Attention and Cognition Flashcards
arousal
overall alertness
attention (selective attention)
is the process of selecting/focusing on one or more specific stimuli
sensory input or internal thought
overt vs. covert attention
cocktail party effect
cocktail party effect
focuses cognitive processing resources
filter out distracters
enhance processing & analysis
enhance sounds with a pitch similar to the person talking to you
attention is limited
focused selective attention on players dressed in white and ball
filter out distracters
enhance processing & analysis
inattentional blindness
failure to perceive non-attended stimuli
overt vs. covert attention
overt- physically directing attention
covert- peripheral vision, eavesdropping
overlapping brain circuitry
divided-attention tasks
attentional spotlight sifts around trying to extract the multiple important pieces of information
early-selection model
level of sensory input/processing
filters out unimportant (non-attended) sensory stimuli BEFORE perceptual analysis
deciding ahead before it gets far into brain processing
late-selection model
level of higher cognitive processing
filters out unimportant (non-attended) sensory stimuli AFTER perceptual analysis
perceptual load
combination of early and late selection
complex vs simple stimulus
complex stimulus will lead to early selection
simple stimulus will lead to late selection
What type of filtering may be occurring if you are in a loud room
talking to your friend, and then you hear someone behind you call
your name?
A. Early selection model
B. Late selection model
B. Late selection model
What type of filtering may be occurring if you are in a crowded room
looking for your friend in a pink shirt, and you walk right past your
mom without recognizing her?
A. Early selection model
B. Late selection model
A. Early selection model
voluntary attention
consciously- or endogenously-controlled attention
top-down process
consciously- or endogenously-controlled attention
attention shift comes from within
allows for slower, longer-lasting, accurate attention
top-down process
higher order processing controls lower order sensory processing - cortical region controls subcortical regions and sensory processing
reflexive attention
exogenously-controlled attention
bottom-up process
exogenously-controlled attention
involuntary reorientation towards sudden or important event
allows for very fast reaction time, but very brief (if irrelevant)
bottom-up process
sensory inputs trigger higher order processing
stimulus causes you to move your eyes to the stimulus (where the brain tells you the sound or stimulus is coming from)
subcortical areas involved in attention
pulvinar
superior colliculus
take control in bottom processing- receive info in top-down processing
pulvinar
thalamus
shifting of attention
sensory information first goes here
isolates relevant information by filtering out distractors (mainly covert attention, some overt) - not directly paying attention to
mainly top-down processes
superior colliculus
implements planned eye movements
mainly overt attention, though some role in covert attention, though same role in covert attention
also involved in reflexive attention
top-down and bottom-up processes
cortical areas involved in voluntary attention
dorsal frontoparietal network
intraparietal sulcus/superior parietal lobule (IPS/SPL)
frontal eye field (FEF)
needs to be a lot of communication
intraparietal sulcus/superior parietal lobule (IPS/SPL)
controls voluntary shifts of attention
eye movement planning
frontal eye field (FEF)
premotor cortex
established gaze in accordance with cognitive goals (top-down processes)
establish where looking/where paying attention to- so that can carry out goal
cortical areas involved in reflexive attention
right temporoparietal network
temporoparietal junction (TPJ)
temporoparietal junction (TPJ)
establishes gaze in accordance with characteristics of stimuli (bottom-up)
shift happens after unexpected event
voluntary and reflexive attention are complementary
can switch between the two
peak attention in the beginning- reflexive
takes a long time to happen but will stay for a long time- voluntary
does attention change individual neuronal function?
fired a lot of action potentials when the neuron looks at the red dot
what the monkey is paying attention to can change an individual neurons activity
higher cognition
the thing that makes us humans
sense of self awareness- consciousness
ability to make complex decisions- planning and strategy, consideration of complex environment
consciousness
awareness of self
not one clear definition of consciousness- variety of aspects of consciousness
claustrum
seat of consciousness
reciprocal connections to almost all cortical areas
stimulate it with strong pulse and lose conscious awareness
claustrum discovery
studied brains while unconscious
during surgery when conscious when claustrum was touched, patient went unconscious
cognitively impenetrable
neural processing that can’t be simplified
easy problems
objective conscious experiences
hard problems
subjective conscious experiences
decision-making and free will (executive function)
ex. what the flavor sweet is
decision-making
although may not be aware of planning to pick up a water without thinking about it, the brain has a plan involving the premotor cortex - might not think about it, brain has made the decision and you are not conscious of the decision
executive function
thoughts, feelings, choices
direct attention to important stimulus/task
formulate plan of action
prefrontal cortex
prefrontal cortex divisions
orbitofrontal PFC
dorsolateral PFC
orbitofrontal PFC
goal-directed behaviors, signaling expected outcomes (green)
dorsolateral PFC
judgement, planning, insight, working memory (blue)
weighing pros and cons
