Paying Attention with the Latest Technology

Paying Attention with the Latest Technology

In this issue of Neuron, Parikh et al. utilize biosensors to probe the cholinergic system in freely moving rats performing cue-detection/reward delivery tasks. They show that cue-evoked cholinergic activity in the medial prefrontal cortex is associated with cue detection and not reward delivery. We discuss the implications of their research in behavioral neuroscience.

Paying Attention to the Details of Attention

Attention selects behaviorally relevant stimuli for greater neural representation. In this issue of Neuron, Luo and Maunsell (2015) show that attention acts, in part, by boosting the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of sensory neurons.

Paying Attention to Memory

Paying attention to meaning.

Several paradigms show that responses to one event compromise responses to a second event for around 500 ms. Such effects are generally attributed to attentional capacity limitations associated with processing information in the first event. In a task in which targets could be distinguished only by their meaning, we varied the semantic relationship between distractors and targets following at d...

Is anyone paying attention?

W ork force studies often reflect common prejudices , cost-saving philosophies, rumor and innuendo , but little data. An exception to this rule exists in the recently published Committee on Manpower of Pulmonary and Critical Care Societies (COMPACCs) study. 1 As I read it, there is a shortage of pulmonary and critical care specialists now and this shortage will get worse in the future. These co...