Attention

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(ATTENTION = WM x CS x STDC x AFS)

WM = working memory
CS = competitive selection
STDC = sensitivity top-down control
AFS = automatic filtering for saliency

" Many disorders affect attention, but they do so in different ways.
Different manifestations of attention disorders indicate that the components of attention, particularly working memory, competitive selection, and top-down sensitivity control, are differentially affected by disorders. For example, prominent among the symptoms of schizophrenias is the inability to ignore irrelevant or imagined stimuli (Phillips & Silverstein 2003), suggesting a particular problem with mechanisms of competitive selection either within, or for, working memory. In contrast, attention deficit disorder frequently includes an inability to retain information in working memory and/or an inability to maintain attention on a specific task (Biederman & Faraone 2005), suggesting problems with working memory and top-down sensitivity control, respectively. These different components of attention are mediated by different, although potentially overlapping, sets of neural mechanisms. Therefore, the development and selection of optimal therapies for ameliorating such disorders of attention require that we both greatly expand our knowledge of the neural mechanisms that underlie attention and diagnose the symptoms of attention disorders precisely and in the context of this knowledge.
Hopefully the framework for attention presented here will be useful in this regard."


Sources:

• 1.st photo by flickr:com/photos/margaretv/

• Scientific background (the formula and the quote):
  Titel: Fundamental Components of Attention
  Author: Knudsen, Eric I.
  Journal: ANNUAL REVIEW OF NEUROSCIENCE