Download or read book Unconscious information processing in executive control written by Nicola De Pisapia and published by Frontiers E-books. This book was released on with total page 114 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The aim of this Frontiers Research Topic is to review and further explore the topic of unconscious processing in executive control. Executive control refers to the ability of the human brain – mostly associated with prefrontal cortex activity - to regulate the processing involved in the execution of novel or complex goal-directed tasks. Previous studies or models of human cognition have assumed that executive control necessarily requires conscious processing of information. This perspective is in line with common sense and personal introspection, which suggest that our choices are intentional and based on conscious stimuli. Nevertheless, in the last few years several behavioural and cognitive neuroscience studies have put under scrutiny this assumption. Cumulating evidence is now showing that prefrontal executive control can involve or be triggered by unconscious processing of information, with consequent effects on observed behaviours. One of the main methods adopted to study such unconscious mechanisms is masked priming, consisting in presenting visually masked stimuli, which nonetheless are shown to affect goal-directed behaviour or influence constructs linked to executive control and prefrontal cortex activity (e.g., task-set representation, response inhibition, conflict monitoring, error detection, reward processing, emotion regulation and task switching). This area of research is relatively young, and - while scientific evidence is emerging - no general consensus has been reached yet on how to interpret these early findings: some researchers accept that executive control can involve unconscious processing, others momentarily put aside - in first approximation - this issue, others criticize this possibility on theoretical grounds (e.g., pointing to the need of better definitions of terms such as control, conflict and consciousness) or based on experimental findings. At this stage, it appears necessary that researchers in the field make a collective effort to deepen the understanding of the unconscious mechanisms involved in executive control. This Research Topic will focus on neuroscience, but it will welcome contributions on purely behavioural and psychophysiological studies, patient reports, computational investigations, as well as philosophical and historical analyses of the relationship between executive control and consciousness. In particular, we encourage experts in this field to submit contributions in the form of: a) reviews, opinions and discussions on existing literature concerning unconscious processing of information in executive control; b) original research articles (both behavioural-only and neuroimaging studies) on unconscious processing of information in executive control; c) discussions and opinions on new methodologies to investigate this issue (e.g., other than masked priming, which has been the technique of choice in most of the existing studies).
Download or read book The Conscious Brain written by Jesse J. Prinz and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2012-08-17 with total page 412 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The problem of consciousness continues to be a subject of great debate in cognitive science. Synthesizing decades of research, The Conscious Brain advances a new theory of the psychological and neurophysiological correlates of conscious experience. Prinz's account of consciousness makes two main claims: first consciousness always arises at a particular stage of perceptual processing, the intermediate level, and, second, consciousness depends on attention. Attention changes the flow of information allowing perceptual information to access memory systems. Neurobiologically, this change in flow depends on synchronized neural firing. Neural synchrony is also implicated in the unity of consciousness and in the temporal duration of experience. Prinz also explores the limits of consciousness. We have no direct experience of our thoughts, no experience of motor commands, and no experience of a conscious self. All consciousness is perceptual, and it functions to make perceptual information available to systems that allows for flexible behavior. Prinz concludes by discussing prevailing philosophical puzzles. He provides a neuroscientifically grounded response to the leading argument for dualism, and argues that materialists need not choose between functional and neurobiological approaches, but can instead combine these into neurofunctional response to the mind-body problem. The Conscious Brain brings neuroscientific evidence to bear on enduring philosophical questions, while also surveying, challenging, and extending philosophical and scientific theories of consciousness. All readers interested in the nature of consciousness will find Prinz's work of great interest.
Download or read book Working Memory Capacity written by Nelson Cowan and published by Psychology Press. This book was released on 2016-04-14 with total page 238 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The idea of one's memory "filling up" is a humorous misconception of how memory in general is thought to work; it actually has no capacity limit. However, the idea of a "full brain" makes more sense with reference to working memory, which is the limited amount of information a person can hold temporarily in an especially accessible form for use in the completion of almost any challenging cognitive task. This groundbreaking book explains the evidence supporting Cowan's theoretical proposal about working memory capacity, and compares it to competing perspectives. Cognitive psychologists profoundly disagree on how working memory is limited: whether by the number of units that can be retained (and, if so, what kind of units and how many), the types of interfering material, the time that has elapsed, some combination of these mechanisms, or none of them. The book assesses these hypotheses and examines explanations of why capacity limits occur, including vivid biological, cognitive, and evolutionary accounts. The book concludes with a discussion of the practical importance of capacity limits in daily life. This 10th anniversary Classic Edition will continue to be accessible to a wide range of readers and serve as an invaluable reference for all memory researchers.
