ABSTRACT
This chapter explores attention research and how attention functions in the brain during learning. Stimuli in the environment are constantly competing for attention and processing resources. Memory, goal-directed behavior, stimulus-driven response, and the competition for processing resources all contribute to the creation of 'attention'. Dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) activations that occur during Covert Attentional Shift (CAS) suggest that neurons are primed to maintain behavioral goals and working memory. In monkeys performing the occulomotor delayed response (ODR) task, during the period after the cue, and before the overt saccade, 80" of the neurons remaining active in the frontal eye field (FEF) and frontal sulcus were neurons that coded for the direction of the cue and future eye movements in that receptive field. The complexity of attention has been demonstrated in a hypothetical scenario of adult language learning in which the temporal context of the learner and five attentional elements come together to create attentive behavior in a variety of learning situations.
