Article,
Fundamental Components of Attention
Annual Review of Neuroscience, (2007)
Abstract
A mechanistic understanding of attention is necessary for the elucidation
of the neurobiological basis of conscious experience. This chapter
presents a framework for thinking about attention that facilitates
the analysis of this cognitive process in terms of underlying neural
mechanisms. Four processes are fundamental to attention: working
memory, top-down sensitivity control, competitive selection, and
automatic bottom-up filtering for salient stimuli. Each process makes
a distinct and essential contribution to attention. Voluntary control
of attention involves the first three processes (working memory,
top-down sensitivity control, and competitive selection) operating
in a recurrent loop. Recent results from neurobiological research
on attention are discussed within this framework.
