ABSTRACT
Reviewers of edited volumes often point out the need for comparison and integration of findings of individual chapters. This chapter is intended to supply that need. It illustrates how a biocognitive approach contributes to understanding information processing, specifically, to understanding the processing of sensory input. Such topics as motor processing and clinical populations are discussed only as they relate to the main focus. The chapter covers four systems hypothesized to affect information processing: (a) a high-pass filtering system operating preattentively, (b) an arousal orienting system (OR) responsive to novel change and operating automatically, (c) an arousal defense system (DR) sensitive to aversive stimulation that also operates automatically, and (d) a system that selects task-relevant stimuli and requires voluntary control. I consider for each system scalp-recorded, event-related potentials (ERPs) from the brain and autonomic nervous system (ANS) components, effects on reflex probes, and associated behaviors—detection, recognition, and identification/selection. There has been important biocognitive research on memory, but too little is included in this volume to allow more than cursory mention.
