Attention and Mind Wandering, Term Paper Example

Attention is an important aspect of cognitive science, which definitively refers to the cognitive and behavioral process involving selective concentration on discrete objective or subjective information while ignoring other cognizable information. Daniel J. Levitin, in his book titled “The Organized Mind,” provides an extensive discussion of the concept of mind-wandering, which is an important aspect of attention (Levitin, 2014). This paper uses the concept of mind wandering as a base example to expound on attention as the target example from the cognitive science course.

For attention to be established, individuals need to break away from mind-wandering, even though mind-wandering has various advantages (Levitin, 2014). Mind-wandering refers to the brain’s neutral state when one is not directly involved in solving unfamiliar or purposeful tasks or receiving new information. Levitin refers to it as a neutral state of the mind that accounts for the feelings of refreshment. It is the resting state of the brain when the brain wanders freely across different topics.

Mind-wandering is the alternative dominant dimension or mode of attention in the sense that the mind is involved in thoughts. The only difference is that no thought requires a response in the mind-wandering state (Golchert, 2017). As such, one mode of attention is surprised when the other is activated. The more an individual suppresses their mind-wandering state, the more they achieve accuracy in performing any given task at hand. Central execution is activated when an individual’s attentional filter deems a task important enough. This implies they have to take their attention from another thing else, which involves the activation of the central executive mode. Mind-wandering consolidates neuron populations distributed within the brain rather than centralizing in one area. The central executive network prevents distraction when an individual engages in specific tasks (Thain, 2018). It limits what enters into consciousness to avoid interruption. According to Levitin, the attention filter works in both the central executive and mind-wandering modes. Attention lapses during the central executive mode decrease effectiveness of accomplishing a task.

The mind-wandering mode is mostly characterized by introspection and focus of thoughts towards one’s inward plans, goals, feelings, desires, and an individual’s relation with others (Levitin, 2014). It is more activated in such instances as when individuals are sympathetic. In contrast, the central executive mode involves both the inward and outward direction of thoughts. This implies that individuals can stay on a particular task while allowing the attention filter to scan the environment for anything important. The dual functionality, according to Levitin, is made possible by the attentional network.

A neural switch helps attend to emergencies and dangers such as detecting a fire outbreak or a mosquito bite (Hölig, 2010). The part of the brain controls the transition referred to as the insula. The temporal-parietal junction initiates the switching between two external points of focus in attention. The insula has dually directed connections to the anterior cingulate cortex.

The insula-cingulate network varies in efficiency from one individual to another (Cai, 2016). However, individuals are likely to feel tired and dizzy if they switch attention in an overly rapid manner. The proximity of the anterior cingulate to the supplementary motor, the prefrontal, and orbital cortex is important. This is because the prefrontal and orbital areas initiate impulse control, scheduling, and planning, whereas the supplementary motor area initiates movement. The four circuit attention system in humans is central to the organization of information around daily activities and plans. The bran is a collection of special-purpose and semi-distinct processing units that initiate planning. The planning brain units in the prefrontal cortex generate inner dialogue while the questions raised internally are answered by other parts that process information.

Different parts of the brain can host different thoughts and conflicting agendas (Levitin, 2014). For instance, part of the brain may be concerned with immediate satisfaction of hunger, while another may yearn for a diet or planning. Similarly, one part of the brain may attend to driving on the road while the other responding to an entertaining song on the car radio. The attentional network monitors all these activities by allocating appropriate resources or deny resources to select aspects. Changes in attention mostly occur subconsciously. This is because individuals are not aware of the actual point of change from mind wandering to execution mode. When there is a sufficiently high activation level of a neural network relative to another ongoing neural activity, the activity is captured by the conscious mind, and the central executive becomes aware of it. However, consciousness cannot be localized in the brain. It is, rather, a collection of perceptions and ideas that reach our awareness.

In conclusion, Levitin’s analysis of the concept of mind-wandering yields four main components, namely the mind-wandering mode, attentional switch, the attention filter, and the execution mode. The attentional switch directs metabolic and neural resources across the vigilance modes. The effectiveness of the system is such that an individual may not know what they are filtering out. The attentional switch functions in the background of one’s awareness prompt the vigilance modes with such exceptions as the will to switch modes.

References

Cai, W., Chen, T., Ryali, S., Kochalka, J., Li, C. S. R., & Menon, V. (2016). Causal interactions within a frontal-cingulate-parietal network during cognitive control: Convergent evidence from a multisite–multitask investigation. Cerebral Cortex, 26(5), 2140-2153.

Golchert, J., Smallwood, J., Jefferies, E., Seli, P., Huntenburg, J. M., Liem, F., … & Margulies, D. S. (2017). Individual variation in intentionality in the mind-wandering state is reflected in the integration of the default-mode, fronto-parietal, and limbic networks. Neuroimage, 146, 226-235.

Hölig, C., & Berti, S. (2010). To switch or not to switch: Brain potential indices of attentional control after task-relevant and task-irrelevant changes of stimulus features. Brain research, 1345, 164-175.

Levitin, D. J. (2014). The organized mind: Thinking straight in the age of information overload. Penguin.

Thain, M. (2018). Distracted Reading: Acts of Attention in the Age of the Internet. DHQ: Digital Humanities Quarterly, 12(2).