- Visual processing 
- Orienting and shifting of attention 
- Robinson & Petersen, 1992
- Filtering of distracting stimuli 
- "...Certain parietal cells selectively increase their firing rate when the animal identifies a target stimulus to which it will covertly attend, but not when the stimulus is in the  same location in the absense of planning for covert attention. (Wurtz et al., 1982)"

Pulvinar 

- Located in the midbrain 
- Visual perception through overt attention
- Damage to this structure: diminished inhibition of return
- "...The superior colliculus may therefore help us avoid repeatedly returning to previously attended locations..." (Breedlove & Watson, 2017, 588). 

Washtenaw Community College

New York University

- Superior colliculus
- Pulvinar
- Lateral intraparietal area (LIP)
- Intraparietal sulcus (IPS)
- Frontal Eye Field
- Temporoparietal junction
- Voluntary control of attention
- Reflexive attention

A Network of Brain Sites Creates and Directs Attention

Breedlove, S. & Watson, N. (2017). Behavioral neuroscience, eighth edition. Oxford University Press.

Behavioral Neuroscience 8th Edition

- Shifts of attention from within 
- Conscious
- Top-Down 
- Attention toward our interests and goals 


Voluntary Attention 

- Function: Controlling attention 
- According to Wurtz et al., 1982, more parietal cells fire when monkeys engage in covert attention. 

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