Attentional Networks
Contents
Attentional Networks
Basic Characteristics
- Description
The nature of attention has been studied since the 1840s. Many different conceptualizations of attention have arisen since then, with the most popular current conceptualization of attention as a model composed of three anatomically and functionally distinct networks(alerting, orienting, and executive). Cortical and subcortical networks control different aspects of attention, with subcortical networks working to modulate attention to enhance effectiveness.
- Attentional networks and Autism Spectrum Disorder
Many different studies on patients with ASD have found that they have difficulty in disengaging ans shifting attention. One study which looked at all three networks in the same ASD child population found that orienting(which is used to select which sensory information to pay attention to), not alerting or executive control networks, may be impaired in children with ASD. This may explain the success of one group in speech acquisition therapies which used a individualized orienting cue. Additional analysis suggests that the executive control and alerting networks in ASD children are more interdependent than typically developing children. This may be an example of compensatory processing for those with ASD, because those with better executive control abilities can better control their levels of arousal, and correspondingly their alerting system. Decreased ability to efficiently modulate alertness levels was related to increased social and communicative deficits in this population, which suggests that attention may affect the core deficits of the disorder.
Neuroimaging
Tests to Measure Attentional Networks
Concerns
References
1. Keehn B et. al. Attentional networks in children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder.J Child Psychol Psychiatry. 2010 Apr 26. PMID 20456535
