The dopaminergic and noradrenergic attention centers

The brain has several attention centers. The descriptions from the various sources seem to diverge.

• 1. The posterior attention center
• 2. Two frontoparietal attention centers
  • 2.1. Dorsal frontoparietal attention centers
  • 2.2. Ventral frontoparietal attention centers
• 3. The anterior (ventral) attention center

1. The posterior attention center¶

After Rostain.¹

• Noradrenergically controlled²
• Tasks:
  • Recognition of new stimuli
  • Use of warnings to increase attention and task completion³
  • Vigilance = alertness = continuous attention with a monotonous stimulus frequency
  • Orientation reactions
• Components
  • Right (dorsal) parietal lobe
  • Colliculi superiores
  • Pulvinar (posterior part of the thalamus)
• Activation occurs noradrenergically through
  • Nucleus coeruleus

Dopaminergic drugs only address the functions of the anterior attention center, noradrenergic drugs influence the functions controlled by the posterior attention center in the parietal cortex.

2. Two frontoparietal attention centers¶

Corbetta et al and Kim distinguish 2 frontoparietal attention networks ⁴⁵
In idle mode, both networks operate separately.
The activated dorsal network (focused attention, concentration) suppresses the ventral network to prevent reorientation to distracting events.
Joint activation by unexpected important events that cause a refocusing of attention.

2.1. Dorsal frontoparietal attention centers¶

• The dorsal frontoparietal attention network controls
  • Focusing attention on central, expected and exploitable stimuli (concentration)
  • Linking stimuli and reactions
  • Top-down attention control
  • Noradrenaline acts on the dorsal (posterior) attention center.²
  • Dorsal fronto-parietal brain regions involved in⁴
    • Intraparietal sulcus
    • Lobulus parietalis superior
      • Part of the parietal lobe of the cerebrum, also known as the cortical sensory subfield
    • Frontal eye fields
    • Visual regions of the occipital cortex

2.2. Ventral frontoparietal attention centers¶

• The ventral frontoparietal attention network controls
  • Interruption of ongoing activities and their resumption (distractibility)
  • Redirecting attention to peripheral, unexpected (e.g. alarming) and explorable stimuli (task switching)
  • Destruction of noradrenaline receptors causes increased distractibility⁶
  • Control noradrenergic via locus coeruleus system⁷⁸
    • Phasic noradrenaline from the locus coeruleus activates the arousal-dependent sensory and cognitive processing of conspicuous information, such as pain or startle stimuli, via the ventral attention network⁹, and thereby regulates various attentional functions during task execution.¹⁰
  • Ventral brain regions involved in:⁴
    • Supramarginal gyrus
    • Superior temporal gyrus
    • Medium and inferior PFC

3. The anterior (ventral) attention center¶

According to Rostain¹ and Peteren, Posner, who described this as the third (“executive”) center of attention.⁸

• Dopaminergically controlled²
• Tasks:
  • Attention control, including control of the individual parts of the brain that process perceptions (reading, seeing, understanding words, etc.)
  • Working memory
  • Non-focused attention
  • Stimulus inhibition
  • Executive functions = central management system of the brain
    • Organization
    • Set priorities
    • Activation
    • Integration
    • Self-control
      Modulation and control takes place in subcortical structures, primarily the striatum and thalamus
• Components:
  • ACC
  • PFC