Lecture 8 - Attention & Consciousness Flashcards
What’s attention & consciousness ?
- Attention : strategy of narrowing your focus to a selective part of sensory environment
- Consciousness : the awareness of the selection process
What are the 4 different types of attention ?
- Selective attention
- Divided attention
- Fixed attention
- Shifting attention
What are the features of attention ?
- Efficient
- Based on prior information from memory system
- Selective : focus on specific features
What are the features of consciousness ?
- Involves memory & language
- Closely relates to awareness, wakefulness & arousal
- Not selective : provides a gist of the world
What are the 2 possible processes in attention ?
Controlled & automatic
What are controlled processes in attention ?
- Focused attention (top-down)
- Rely on prior information/memory/concepts
- Cognitively effortful
- Metabolically less efficient
- Make multitasking difficult
What are automatic processes in attention ?
- Automatic responses to external stimuli (bottom-up)
- Occur without intention or awareness
- Cognitively effortless
- Metabolically efficient
- Allow multitasking
How does attention influence perception according to Treisman’s model ?
- Attention = “glue”
- Combine features into unitary objects
- Facilitate perception & memory
How are automatic processes different from conscious operations ?
- Autonomic processes : bottom-up (prompted by external stimuli)
- Conscious operations : top-down (require focused attention)
According to Treisman’s model of feature search, what happens during visual processing ?
- Stimuli registered in V1 are processed into separate feature maps
- Attention selects & integrates features at specific locations
Why might the brain prioritize detection of negative stimuli ?
- Evolution/survival : crucial to detect potential threatening or dangerous stimuli
- Activation of amygdala (fear processing)
What is the “binding problem” in neuroscience ?
How does the brain combine sensory experiences & motor events to create a unified perception ?
What are the 4 processes believed to be prerequisites for consciousness ?
- Arousal : waking the brain via nonspecific neuromodulatory systems
- Perception : detection & binding of sensory features
- Attention : selection of a restricted sample of sensory features
- Working memory : ST program of ongoing events
Which area of the brain is crucial for divided attention ?
R posterior parietal cortex (LIP)
What’s the difference between selective & divided attention in terms of function ?
- Specific attention : detect change in specific feature
- Divided attention : detect change in any feature
What’s the difference between selective & divided attention in terms of brain areas ?
- Selective attention : increased activity in specific visual regions, insula, pulvinar, superior colliculus, OFC
- Divided attention, increased activity in DLPFC & ACC
What are the three distinct networks of attention ?
- Executive control
- Alerting
- Orienting
Which brain structures and neurotransmitter are involved in the alerting network of attention ?
- Locus coeruleus & frontal/parietal cortex
- Norepinephrine
Which brain structures and neurotransmitter are involved in the orienting network of attention ?
- STPJ, frontal eye field, superior colliculus & pulvinar
- Acetylcholine
Which brain structures and neurotransmitter are involved in the executive control network of attention ?
- ACC, anterior insula & basal ganglia
- Dopamine
What’s synchrony ?
Precise, coordinated firing of neurons in different regions of the brain (crucial for attention & consciousness)
What are the two sub-networks within the orienting network ?
Dorsal & ventral orienting networks
What is the primary function of the alerting network in attention ?
- Maintaining alertness & focus
- Enhancing responses to relevant stimuli
- Increase RT & productivity, enhance decision-making & memory consolidation
What are some disorders associated with the alerting network ?
ADHD & PTSD
How does the orienting network function in attention ?
- Facilitates quick focus on external stimuli or locations triggered by salient stimuli
What is the role of the dorsal orienting network ?
- Engagement & focus on specific stimuli or location
- Primary R lateralized
What is the role of the ventral orienting network ?
- Disengagement & relevance
- Help to shift attention based on the importance of stimuli
What are some disorders associated with the orienting network ?
Autism & PTSD
What is the primary function of the executive network in attention ?
- Regulates attention (top-down)
- Based on task instructions, personal goals & expected outcomes
What are the two sub-networks within the executive network ?
- Frontoparietal & cingolo-opercular networks
How does the fronto-parietal network contribute to attention ?
- Adjust attention to different contexts
How does the cingulo-opercular network contribute to attention ?
- Maintain attention on a task
What are some effects of methylphenidate (MPH) on attention ?
- Affect fronto-parietal network & striatum
- Improve cognitive stability
- Reduce cognitive flexibility
How does acute stress affect attention ?
- Disrupts attentional control & functional connectivity
- Affects fronto-parietal network
How does acute stress affect attention ?
- Anxiety disorders
- Depression
- OCD
- Personality disorders
- Schizophrenia
- Substance abuse
What is inattentional blindness ?
Failure to perceive an unexpected stimulus in plain sight (because attention is engaged on other task)
What is change blindness ?
Inability to detect change in a visual scene, even when changes are significant
What is attentional blink ?
Failure to detect a second stimulus if it appears shortly after the first stimulus within a rapid sequence
What are the key components of consciousness ?
Awareness, wakefulness & arousal
How does the ventral stream differ from the dorsal stream in terms of consciousness ?
- Ventral stream : associated with conscious processing
- Dorsal stream : associated with unconscious processing
What is the hypothesis regarding consciousness and neuronal synchronization ?
Consciousness relies on synchronization of neuronal firing rates (6-8Hz) within a specific network
Which brain regions are inactive during coma, vegetative state, sleep, and anesthesia ?
- Fronto-parietal network
- Default mode network
- Claustrum
- Reticular formation
What are the dual systems of information processing ?
- Automatic processes : fast thinking, rapid, unconscious
- Conscious control : slow thinking, deliberate, logical
