Search research articles

ABOUT JoVE

Overview Leadership Blog JoVE Help Center

AUTHORS

Publishing Process Editorial Board Scope & Policies Peer Review FAQ Submit

LIBRARIANS

Testimonials Subscriptions Access Resources Library Advisory Board FAQ

RESEARCH

JoVE Journal Methods Collections JoVE Encyclopedia of Experiments Archive

EDUCATION

JoVE Core JoVE Business JoVE Science Education JoVE Lab Manual Faculty Resource Center Faculty Site

Terms & Conditions of Use

Related Concept Videos

High-Level and Low-Level Awareness

High-Level and Low-Level Awareness

Controlled processes in human consciousness represent high-alert mental states where individuals deliberately focus their attention on achieving specific goals. Controlled processes can be seen in situations like mastering new technology, where a person might become so absorbed that they ignore surrounding distractions. Such processes involve selective attention, requiring one to concentrate on particular elements of experience while disregarding others. These are governed by executive...

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by

Same author

Temporal acceleration drives the probability cueing effect in visual search: Evidence for early attentional deployment (N1pc) at high-probability locations.

Cortex; a journal devoted to the study of the nervous system and behavior·2026

Same author

Multitarget Visual Search Flexibly Switches Between Concurrent and Sequential Search Modes.

Psychological science·2026

Same author

Spatial Learning in Naturalistic Search With Simulated Vision Loss.

Translational vision science & technology·2026

Same author

The impact of language proficiency on task-dependent neural activity and functional connectivity: insights from deafness.

Cerebral cortex (New York, N.Y. : 1991)·2026

Same author

Replicating the unconscious working memory effect: a multisite Registered Report.

Neuroscience of consciousness·2026

Same author

Serial dependence is stronger for peripheral than for central vision.

Attention, perception & psychophysics·2026

Same journal

Decoding neuronal criticality firing patterns for large brain based EEG models.

NeuroImage·2026

Same journal

Segmentation of the parasagittal dura mater on multi-center 3D-FLAIR MRI.

NeuroImage·2026

Same journal

Spatial frequency channels implement a mental ruler in spatial vision.

NeuroImage·2026

Same journal

Exploring the Link Between Intravoxel Incoherent Motion Measured Brain Diffusivity During Wakefulness and Sleep Macrostructure in the Elderly.

NeuroImage·2026

Same journal

Closed-loop adaptation of transcranial magnetic stimulation intensity with electroencephalography feedback.

NeuroImage·2026

Same journal

Volumetric postmortem MRI of the medial temporal lobe in Alzheimer's disease and related disorders: methodological advances and implications for in vivo biomarker development.

NeuroImage·2026

See all related articles

Search research articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Mar 16, 2026

Using Rapid Serial Visual Presentation to Measure Set-Specific Capture, a Consequence of Distraction While Multitasking

Using Rapid Serial Visual Presentation to Measure Set-Specific Capture, a Consequence of Distraction While Multitasking

Published on: August 29, 2018

Rapid top-down control over template-guided attention shifts to multiple objects.

Anna Grubert¹, Johannes Fahrenfort², Christian N L Olivers²

¹Department of Psychological Sciences, Birkbeck, University of London, United Kingdom.

|August 25, 2016

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Task instructions influence rapid attention shifts. Even when ignored, task-relevant items capture attention initially, but this effect is transient, showing distinct early and later attentional processes.

Keywords:

Attentional capture Event-related brain potentials Top-down control Visual attention Visual search

More Related Videos

Methods to Test Visual Attention Online

Methods to Test Visual Attention Online

Published on: February 19, 2015

A Dual Task Procedure Combined with Rapid Serial Visual Presentation to Test Attentional Blink for Nontargets

A Dual Task Procedure Combined with Rapid Serial Visual Presentation to Test Attentional Blink for Nontargets

Published on: December 5, 2014

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Mar 16, 2026

Using Rapid Serial Visual Presentation to Measure Set-Specific Capture, a Consequence of Distraction While Multitasking

Using Rapid Serial Visual Presentation to Measure Set-Specific Capture, a Consequence of Distraction While Multitasking

Published on: August 29, 2018

Methods to Test Visual Attention Online

Methods to Test Visual Attention Online

Published on: February 19, 2015

A Dual Task Procedure Combined with Rapid Serial Visual Presentation to Test Attentional Blink for Nontargets

A Dual Task Procedure Combined with Rapid Serial Visual Presentation to Test Attentional Blink for Nontargets

Published on: December 5, 2014

Area of Science:

Cognitive psychology
Neuroscience
Visual attention research

Background:

Rapid attention shifts are crucial for processing sequential visual information.
Previous studies show attention can be rapidly directed to multiple targets with close timing.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate how task instructions modulate rapid attention shifts.
To determine if attentional capture is suppressed when targets are irrelevant.

Main Methods:

Two rapid search displays (100ms SOA) with colour-defined targets and distractors.
Participants instructed to attend or ignore targets in alternating display blocks.
Measured event-related potentials, specifically N2pc and SPCN components, to track attentional allocation.

Main Results:

Irrelevant targets in the first display still elicited N2pc when participants focused on the second display.
Target items in the second display did not elicit N2pc when participants focused on the first display.
These items still elicited a later SPCN, indicating working memory involvement.

Conclusions:

Rapid attentional capture is modulated by task relevance and can be inhibited.
Early attentional orienting and later working memory selection are distinct processes.
Inhibitory control over attention is rapid but transient.