The Time Constant of Attentional Control: Short, Medium and Long (Infinite?)

Source: Laboratories of Jonas T. Kaplan and Sarah I. Gimbel— University of Southern California
The human visual system is incredibly sophisticated and capable of processing large amounts of information very quickly. However, the brain's capacity to process information is not an unlimited resource. Attention, the ability to selectively process information that is relevant to current goals and to ignore information that is not, is therefore an essential part of visual perception. Some...

Attention control comprises enhancement of target signals and attenuation of distractor signals. We describe an approach to measure separately but concurrently, the neurophysiology of attending and ignoring in sustained intermodal attention, utilizing a passive control condition during which neither process is continuously engaged.

This protocol describes the 5-choice serial reaction time task, which is an operant based task used to study attention and impulse control in rodents. Test day challenges, which are modifications of the standard task, increase flexibility of the task and can be combined with other manipulations to more fully characterize...

Source: Laboratory of Jonathan Flombaum—Johns Hopkins University
In order for recognition of a certain stimulus to take place, visual attention needs to be directed towards said stimulus. To the earliest parts of the visual system, objects are not objects, they are collections of visual features-lines, corners, changes in texture, color, and light. Attention is the resource that is necessary for later processing in order to recognize what a given bundle of features adds up to. This makes...

An infinitely repeated game is a scenario where players repeatedly engage in the same game without a predetermined end. This concept is crucial in understanding long-term interactions in various fields of the social sciences, including economics and international relations.
Examples:

Calorimetry is a technique used to measure the amount of heat involved in a chemical or physical process or to measure the heat transferred to or from a substance. The heat is exchanged with a calibrated and insulated device called the calorimeter. Calorimetry experiments are based on the assumption that there is no heat exchange between the insulated calorimeter and the external environment. The well-insulated calorimeters prevent the transfer of heat between the calorimeter and its external...