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Attention, Awareness, and the Triangular Circuit
1Department of Cognitive Sciences, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, California, 92697
Consciousness and Cognition
|June 1, 1997
Summary
Attention involves a triangular circuit connecting cortical, thalamic, and prefrontal brain regions. Awareness requires this attention plus self-representation, potentially involving body or memory networks.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Cognitive Neuroscience
- Brain Function
Background:
- Attention is crucial for cognitive processing.
- Understanding the neural basis of attention and awareness is a key challenge in neuroscience.
Purpose of the Study:
- To propose a neural model for attention and awareness.
- To delineate the brain regions and circuits involved in attentional processes and conscious awareness.
Main Methods:
- Theoretical modeling based on existing neuroscientific knowledge.
- Integration of data from experiments on neuronal functions in relevant brain structures.
Main Results:
- Attention to objects involves a triangular circuit: cortical (expression), thalamic (enhancement), and prefrontal (control) regions.
- Awareness requires attention to objects plus attention to self-representation, possibly involving body landscape or autobiographical memory networks.
Conclusions:
- The proposed triangular circuit model is consistent with current brain structure and function data.
- Attention to self also appears to operate via a triangular circuit, integrating with object attention for awareness.