Attention, consciousness, & neglect Flashcards
AAA
Alertness, attention, awareness
According to Posner’s model, ADHD is associated with deficits in which attentional network?
Alerting - difficulty in obtaining the effect of the warning signal, in maintaining the alert state where no warning or of focusing the warning signal to improve orienting
4 aspects of attention according to Cohen, Malloy, & Jenkins
Sensory selective attention - process by which sensory input is chosen for additional processing & focus Attentional capacity & focus Sustained attention Response selection & control (strongly associated with exec fx)
Delirium
Condition involving alterations in level of arousal/consciousness, difficulty staying alert, disturbance of attention, & impairment in logical stream of thought
According to Posner’s model, autism is associated with deficits in which attentional network?
Orienting - clear deficit in ability to shift covertly to a target, whether or not it is toward social events
Allesthesia
Erroneously report location of stimulus given to the right side of the body as being on the left
Lethargy
State of being awake but drowsy, inactive, & indifferent to external stimuli
Barkley’s definition of ADHD
D/o of sustained attention, behavioral inhibition, & exec fx
Environmental factors associated with attentional deficits
Poverty assoc. malnutrition & infection, maternal ETOH use & FAS, pregnancy & birth complications, lead exposure, lack of intellectual stimulation
Diagnostic considerations for altered arousal
Primary intracranial disease (affects the RAS by compression on brainstem) Systemic disease affecting the CNS Toxins/metabolic conditions Drug withdrawal
Engaging with stimuli involves what part of the thalamus?
Pulvinar
Thalamic lesions may produce what type of attentional impairments?
Info gating & selection difficulties
Bottom-up modulation (Mesulam)
Influence of the ascending reticular activation system; global influence on attention without selectivity for sensory modality or cognitive domain
What is the prefrontal cortex’s role in attention?
Response selection, sustained attention, control, switching & searching
Orientation is a reliable integration of
Attention, perception, & memory
What is the limbic system’s role in attention?
Establishes salience, whereby determining priority of incoming stimuli; limits of attention (hippocampus - memory encoding & retrieval constrain attention)
Describe Posner’s orienting network
Ability to select specific info from among multiple sensory stimuli Involves pulvinar, superior colliculus, superior parietal lobe, temporoparietal junction, superior temporal lobe, frontal eye fields, splenium of CC
Individual factors that may influence attention assessment
Energy, effort, motivation, cognitive ability, mood state
Describe Posner’s alerting network
Ability to increase & maintain response readiness in preparation for an impending stimulus; activity in frontal & parietal regions, particularly of RH, & posterior limb of IC
Motor neglect
Failure to respond to stimuli on the CL side of space in absence of obvious weakness; cannot be attributed to sensory deficit or inattention; marked ipsilateral gaze preference common
What are the 3 attention networks according to Posner?
Alerting Orienting Executive
What are mental activity variables (Lezak)?
Efficiency of mental processes involved in cognitive functions, but do not have unique behavioral end products (i.e., attention, activity rate, consciousness)