Attention, Memory and Cognitive Control

注意力、记忆力和认知控制

• 批准号: RGPIN-2019-07021
• 负责人: Milliken, Robert
• 金额: $ 3.42万
• 依托单位: McMaster University
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Discovery Grants Program - Individual
• 财政年份: 2022
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2022-01-01 至 2023-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=764336
• 关键词: Attention; Memory; Cognitive; Control

The human brain processes vast amounts of information. This processing must be remarkably efficient to produce fluent and goal-driven behaviour with the world around us. But what are the key properties of efficient information processing? Much research in experimental psychology suggests that a key property of intelligent, goal-driven behaviour is selectivity of information processing.  To appreciate the importance of selectivity in information processing, imagine the task of driving if all people on the roadside, all traffic signals, all cars, and all sounds were given equal importance in the flow of mental activity that supports driving. Surely we would find driving under these circumstances to be overwhelming. Instead, an experienced driver is likely to find the task of driving to be effortless. Moreover, access to the vast amounts of information processed by the brain while driving is likely to be highly selective. Indeed, after driving a long distance one often has the impression that much of what was experienced along the way was not really attended to (and remembered) at all. How is relevant information selected for further processing, and irrelevant information ignored? This issue lies at the heart of a field of experimental psychology that studies cognitive control - mental processes that dictate what information is attended and what information is ignored. A key distinction in this area of research is between voluntary and involuntary control over attention. In the context of our driving example, voluntary control allows a driver to focus selectively on signs at intersections as a particular street is searched for. In this case, the intention to drive to a particular destination leads the driver to pay particular attention to street signs while perhaps ignoring people and buildings as they are passed. In contrast, involuntary control might allow a driver to attend and respond to the distance to the nearest vehicle despite perhaps dedicating voluntary thought processes to the workday ahead. Typically, voluntary control over attention is driven by intentions in the moment, whereas involuntary control over attention is driven by the automatic retrieval of well-learned attentional routines. In the proposed research, we focus on the distinction between voluntary and involuntary control over attention in a laboratory task that simulates the types of tasks we encounter in the real world. Of particular interest in our research is the influence of engaging in cognitive control at one point in time on the efficiency of a similar act of cognitive control at a following point in time. The aim of studying this issue is to gain a better understanding of the extent to which cognitive control can be learned across time, rather than having to be implemented anew in an effortful manner each time it is required.

人类大脑处理大量的信息。这种处理过程必须非常高效，才能在我们周围的世界中产生流畅的、目标驱动的行为。但是高效信息处理的关键属性是什么呢？实验心理学的许多研究表明，智能的、目标驱动的行为的一个关键特性是信息处理的选择性。为了理解选择性在信息处理中的重要性，想象一下，如果在支持驾驶的心理活动流中，路边所有的人、所有的交通信号、所有的汽车和所有的声音都被同等重视，驾驶的任务是什么。当然，我们会发现在这种情况下开车是压倒性的。相反，一个有经验的司机可能会发现驾驶的任务是毫不费力的。此外，开车时大脑处理的大量信息可能是高度选择性的。的确，在长途驾车之后，人们常常会有这样一种印象，即一路上所经历的许多事情根本没有得到真正的关注（和记住）。如何选择相关信息进行进一步处理，而忽略无关信息？这个问题是研究认知控制的实验心理学领域的核心，认知控制是指决定哪些信息被关注、哪些信息被忽略的心理过程。这一研究领域的一个关键区别是对注意力的自愿控制和非自愿控制。在我们的驾驶示例中，自愿控制允许驾驶员在搜索特定街道时选择性地关注十字路口的标志。在这种情况下，开车去特定目的地的意图导致司机特别注意街道标志，而可能忽略经过的人和建筑物。相比之下，非自愿控制可能会让司机关注并响应与最近车辆的距离，尽管可能会将自愿的思维过程奉献给前方的工作日。通常，对注意力的自愿控制是由当下的意图驱动的，而对注意力的非自愿控制是由对良好学习的注意惯例的自动检索驱动的。在拟议的研究中，我们将重点放在实验室任务中对注意力的自愿和非自愿控制的区别上，该任务模拟了我们在现实世界中遇到的任务类型。我们的研究中特别感兴趣的是，在一个时间点进行认知控制对下一个时间点进行类似认知控制行为的效率的影响。研究这个问题的目的是为了更好地理解认知控制在多大程度上可以随着时间的推移而学习，而不是每次需要时都以一种努力的方式重新实施。