EXAM: Two systems for attention control

Question 1

Attention

Answer 1

A mental process that enables us to focus on relevant stimuli while filtering out irrelevant or distracting information

Question 2

INTRO

Answer 2

Introduction
* Define attention

• Explain the need for selective attention: The brain has limited processing capacity and cannot attend to all incoming sensory information at once.
• Introduce the two-system model: Attention is controlled by two interacting neural systems — the Dorsal Attention System (DAS) and the Ventral Attention System (VAS).
• State the essay will describe these systems, their functions, supporting evidence, and critical evaluation.

Question 3

PARA 1 - TYPE OF PROCESSING AND FUNCTION - Dorsal Attention System

Answer 3

• Type of processing: Top-down (goal-directed, voluntary attention).
• Function:
  o Helps focus attention intentionally based on goals, prior knowledge, or expectations.
  o Maintains attention and suppresses irrelevant distractions (e.g., looking for a friend in a crowd).

Question 4

PARA 1 - NEUROANATOMY - Dorsal Attention System

Answer 4

o Involves frontal eye fields (FEF) and intraparietal sulcus (IPS).

o These areas filter and direct attention to relevant stimuli and control eye movements

Question 5

PARA 1 - COGNITIVE PROCESSES - Dorsal Attention System

Answer 5

Target enhancement - boots the brain’s processing of relevant stimuli

Distracter suppression - reduces processing of irrelevant information

Question 6

PARA 2 - TYPE OF PROCESSING AND FUNCTION - The Ventral Attention System

Answer 6

• Type of processing: Bottom-up (stimulus-driven, involuntary attention).
• Function:
  o Detects unexpected, salient, or novel stimuli in the environment.
  o Acts like a “circuit breaker,” interrupting focused attention when something potentially important happens (e.g., a loud bang).

Question 7

PARA 2 - NEUROANATOMY - The Ventral Attention System

Answer 7

TPJ

ventral frontal cortex (VFC)

Helps shift attention quickly when necessary

• Clinical link: Damage to right TPJ linked to spatial neglect.

Question 8

PARA 3 - Interaction Between DAS and VAS

Question 9

PARA 4 - STRENGTHS - SUPPORTING EVIDENCE

Question 10

PARA 5 - LIMITATIONS

Question 11

PARA 6 - CONCLUSIONS