Download or read book Attentional Capture written by Bradley S. Gibson and published by . This book was released on 2008 with total page 276 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The notion that certain mental or physical events can capture attention has been one of the most enduring topics in the study of attention owing to the importance of understanding how goal-directed and stimulus-driven processes interact in perception and cognition. Despite the clear theoretical and applied importance of attentional capture, a broad survey of this field suggests that the term "capture" means different things to different people. In some cases, it refers to covert shifts of spatial attention, in others involuntary saccades, and in still others general disruption of processing by irrelevant stimuli. The properties that elicit "capture" can also range from abruptly onset or moving lights, to discontinuities in textures, to unexpected tones, to emotionally valenced words or pictures, to directional signs and symbols. Attentional capture has been explored in both the spatial and temporal domains as well as the visual and auditory modalities. There are also a number of different theoretical perspectives on the mechanisms underlying "capture" (both functional and neurophysiological) and the level of cognitive control over capture. This special issue provides a sampling of the diversity of approaches, domains, and theoretical perspectives that currently exist in the study of attentional capture. Together, these contributions should help evaluate the degree to which attentional capture represents a unitary construct that reflects fundamental theoretical principles and mechanisms of the mind.
Download or read book Consciousness and Moral Responsibility written by Neil Levy and published by Oxford University Press (UK). This book was released on 2014-03 with total page 177 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Neil Levy presents a new theory of freedom and responsibility. He defends a particular account of consciousness—the global workspace view—and argues that consciousness plays an especially important role in action. There are good reasons to think that the naïve assumption, that consciousness is needed for moral responsibility, is in fact true.
Download or read book The Wiley Handbook of Cognitive Control written by Tobias Egner and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2017-01-11 with total page 1070 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Covering basic theory, new research, and intersections with adjacent fields, this is the first comprehensive reference work on cognitive control – our ability to use internal goals to guide thought and behavior. Draws together expert perspectives from a range of disciplines, including cognitive psychology, neuropsychology, neuroscience, cognitive science, and neurology Covers behavioral phenomena of cognitive control, neuroanatomical and computational models of frontal lobe function, and the interface between cognitive control and other mental processes Explores the ways in which cognitive control research can inform and enhance our understanding of brain development and neurological and psychiatric conditions
Download or read book A Cognitive Theory of Consciousness written by Bernard J. Baars and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 1993-07-30 with total page 454 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Bernard Baars suggests a way to specify empirical constraints on a theory of consciousness by contrasting well-established conscious phenomena with comparable unconscious ones, such as stimulus representations known to be preperceptual, unattended or habituated. By adducing data to show that consciousness is associated with a kind of workplace in the nervous system, Baars helps clarify the problem.
Download or read book The Cambridge Handbook of Consciousness written by Philip David Zelazo and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2007-05-14 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Cambridge Handbook of Consciousness is the first of its kind in the field, and its appearance marks a unique time in the history of intellectual inquiry on the topic. After decades during which consciousness was considered beyond the scope of legitimate scientific investigation, consciousness re-emerged as a popular focus of research towards the end of the last century, and it has remained so for nearly 20 years. There are now so many different lines of investigation on consciousness that the time has come when the field may finally benefit from a book that pulls them together and, by juxtaposing them, provides a comprehensive survey of this exciting field. An authoritative desk reference, which will also be suitable as an advanced textbook.
Download or read book The Visual un conscious and Its dis contents written by Bruno G. Breitmeyer and published by Oxford University Press, USA. This book was released on 2014 with total page 251 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Visual control of our actions can be unconscious as well as conscious. The book explores unconscious and conscious vision, investigated using psychophysical and brain-recording methods. The book sheds new light on and advances experimental, philosophical, and scholarly research on visual consciousness.
Download or read book Attention and Performance XV written by Carlo Umiltà and published by MIT Press. This book was released on 1994 with total page 978 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: During the past decade, evidence of dissociation between conscious and nonconscious information processing has emerged from the study of normal subjects and brain damaged patients. The thirty-five original contributions in this book cover the latest work on this important topic. During the past decade, evidence of dissociation between conscious and nonconscious information processing has emerged from the study of normal subjects and brain damaged patients. The thirty-five original contributions in this book cover the latest work on this important topic across such traditional areas of research as vision, face recognition, spatial attention, control processes, semantic memory, episodic memory, and learning. Each section is introduced by an overview chapter that presents and evaluates the available empirical evidence in a given area and is followed by several experimental papers. The book opens with the Association Lecture, by George Mandler, "On Remembering without Really Trying: Hypermnesia, Incubation, and Mind Popping."
