Introduction

Why are neuroscientists interested in attentional processing?

Before we can tackle such a query, it is necessary to note that attention is a term constructed by psychologists to describe the detection, selection, and discrimination of stimuli, in addition to the allocation of limited processing resources to competing attentional demands. A metaphor for attention is a computer's Random Access Memory, which dictates how many programs a computer can effectively process simultaneously. Many studies have shown that the efficacy of attentional processing helps to define the quality of subsequent learning and memory.

Attentional deficits are present in many neuropsychiatric diseases and may contribute to the complex cognitive changes that occur in these disorders. Neuroscientists hope to unravel mechanisms underlying these attentional dysfunctions. Research in Dr. Bruno's laboratory focuses on the psychobiology of normal attentional processing as well as in animal models of neuropsychiatric diseases.

What psychiatric diseases are characterized by attentional dysfunctions?

Q. The writer John Horgan, in his book,
“The Undiscovered Mind,” claims we know
next to nothing about the way the brain
really works. Do you agree?

A. I agree with him 100 percent. It’s one of
the things that attracted me to neuroscience.
I thought, “Here’s a field where you can become
a real expert pretty quickly because nobody
really knows anything.” -Ben Carson M.D.