Cog & Bio Cognitive Control Flashcards
(35 cards)
What is attention?
The taking possession by the mind, in a clear and vivid form, of several trains of thought
What does attention enable us to do?
- enables us to focus on one aspect of the sensory input - that is selected for further processing, the rest is discarded (filter) - if we processed everything, our brain would be very overwhelmed
- is needed to avoid sensory overload
- is a limited capacity resource (bottleneck)
- attention can be top-down or bottom-up
What is attentional control?
A set of processes involved in maintaining an operative goal and goal-relevant information while suppressing goal-irrelevant information
What does attentional control ensure?
Ensures goal-directedness in the face of distraction
What is an operative goal?
One that substantially affects current information processing and action (top-down effect) - doesn’t affect planning and decision making, this is more about smaller goals affecting current processing
What is distraction?
When goal-irrelevant information receives priority over goal-relevant information
Distraction plays a key role - we want to try and prevent them
What are sources of distraction?
The perceived environment (e.g flanker task)
Self-generated information (e.g sustained attention task with thought probes)
Habits (e.g stroop task)
What is shifting?
Switching from 1 task to the other easily
What is inhibition?
Filtering out the irrelevant information and distractions and being able to focus on the most important thing
How can we shift our attention?
In accordance with a goal we have
What is covert shift of attention?
Shifting attention without moving your eyes
What is the spatial attention task?
Stimuli shown on screen, & participants have to state what side of screen the stimuli is on
Cross in the middle of the screen that participants need to focus on, arrow also presented before stimuli shown
Participants need to shift attention to where arrow is facing and this is most likely where stimuli will be - but need to use covert shift attention
What does more alpha mean?
More inhibition
What do red waves do?
Increase alpha activity above baseline
What do blue waves do?
Decrease alpha activity below baseline
Inhibition-timing hypothesis - what did Klimesch et al assume?
Assume that oscillatory activity is induced by inhibitory cells and reflects rhythmic changes between phases of maximal and minimal inhibition
What happens if the amplitude of the oscillation is small?
Cells with a high level of excitation fire tonically, not entrained to the phase of the oscillation
What happens if the amplitude is large?
Even cells with a high level of excitation will fire rhythmically, engrained to the phase of the oscillation
If the amplitude is large, there are 2 effects, what are these?
General decrease in firing rate (inhibition)
Increase in rhythmic firing (timing)
- create strict time windows where neurons are most likely to fire, these are the windows for most efficient neural communication
What is the stroop task? - classic task involving response conflict / interference
Shown colour of word and meaning of what and you have to state the colour of the word
Have conflicting trials - non congruent
What are the findings surrounding stroop task?
People are slower and more error prone on incongruent compared to congruent trials
This is the congruency effect or conflict effect
What is behind the stroop effect?
Race models - a race between relevant and irrelevant information
- Speed of processing - meaning RED is processed faster than the colour red
- Automatic processing vs controlled processing
Automatic processes …
Are fast
Do not require attention
Can be engaged involuntary
Controlled processes …
Are slower
Require attention
Are engaged voluntarily
