Distributed brain systems that coordinate distinct aspects of attention, balancing top-down goal-directed focus with bottom-up stimulus-driven reorienting. - Major Networks - [[Dorsal Attention Network (DAN)]] - Voluntary, goal-directed allocation of attention - Involves intraparietal sulcus (IPS) and frontal eye fields (FEF) - [[Ventral Attention Network (VAN)]] - Stimulus-driven reorienting to unexpected or salient events - Includes temporoparietal junction (TPJ) and ventral frontal cortex - [[Frontoparietal Control Network (FPCN)]] - Provides flexible, task-dependent modulation of other attention networks - Supports cognitive control and adaptive switching between internal and external focus - [[Salience Network]] - Detects and prioritizes behaviorally relevant stimuli - Anchored in anterior insula and [[Anterior Cingulate Cortex|Anterior Cingulate Cortex (ACC)]] - Functions - Sustained attention - Maintaining focus over extended periods - Selective attention - Filtering distractions to prioritize target information - Divided attention - Allocating cognitive resources across multiple tasks - Attentional switching - Dynamically shifting focus between competing stimuli or goals - Neural Mechanisms - Top-down control - Mediated by prefrontal and parietal cortices coordinating task-relevant processing - Bottom-up capture - Driven by sensory cortices and the [[Ventral Attention Network (VAN)|ventral attention system]] responding to salient input - Thalamic gating - [[Thalamus]] regulates sensory information flow and attentional selection - Clinical Relevance - [[ADHD]] - Deficits in sustained and executive attention control - Neglect syndromes - Impaired spatial attention, typically following right parietal damage - [[Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)]] - Atypical allocation of attention and reduced flexibility in shifting focus - Related Topics - [[Attention]] — overarching cognitive process regulating focus and awareness - [[Brain Networks]] — large-scale functional organization of neural systems - [[Cognitive Neuroscience]] — study of neural mechanisms underlying cognition