Download or read book The Unconscious Before Freud written by Lancelot Law Whyte and published by . This book was released on 1979 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Ageing and Executive Control written by Ulrich Mayr and published by Psychology Press. This book was released on 2001 with total page 314 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The empirical and theoretical analysis of executive control processes, dormant for many years, has grown to become one of the most fertile areas of research in cognitive psychology and cognitive neuroscience. Because executive functions are thought to have a pervasive role in maintaining optimal information processing across many processing situations, issues related to executive control cut across many traditional research divides. Unique among many other areas of research in cognition, questions about the influence of ageing have figured prominently in executive control research. There is accumulating evidence of age-related changes in frontal/executive functions. The union of research on executive functioning with research on the cognitive effects of ageing could provide the theoretical framework for understanding the widespread influence of ageing on cognition. This special issue brings together well-known researchers in cognitive psychology and cognitive neuroscience who approach the question of executive control using a wide range of methods from traditional behavioural studies, quantitative and computational modelling, and functional neuroimaging. The emphasis of these contributions is on a concise overview and integration of relevant theoretical ideas and empirical findings. By bringing together a diverse group of contributors, this special issue can serve researchers and students both as a summary of current research and as a starting point toward further explorations on the relations between executive control and the cognitive influences of ageing.
Download or read book Strangers to Ourselves written by Timothy D. Wilson and published by Harvard University Press. This book was released on 2004-05-15 with total page 273 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Know thyself," a precept as old as Socrates, is still good advice. But is introspection the best path to self-knowledge? Wilson makes the case for better ways of discovering our unconscious selves. If you want to know who you are or what you feel or what you're like, Wilson advises, pay attention to what you actually do and what other people think about you. Showing us an unconscious more powerful than Freud's, and even more pervasive in our daily life, Strangers to Ourselves marks a revolution in how we know ourselves.
Download or read book The Right Brain and the Unconscious written by Rhawn Joseph and published by Springer. This book was released on 2013-11-11 with total page 422 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Visual Masking written by Bruno Breitmeyer and published by OUP Oxford. This book was released on 2006-04-20 with total page 384 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Our visual system can process information at both conscious and unconscious levels. Understanding the factors that control whether a stimulus reaches our awareness, and the fate of those stimuli that remain at an unconscious level, are the major challenges of brain science in the new millennium. Since its publication in 1984, Visual Masking has established itself as a classic text in the field of cognitive psychology. In the years since, there have been considerable advances in the cognitive neurosciences, and a growth of interest in the topic of consciousness, and the time is ripe for a new edition of this text. Where most current approaches to the study of visual consciousness adopt a 'steady-state' view, the approach presented in this book explores its dynamic properties. This new edition uses the technique of visual masking to explore temporal aspects of conscious and unconscious processes down to a resolution in the millisecond range. The 'time slices' through conscious and unconscious vision revealed by the visual masking technique can shed light on both normal and abnormal operations in the brain. The main focus of this book is on the microgenesis of visual form and pattern perception - microgenesis referring to the processes occurring in the visual system from the time of stimulus presentation on the retinae to the time, a few hundred milliseconds later, of its registration at conscious or unconscious perceptual and behavioural levels. The book takes a highly integrative approach by presenting microgenesis within a broad context encompassing visuo-temporal phenomena, attention, and consciousness.
Download or read book How People Learn II written by National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2018-09-27 with total page 347 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: There are many reasons to be curious about the way people learn, and the past several decades have seen an explosion of research that has important implications for individual learning, schooling, workforce training, and policy. In 2000, How People Learn: Brain, Mind, Experience, and School: Expanded Edition was published and its influence has been wide and deep. The report summarized insights on the nature of learning in school-aged children; described principles for the design of effective learning environments; and provided examples of how that could be implemented in the classroom. Since then, researchers have continued to investigate the nature of learning and have generated new findings related to the neurological processes involved in learning, individual and cultural variability related to learning, and educational technologies. In addition to expanding scientific understanding of the mechanisms of learning and how the brain adapts throughout the lifespan, there have been important discoveries about influences on learning, particularly sociocultural factors and the structure of learning environments. How People Learn II: Learners, Contexts, and Cultures provides a much-needed update incorporating insights gained from this research over the past decade. The book expands on the foundation laid out in the 2000 report and takes an in-depth look at the constellation of influences that affect individual learning. How People Learn II will become an indispensable resource to understand learning throughout the lifespan for educators of students and adults.
Download or read book The Cognitive Neuroscience of Consciousness written by Stanislas Dehaene and published by MIT Press. This book was released on 2001 with total page 264 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Empirical and theoretical foundations of a cognitive neuroscience of consciousness.
