Posner & Rothbart - Attention Self-Regulation And Consciousness.pdf

Attention, self-regulation and consciousness
Michael I. Posner* and Mary K. Rothbart
Department of Psychology, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR, USA and Sackler Institute for Human Brain Development,
Cornell Medical College, NewYork, NY 10021, USA
Consciousness has many aspects. These include awareness of the world, feelings of control over one's
behaviour and mental state (volition), and the notion of a continuing self. Focal (executive) attention is
used to control details of our awareness and is thus closely related to volition. Experiments suggest an
work of neural areas involved in executive attention. work is associated with our
voluntary ability to select peting items, to correct error and to regulate our emotions. Recent
neuroimaging studies suggest that these various functions involve separate areas of the anterior cingulate.
We have adopted a strategy of using marker tasks, shown to activate the brain area by imaging studies,
as a means of tracing the development of works. Executive attention appears to develop
¢rst to regulate distress during the ¢rst year of life. During later childhood the ability to regulate con£ict
peting stimuli builds upon the earlier cingulate anatomy to provide a means of cognitive
control. During childhood the activation of cingulate structures relates both to the child's ess on
laboratory tasks involving con£ict and to parental reports of self-regulation and emotional control. These
studies indicate a start in understanding the anatomy, circuitry and development of executive attention
networks that serve to regulate both cognition and emotion.
Keywords: anterior cingulate; attention; consciousness; marker tasks; temperament; volition
Consider the direction of your mind at any moment aspect of consciousness most amenable to scienti¢c
you like to choose; you will ¢nd that it is occupied analysis, placing awareness at the centre of discussions of
with what now is, but always and especially wit