Chapter 10 Key Terms

Question 1

Hemineglect

Answer 1

Syndrome in which patients ignore, or do not pay attention to, information on one side of space (usually the left), and act as if that side of the world does not exist, despite having intact sensory and motor functioning.

Question 2

Hemi-inattention

Answer 2

Hemineglect

Question 3

Attention

Answer 3

Selective process by which the brain chooses specific information for further processing; inherently limited by the amount of information the brain can process at any one time.

Question 4

Alertness and arousal

Answer 4

The most basic levels of attention; conditions of responsiveness to the outside world.

Question 5

Vigilance

Answer 5

Sustained attention; the ability to maintain alertness continuously over time.

Question 6

Selective attention

Answer 6

Involves the choice of information essential to a task; often conceptualized as a filtering process that allows homing in on critical information from the vast amount of information available. This selection process can be performed on incoming sensory information, on information being kept “in mind,” or on the set of possible responses.

Question 7

Divided attention

Answer 7

Occurs when attention must be split across tasks.

Question 8

Multiple-resource theory

Answer 8

Suggests that a limited set of distinct attentional resource pools may exist, each of which can be applied only to certain types of processes.

Question 9

Reticular activating system (RAS)

Answer 9

A set of brainstem neurons that receives input from the cranial nerves and projects diffusely to many other regions of the brain; relies on the excitatory neurotransmitter glutamate. Important for overall arousal and attention, and for regulation of sleep–wake cycles.

Question 10

Coma

Answer 10

State in which a person is unresponsive to and unaware of the outside world.

Question 11

Medial dorsal nucleus

Answer 11

Portion of the thalamus specifically implicated in the functions of alertness and wakefulness; acts by modulating the level of arousal of the cortex.

Question 12

Intralaminar nucleus

Answer 12

Portion of the thalamus specifically implicated in the functions of alertness and wakefulness; acts by modulating the level of arousal of the cortex.

Question 13

Reticular nucleus

Answer 13

Portion of the thalamus specifically implicated in the functions of alertness and wakefulness; acts by modulating the level of arousal of the cortex.

Question 14

Early-selection viewpoint

Answer 14

Theory regarding time frames of attentional stimulus processing; suggests that attentional selection occurs at an early stage of processing, before items are identified.

Question 15

Late-selection viewpoint

Answer 15

Theory regarding time frames of attentional processing; suggests that attentional selection occurs only after sensory processing is complete and items have been identified and categorized.

Question 16

Superior colliculus

Answer 16

One of two dorsal midbrain structures; allows orientation of eyes toward large moving objects in the periphery, so that the object falls in the center of vision. Also permits one to move the focus of visual attention from one position or object to another.

Question 17

Saccade

Answer 17

An eye movement in which the eyes, rather than moving smoothly across space, jump from one position to the next with no processing of the intervening visual information.

Question 18

Pulvinar

Answer 18

Thalamic structure that plays a role in attention and the filtering out of distracting information.

Question 19

Bottom-up attentional selection

Answer 19

Attention-directing schema in which some intrinsic aspect of the stimulus itself causes it to be attended or to receive priority in processing.

Question 20

Top-down attentional selection

Answer 20

Attention-directing schema in which the individual determines how to direct attention based on task goals, instructions, or higher-level decisions.

Question 21

Double simultaneous stimulation

Answer 21

Condition in which identical stimuli are presented at the same time in both visual fields.

Question 22

Hemi-extinction

Answer 22

Condition in which information on one side of space is extinguished from consciousness (neglected).

Question 23

Object-based neglect

Answer 23

Condition in which the individual neglects the left half of the stimulus (typically an object or word) regard less of the position of the stimulus in space.