Selective Attention and Consciousness: Investigating Their Relation Through Computational Modelling
Journal
Cognitive Computation
Date Issued
March 2011
DOI
10.1007/s12559-010-9063-2
Abstract
The present study aimed at investigating the
possible connection between conscious awareness and attention
through the implementation of a neurocomputational
model of visual selective attention. The development of the
model was based on recent neurophysiological findings that
document the synchronization of neural activity in cortical
areas of the brain and the presence of competitive interactions
among stimuli at the early stages of visual processing. The
model was used to simulate the findings of a behavioural
experiment conducted by Naccache et al. in Psychol Sci
13:416–424 (2002), which have sparked a debate on the possible
links between attention and consciousness. The model
reproduced closely the pattern of the behavioural data while
incorporating mechanisms that take into account the neural
activity representing the early visual processing of stimuli and
the effects of top–down attention. Thus, by adopting a computational
approach, we present a possible explanation of the
findings at the neural level of information processing. The
implications of these findings for the relation between attentional
processes and conscious awareness are discussed.
possible connection between conscious awareness and attention
through the implementation of a neurocomputational
model of visual selective attention. The development of the
model was based on recent neurophysiological findings that
document the synchronization of neural activity in cortical
areas of the brain and the presence of competitive interactions
among stimuli at the early stages of visual processing. The
model was used to simulate the findings of a behavioural
experiment conducted by Naccache et al. in Psychol Sci
13:416–424 (2002), which have sparked a debate on the possible
links between attention and consciousness. The model
reproduced closely the pattern of the behavioural data while
incorporating mechanisms that take into account the neural
activity representing the early visual processing of stimuli and
the effects of top–down attention. Thus, by adopting a computational
approach, we present a possible explanation of the
findings at the neural level of information processing. The
implications of these findings for the relation between attentional
processes and conscious awareness are discussed.