[The Frontal Lobe and Top-down Control of Attention].

Abstract

The concept of attention in cognitive science encompasses a bidirectional nature: bottom-up attention based on the salience of sensory stimuli, and top-down attention, which involves voluntary control over aspects such as intensity, allocation, selectivity, and duration. Top-down attention is believed to be primarily realized through the frontal lobes that monitor on-going information processing. This monitoring helps detect situations requiring intervention and manipulates lower-level information processing systems as a part of executive functions.