ABSTRACT
Consider how we use a computer interface for sending electronic mail (e-mail). Typically, the sequence of reading, buttoning options, and filling in forms flows smoothly. Attention shifts from one message to the next, and familiar operations are enacted: select, read, delete; reply, address, send; forward, address, comment, file, and so on. The person’s interactions with the computer screen can be understood in terms of coordinating multiple, simultaneously active neural processes for focusing attention, comprehending, composing, and operating on the message material.
