Lecture 3: Attention and executive functioning
Question: language disorders (aphasia) are exclusively caused by lesions of the temporal
lobe. Answer: false. Language is not only located in the temporal lobe, but it can also be
located the frontal lobe (Broca’s area).
Question: thesis this patient suffers from non-fluent aphasia: after the stroke, a patient
could understand what his wife was telling him, but he could not response to her questions.
Answer: true. Understand, but he can’t formulate.
Question: thesis Priming (i.e., the sensitization of the nervous system) can be observed.
Fact: mirror-tracking task required to draw a star while looking through a mirror. Answer:
true.
Question: the hippocampus is important for spatial representation, but not for the temporal
representation of the memories. Answer: false. The hippocampus can be important for both!
Attention
The first one to define and talk about attention is William James. He is referring to the fact
that our attention is voluntarily, we can focus on whatever we want. We need to select one
and ignore the other what isn’t relevant for our tasks. It implies withdrawal: he is referring to
the limiting capacity of attention. You are not able to perceive or recognize other aspects
which are changing in your environment, so you can’t process everything!
Characteristics of attention:
1. A cognitive function, which allows to process relevant information and to ignore
contemporaneous irrelevant information
2. It has limited capacity
3. It is flexible meaning it quickly adapts to the changes of the environment and this
adaption can be endogenously or exogenously driven. Endogenous: something you
want to do is driven by interna motivation. Exogeneous: attention is more determined
by the characteristic of the environment.
4. It can work covert, but it also entails a voluntary control as new information needs to
be processed
5. It sets priority on what should be processed first
Explanation for characteristic 1: The reaction time of the participants is significantly reduced
during invalid trials.
, Explanation for characteristic 2:
Characteristic 3: visual search task. The time for the search depends on the complexity of
the matrix, meaning the more complex the matrix is, the longer time is necessary to find the
target. Two searches: pop-out search and conjunction search
Selective attention can be driven by two distinct processes:
Bottom up: stimulus-driven or exogen attention meaning that an intense or salient
stimulus can draw attention in an automatic fashion modulated by sensory inputs.
The pop-out search task utilized more bottom-up processing.
Top down: goal-driven or endogen attention meaning attention to stimuli can be
either facilitated or inhibited depending on the goals, motivation modulated by
working memory, LTM or actions. The conjunction task utilized more top-down
processing
Characteristic 4:
Covert attention a shift of visual attention without a corresponding eye movement
Overt attention a shift of visual attention with the corresponding eye movement
To test covert or overt attention:
Quick attentional processes (early selection), which are evident already after ca. 100
ms after stimulus onset
Question: language disorders (aphasia) are exclusively caused by lesions of the temporal
lobe. Answer: false. Language is not only located in the temporal lobe, but it can also be
located the frontal lobe (Broca’s area).
Question: thesis this patient suffers from non-fluent aphasia: after the stroke, a patient
could understand what his wife was telling him, but he could not response to her questions.
Answer: true. Understand, but he can’t formulate.
Question: thesis Priming (i.e., the sensitization of the nervous system) can be observed.
Fact: mirror-tracking task required to draw a star while looking through a mirror. Answer:
true.
Question: the hippocampus is important for spatial representation, but not for the temporal
representation of the memories. Answer: false. The hippocampus can be important for both!
Attention
The first one to define and talk about attention is William James. He is referring to the fact
that our attention is voluntarily, we can focus on whatever we want. We need to select one
and ignore the other what isn’t relevant for our tasks. It implies withdrawal: he is referring to
the limiting capacity of attention. You are not able to perceive or recognize other aspects
which are changing in your environment, so you can’t process everything!
Characteristics of attention:
1. A cognitive function, which allows to process relevant information and to ignore
contemporaneous irrelevant information
2. It has limited capacity
3. It is flexible meaning it quickly adapts to the changes of the environment and this
adaption can be endogenously or exogenously driven. Endogenous: something you
want to do is driven by interna motivation. Exogeneous: attention is more determined
by the characteristic of the environment.
4. It can work covert, but it also entails a voluntary control as new information needs to
be processed
5. It sets priority on what should be processed first
Explanation for characteristic 1: The reaction time of the participants is significantly reduced
during invalid trials.
, Explanation for characteristic 2:
Characteristic 3: visual search task. The time for the search depends on the complexity of
the matrix, meaning the more complex the matrix is, the longer time is necessary to find the
target. Two searches: pop-out search and conjunction search
Selective attention can be driven by two distinct processes:
Bottom up: stimulus-driven or exogen attention meaning that an intense or salient
stimulus can draw attention in an automatic fashion modulated by sensory inputs.
The pop-out search task utilized more bottom-up processing.
Top down: goal-driven or endogen attention meaning attention to stimuli can be
either facilitated or inhibited depending on the goals, motivation modulated by
working memory, LTM or actions. The conjunction task utilized more top-down
processing
Characteristic 4:
Covert attention a shift of visual attention without a corresponding eye movement
Overt attention a shift of visual attention with the corresponding eye movement
To test covert or overt attention:
Quick attentional processes (early selection), which are evident already after ca. 100
ms after stimulus onset
