Attention, memory and imagery Flashcards
What is overt visual attention?
When gaze is physically directed towards the object of interest, and attention moves to that object
What is covert visual attention?
When mental attention is directed towards an object, but the line of gaze doesn’t move. Used to scan a visual scene.
What is an exogenous cue?
A cue which grabs your attention due to sudden appearance - it’s involuntary and quick.
What is an endogenous cue?
A cue which draws your attention to something, but is voluntary and slower than exogenous. Attention is goal driven - e.g. looking at a zebra crossing while driving (important and helps towards goal of getting to destination)
What are the three things that cue visual attention?
Sudden visual or auditory stimuli
Other people suddenly looking elsewhere (social signalling)
An ‘odd one out’ object in a visual scene (e.g. one bright object in otherwise dull scene)
What is a valid cue?
Attention is drawn to the correct place before stimulus appears (i.e. box where spot will appear)
What is a neutral cue?
Attention is drawn to a neutral space before stimulus appears (i.e. both boxes)
What is an invalid cue?
Attention is drawn to the incorrect place before stimulus appears (i.e. wrong box to where spot will appear)
Out of valid, neutral and invalid cues, which has the quickest reaction time to the stimulus after the attention has been cued?
Valid - already looking in the right place so minimal time for attention to come to stimulus
What is change blindness?
Inability to notice change if said change is separated by a transient event (i.e. something in between changes your attention/affects your memory)
What is inattentional blindness?
Temporary inability to perceive unexpected objects due to attention being focused on another task.
Which area of the brain is associated with attention of the left visual field?
Right parietal cortex
Which area of the brain is associated with attention of the right visual field?
Right and left parietal cortices
What is unilateral neglect?
One side (almost always left) of visual field neglected due to pathology of right hemisphere. Visual pathway is in tact but attention can’t be drawn.
Visual analysis still occurs but px unaware this is happening (e.g. house on fire)
What are the three (four) types of unilateral neglect?
Egocentric
Allocentric
Object-centred
(Representational)
What is egocentric unilateral neglect?
What is it also known as?
Everything to the left of the px’s midline is ignored
AKA Hemilateral neglect
What is allocentric unilateral neglect?
The leftmost object in a group is ignored
What is object-centred unilateral neglect?
The left side of every object is ignored
What is representational unilateral neglect?
The px is unable to imagine or recall the left side of images in their mind
What are two conditions where visual analysis still occurs but the px is unaware of this? What does this mean?
Unilateral neglect
Prosopagnosia
Px is able to get some information but can’t physically see it - e.g. prosopagnosia pxs can ‘recognise’ familiar faces
What is simultagnosia?
Px is unable to perceive multiple objects at the same time
What is Balint’s syndrome?
Functional blindness due to bilateral damage to the parietal cortices, i.e can’t direct attention to objects
What are the symptoms of Balint’s syndrome?
Saccade initiation failure (unable to change fixation from one object to another)
Simultagnosia
Spatial disorientation (unable to work out where objects are)
Optic ataxia (unable to grasp a clearly perceived object)
Where does visual perception interface with visual imagery and memory?
Inferotemporal cortex (IT) in right temporal lobe
