From Behavior to Neural Dynamics: An Integrated Theory of Attention

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

178 Scopus citations

Abstract

The brain has a limited capacity and therefore needs mechanisms to selectively enhance the information most relevant to one's current behavior. We refer to these mechanisms as "attention." Attention acts by increasing the strength of selected neural representations and preferentially routing them through the brain's large-scale network. This is a critical component of cognition and therefore has been a central topic in cognitive neuroscience. Here we review a diverse literature that has studied attention at the level of behavior, networks, circuits, and neurons. We then integrate these disparate results into a unified theory of attention.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Article number12831
Pages (from-to)127-144
Number of pages18
JournalNeuron
Volume88
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - Oct 7 2015

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Neuroscience(all)

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'From Behavior to Neural Dynamics: An Integrated Theory of Attention'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this