The Role That Attention Plays in Language Processing

Although the mechanism of attention is not entirely understood, there is widespread agreement that attention is a limited capacity processing system that can flexibly allocate resources to modulate signal detection and response for controlled action. With respect to language processing, a complex combination of automatic and controlled processing mechanisms, attention plays an important role in mediating the selection of competing candidates so that, for example, the correct word can be activated. The present review summarizes current views on attention mechanisms, types of attention, the neuroscience of attention, and its presumed role in language processing.