inability to pay attention to more than one thing at a time
if your un conscious
you cant pay attention
Cognitively impenetrable
Basic neural processing operations that are unconscious
things we are not conscious of going on inside our brain
Easy problem of consciousness
understanding how patterns of neural activity create specific conscious experiences
seems directly susceptible to standard methods of cognitive science
Hard problem of consciousness
understanding brain processes that produce people’s subjective experiences of consciousness
Not even know how to measure
one person’s perception of red NOT = to another’s
Qualia
purely subjective experience of perceptions
Degrees of unconsciousness
Sleep, general anesthesia, coma, persistent vegetative state
F+P very large (decreases in activity)
Frontal cortex, Parietal cortex
Large area of cortex with decreased activity in PVS (Persistent vegetative state)
Frontal and Parietal cortexes
Free Will
Idea that we can make conscious decisions about our own behavior
Before conscious of making a decision
brain already preparing for it
10s before conscious
involved in decision making
5s before conscious
increased activity in motor cortex
P1 effect
~70-100ms after stimulus
- *enhanced for selectively attending visual imput** compare with ignored imput
- only visual* tasks involving spatial attention
Visual search tasks __ N2
subcomponent, N2pc
triggered at occipitotemporal sites contralateral to the visual target.
Lesion in one superior colliculus
inhabitation of return was reduced for visual stimuli on affected side
(normally so we don’t return to them too soon after gaze has moved on)
Temporoparietal junction
TPJ - where temporal and parietal lobes meet
“circuit breaker” overriding current attention if something new and unexpected happens
Balint’s syndrome symptoms
1) great difficulty steering their visual gaze appropriately (oculomotor ataxia)
2) unable to accurately reach for objects using visual guidance (Optic ataxia)
3) profound restriction of attention - only one object or feature can be consciously observed at a time (simultagnosia)
Default mode network
“day dream network”
A circuit of brain regions that is active during quiet introspective thought.
monkeys have - they may think?
claustrum
a slender sheet of neurons buried within the white matter of the forebrain lateral to the basal ganglia—plays a critical role in generating the experience of being conscious by virtue of its remarkable reciprocal connections with virtually every area of cortex, and especially prefrontal cortex.
place electrode here may be able to “switch off” consciousness
Executive functioning
A neural and cognitive system that helps develop plans of action and organizes the activities of other high-level processing systems.
involves at least three interrelated processes: (1) smooth task switching between different cognitive operations, (2) continual updating of the cognitive plan based on new information and the contents of working memory, and (3) timely inhibition of responses that would compromise the plan
hierarchical cognitive control
the ability to direct shorter-term actions while simultaneously keeping longer-term goals in mind
Frontal lobe lesions
may cause motor perseveration
overall level of ordinary spontaneous motor activity is diminished
facial expression of emotions may be reduced
often have inability to plan future acts and use foresight
Orbitofrontal cortex seems to link
pleasant experiences with reward signals generated elsewhere in the brain
Tendency to ___ loss
overemphasize
when make wrong, costly decision that regret, activity increases in
amygdala
orbitofrontal part of the prefrontal cortex
