attention

Question 1

What is attention?

Answer 1

Process by which we select or focus on one or more specific stimuli for enhanced processing.

Question 2

what is arousal?

Answer 2

Global level of alertness of an individual.

Question 3

What is overt attention?

Answer 3

Attentional spotlight coincides with sensory orientation.

Question 4

What is covert attention?

Answer 4

1. AS is independent so SO

2. often preceded a shift in SO.

Question 5

Hoe does the limited capacity of attention effect us?

Answer 5

divided attention tasks demonstrate that we have difficulty attending to multiple locations or objects at the same time.

Question 6

(Theory) What is the early selection model?

Answer 6

Selection occurs before perceptual analysis and acquisition of semantic meaning.

Question 7

(Theory) What is the late selection model?

Answer 7

selection occurs after perceptual analysis and acquisition of semantic meaning.

Question 8

What are some experimental evidence for the late and early selection model?

Answer 8

1. Stroop interference effect (late selection)

2. inattentional blindness (early selection)

Question 9

What is the stroop interference effect?

Answer 9

1. Word identity interferes with ability to name ink color- contradicts early selection

Question 10

what is inattentional blindness?

Answer 10

1. failure to notice important information outside the focus of attention- Contradicts late selection.

Question 11

(Theory) What is the perceptual load theory?

Answer 11

1. extent to which unattended info is processed depends on the degree of processing required by attended info.
2. i.e. the bottleneck can be early of late depending on the specific circumstances.

Question 12

What is the stimulus (spatial) cuing task?

Answer 12

1. While keeping his/her eyes fixated, an observer must quickly press a key to indicate the location of a target stimulus. (i.e. a red circle)
2. on some trials, a cue directs attention to a particular location before the target appears.
3. observer must keep eyes fixated in the center
4. the cue can be valid, invalid, or neutral.

Question 13

What does the stimulus (spatial) cuing task tell us?

Answer 13

1. selective attention enhances detection of the target.

Question 14

What are event- related potentals (ERP)

Answer 14

1. average across many EEG recordings while engaged in an activity.

Question 15

What do ERP’s tell us?

Answer 15

1. attention enhances certain waveform components (P1 and N1) in the occipital lobes.

Question 16

What are the effects of attention on Neurons?

Answer 16

1. enhancement of the response to the preferred stimulus.
2. sharper tuning to the preferred stimulus
3. altered (shifted) tuning curve.

Question 17

What has evidence shown for these three effects on attention on neurons?

Answer 17

1. evidence from imaging and single unit recording provides evidence for the first two of these possibilities.

Question 18

(Disorder) What is hemispatial neglect?

Answer 18

1. patient ignores the left half of the visual field or objects.
2. 1 following damage to the right inferior parietal lobe.
3. 2 also affects somatosensation.

Question 19

(Disorder) What is balint syndrome (simultagnosia).

Answer 19

1. inability to localize objects in space.
2. difficulty shifting directions of focus
3. inability to see more than one object at a time.
4. due to bilateral damage to parietal lobes.

Question 20

(Disorder) What is progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP)

Answer 20

1. degeneration of the superior colliculus, causing difficulty shifting attention overtly and covertly.

Question 21

What happens when there is damage to the frontal lobe functions?

Answer 21

1. inappropriate emotional responses.
2. loss of impulse control
3. lack of attention (STM)
4. problem with planning and task switching (i.e. “executive function”)

Question 22

(Disorder) What is hemispatial neglect?

Answer 22

extinction- milder for of neglect. in which the patient ignores objects in the left VF whenever there are competing objects in the right VF.