Chapter 22 - Attention/Consciousness Flashcards
Explain Case R.P
mental neglect of one side, problem when to trust people, not being attentive to some info
right posterior parietotemporal lesions
What is attention
a selective narrowing or focusing of awareness to part of the sensory environment or stimuli
selective awareness of information from maps
What is consciousness
an awareness of information and an awareness of awareness
What does Koch think about the relationship between consciousness and attention
require two distinct brain processes
attention = top down process that selects information (specific features)
consciousness = not so selective, summarizes all information about environment (gist)
Define automatic processes
processes performed without intention, involuntarily, without awareness
is bottom-up
Explain Treisman’s model of feature search
detect simple visual features first and then combine features to form a coherent perception of the object
when looking for a target defined by a combination of features, the process becomes slower and requires more focused attention
Are all features of in image, object, etc. equivalent?
no, sad pops out over happy
the amygdala is primed to detect fear-related stimuli
What is the spotlight analogy of attention
we have a mental spotlight, it may be unconscious in that we are not aware of the process or conscious as we scan our memory
spotlight can be directed and shifted to specific stimuli, enhancing whatever the spotlight is on and leaving others in teh dark
Distinguish between automatic and attentive processing
automatic = unconsciously and involuntarily, operate independently
bottom-up processing - driven by external stimuli
data driven - directly responds to sensory input
ex. stopping at a red light
attentive processing = conscious and effortful
top-down processing = relies on prior knowledge, conceptually driven
ex. searching for a street sign while driving
Distinguish between a feature search and a conjunction search
feature search = cognitive strategy which sensory stimuli are scanned for a specific feature (ex. colour) (bottom-up)
conjunction search = involves finding a target that is defined by a combination of two or more features (top-down)
Discuss Treisman’s model of visual searching
emphasizes the role of features and focused attention in recognizing objects among distractors
occurs in 2 stages:
1. pre-attentive = automatically processes basic features without requiring focused attention, unconsciously
2. focused attention = when multiple features combined are required to identify an object, attention acts as a mental spotlight, slower
what is the physiological evidence that there are processes like attention? Examples?
monkeys trained to attend to specific stimuli to receive a reward, V4 stimuli responded equally to both at the start, then after training neurons responded selectively to stimuli in the reward location
monkeys were trained to distinguish between lines of different orientations, during easier tasks neurons fired less, during difficult tasks neurons increased firing and more selective
neurons in pulvinar appear to play role in guiding attention based on significance of stimuli
What is the PET evidence of attention-like processes? Examples?
require specific brain regions depending on type of attention task and sensory modality
Discuss the Posner and Peterson theory of attention, including the revised version discussed in class
3 central concepts:
1. attention system is anatomically separate from sensory systems
2. is not a single process, includes networks
3. form 3 distinct networks = alerting, orienting, executive (3 separate but interconnected networks)
Where are the images located in the brain
Distinguish between internal and external imagery
internal = visualize something within your mind, from own perspective ex. remembering a face
external = mental reconstruction or perception of external events, outside
What is consciousness
the level of responsiveness of the mind to impressions made by the senses
What is synchrony and how does it relate attention
synchronization of neural discharges in neutral networks that represent the same object/event
using binding mechanism
What is inattention
failure to notice/respond to stimuli due to distraction/cognitive overload
What types of inattention are there
- inattentional blindness = missing unexpected tasks while focused on another
- change blindness = failing to detect change when unexpected
- attentional blink = missing a second target after it appears quickly after the first one
What is a proposed neural basis of consciousness
thought to arise from multiple neural systems, binding is crucial and synchronizing, neurons firing together in the gamma range help with recognizing things
Why are we conscious
evolved due to adaptive advantages and helping make decisions
theories suggests that consciousness broadcasts information across the brain for better decision-making
What neural substrates are necessary for consciousness
frontoparietal network, parietal cortex (integrate info), claustrum (connects all cortical regions + role in binding)
What could account for inattention?
damage to the right parietal cortex causes neglect causes neglect of left side of space
