7.1 Selective Attention and the Anatomy of Attention

Question 1

Bálint’s syndrome

Answer 1

a condition caused by bilateral damage to regions of the
posterior parietal and occipital cortex. The result is
a severe disturbance of visual attention and awareness, in which only one or a small subset of available
objects is perceived at any one time and is mislocalized in space

Question 2

Arousal

Answer 2

refers to the global physiological and psychological state of the organism, and it is best thought of on a continuum ranging from deep sleep to hyperalertness

Question 3

selective attention

Answer 3

is not a global brain state. Instead, at any level of arousal, it is the allocation of attention among relevant inputs, thoughts, and actions while simultaneously ignoring irrelevant or distracting ones. Selective attention is the ability to prioritize and attend to some things and not to others.

Question 4

goal-driven control

Answer 4

This is goal-driven control, steered by an individual’s current behavior goals and shaped by learned priorities based on personal experience and evolutionary adaptions.

Question 5

stimulus-driven control

Answer 5

Your reaction is stimulus-driven and therefor also stimulus-driven control, which is much less dependent on current behavior goals.

Question 6

attentional control mechanisms

Answer 6

The mechanisms that determine where and on what our attention is focused

Question 7

ortical areas important for attention

Answer 7

portions of the posterior superior temporal cortex, as well as more medial brain structures, including the anterior cingulate cortex.

Question 8

control of attention

Answer 8

The superior colliculus in the midbrain and the pulvinar nucleus of the thalamus, located between the midbrain and the cortex, are involved in the control of attention. Damage to these structures can lead to deficits in the ability to orient both overt and covert attention

Question 9

Overt attention

Answer 9

is for instance eye gaze direction

Question 10

covert attention

Answer 10

holds the attention directed without changing the eyes, head, or body orientation.