Attentional Spotlight

Paper Summary:

This paper discusses how studies regarding the components of attention and perception have long been considered essential in understanding the human brain; parallel studies in other scientific fields have increased its consequence by identifying it as important factors in human evolution and development. In particular, the paper examines how understanding selective attention in the process of visual perception requires the recognition of the different attention mechanisms that are involved in the identification of a stimulus versus those that are involved after the process of perception. The paper also looks at how modern cognitive neuroscience experts in particular are emphasizing the need to further understand the components of selective visual attention to an attentional spotlight considering neuroanatomy and timing.

From the Paper:

"According to Chris Chatam (2006), "The spotlight metaphor of attention accords with our subjective experience: as we move throughout our environment, we can feel our attention "focus" on particular objects, much like an adjustable flashlight might." Thus, attention functions as a means of resolution of perception ambiguities that occur in the process of neural coding of how multiple objects are being perceived. This has been observed when attention was measured via electrophysiological instruments (LaBerge et al, 1997). Walther and his associates' (2005) studies point out that the process of visual searching includes both the process of spatially selective attention to the target and at the same time specific attention modulation to the visual area through retinotopic organization V1 ahs not been deterministic. "

Sample of Sources Used:

• Chatam, Chris (2006). The Attentional Spotlight. Blogger. Retrieved on January 27, 2007 from http://develintel.blogspot.com/2006/02/attentional-spotlight.html
• Walther, Dirk, Rutishauser, Ueli, Koch, Christof and Perona, Pietro (2005). Selective visual attention enables learning and recognition of multiple objects in cluttered scenes. Computer Vision and Image Understanding 100: 41-63
• Tong, F. (2004). Splitting the Spotlight of Visual Attention. Neuron 42(4): 524-526
• Bradbury J (2005) Molecular Insights into Human Brain Evolution. PLoS Biol 3 (3): e50
• Vargha-Khadem F, Gadiari DG, Copp A, Mishkiri M. (2005) FOXP2 and the neuroanatomy of speech and language .Nat Rev Neurosci. 6:131-138.

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