L16: Resting Brain, Attention, Conscious

Question 1

Default Mode Network

Answer 1

network of brain function was found doing fMRI while participants would be doing certain exogenous activities with lots of time with not doing anything
There were certain parts of the brain that becomes more active when we are not doing anything( rest state)
Default mode is what the brain enters when we are not doing anything
These regions are what light up when we are in default mode

Question 2

Sentinel Hypothesis

Answer 2

guard in the tower scanning what they can see or hear
Waiting for the next thing they need to focus or detect
Scanning the area
Not entirely true

Question 3

Internal mentation hypothesis

Answer 3

thinking about things that are not necessarily in our environment but we can still bring to mind
Thinking about past or future events
Our ability to time travel and project ourselves in the past or future
Selective attention
Top down - consciously decide to pay attention to something
Not able to process everything in our environment

Question 4

Selective Attention

Answer 4

Cocktail Party Effect: mostly focused on the conversation in your group but can hear the conversation of other groups subconsciously; hearing your own name can pull you away from the conversation; your name is a salient stimulus
Visual attention test: gorilla video
Top down goal has a big impact on what info gets processed in the brain

Question 5

Attention and Behavior

Answer 5

Bottom-up attention: bright, loud stimulus even when we are focused on something else
Red stop signs capture attention because red is not a natural color and stands out

Question 6

change blindness

Answer 6

the failure to notice a change in a visual stimulus when attention is not focused on that area

Question 7

Top-down attention

Answer 7

voluntary allocation of attention to certain stimuli

Question 8

Attention enhances visual sensitivity

Answer 8

Covert attention: paying attention to something in front of you but also notices something to the left of you

Question 9

Attention enhances reaction times*

Answer 9

React quicker when focused on something

Question 10

Spotlight of attention*

Answer 10

Get activity in V1 even before the stimulus appears before us

Question 11

Visual processing

Answer 11

Things that are closer to the fovea it is processed more posterior in V1
The more peripheral it is more in the front in retinotopic mapping

Question 12

Feature mapping of attention

Answer 12

Where features of visual information is processed
Depending on what feature you are focusing on, you can predict where in the brain the information will be processed

Question 13

Attention Neuroanatomy

Answer 13

Pulvinar nucleus: group of nuclei in the thalamus that plays a key role in visual processing and other higher-order functions
Thalamus decides what information is important and modulates attention up and down
Frontal eye fields
Decide where are our eyes focus on
Retinotopic map like V1
Can modulate activity and can make the eyes more or less likely to detect visual changes

Question 14

Posterior Parietal Cortex

Answer 14

Hemispatial Neglect - no ability to pay attention to one half of their visual world/ mostly their left half gets neglected
Right Hemisphere dominant - damage to right hemisphere makes left half get neglected
Left Hemisphere - more devoted to language whereas right hemisphere is devoted to spatial

Question 15

Blindsight

Answer 15

stroke took out V1; not conscious of visual stimuli or pay attention to stuff
He has ability to avoid objects in his way despite this
Cannot consciously perceive anything