Psychology 506: Cognitive

Psychology 506: Cognitive Neuroscience of Attention

Fall 2013

COURSE SYLLABUS
Instructor: Ofce: Phone: Email: Ofce Hours: Jelena Ristic N7/13 Stewart Biology Building 514 398 2091 jelena.ristic@mcgill.ca Fridays 10-11am or by email appointment

Course Description: Attention is simultaneously one of the most researched topic in cognitive psychology and one cognitive mechanism that we do not know much about. In this course we will examine the history of attention research, contemporary theories of attention, the varieties of attention, behavioral and neuroimaging experimental methods, the nature of attentional dysfunctions, and the links between attention and other cognitive functions like memory and consciousness. Emphasis will be placed on learning how to read, think, discuss, and write about primary research articles in a critical and coherent manner. Learning Objectives: There are two primary learning objectives in this course. One concerns mastery of the material on attention. The other concerns mastery of critical reading and thinking skills. First, by the end of the course you should have an understanding of (i) the multifaceted human attention system and its relationship with sensory and other cognitive systems; (ii) behavioral outcomes of dysfunctions of attention; and (iii) research methodology used in measuring attention. Second, you will also have developed an ability to critically read and summarize primary research articles and effectively criticize them in written form. Required Readings: (1) Custom Course Pack. Psychology 506/740: Cognitive Neuroscience of Attention (Available at the Bookstore); (2) Journal articles (Available for download in pdf from McGill Library EJournals website). Prerequisites: Psych 213 and Psych 311, and one of Psych 305 or Biol 373, or permission of instructor. Open to Psychology and Cognitive Science students. Instructional Method: The class will be taught in lecture and seminar format. Students are encouraged to come prepared to discuss the readings. Course Policies. The material on exams will cover all material covered in lectures and assigned readings. Classes will not be recorded. Lecture notes will be posted on WebCT Monday afternoon. WebCT: The course syllabus, information about critiques and the exam, as well as discussion board will be available on WebCT. Discussion board is intended for students to post questions about class-related material. Students are expected to adhere to the proper conduct policies and to communicate with other students with respect. Discussion boards will be regularly monitored. Instances of misconduct will not be tolerated and may result in closure of discussion boards on WebCT.

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Evaluation Evaluation: Evaluation is based on weekly quizzes, written reviews, an exam, and class participation.
(1) Group Presentation (2) Critique Paper (3) Exam (4) Class participation Total 15% 35% 35% 15% 100%

1. Group Presentation (15%) Every week a group of students will present and lead a class discussion on the assigned readings for that week. The group is expected to concisely summarize the assigned readings, lead a class discussion on each of the readings, engaging a discussion on the papers positive and negative aspects. Typically, the assigned readings would present opposing views on a topic. The presentation should incorporate the debate. These presentations are designed to encourage critical thinking, in preparation for your critique assignment and promote discussion of the readings during class. A grade for the whole group will be assigned based on the quality of article summaries, discussion content, and class engagement. 2. Critique Paper (35%) You will be required to write a critical review paper, which will involve an evaluation of a journal article. When reviewing a research article, summaries should provide an accurate description of (a) the rationale for the research described in the article, (b) the hypothesis and predictions, (c) the methods and procedures employed in the study, and (d) the pertinent experimental results and their importance. In your critique you should also identify the main issues raised by the article and comment on them. Potential issues include (but are not restricted to): (a) questions regarding the research/argument/model presented in the article, (b) alternative interpretations for reported results or position, (c) proposals for follow-up experiments or alternative models (with predictions), (d) direct links to the psychology literature not made in the article. Critiques need not be negative in tone. You should always feel free to identify and discuss things that you found convincing, clever, etc. Similarly, suggestions for future experiments, methodological renements, etc, also need not be negative. Indeed, writing a critical assessment of a research paper, with positive criticisms, is much harder to do than punching holes through an article. The critiques must be typewritten. Maximum length is 5 pages (excluding cover page and references). Style: double-spaced; 12-point font; APA-style headings and references. Papers are to be handed in at the start of class. Late reviews (i.e., those handed in after the start of class) will be deducted 1% from the original 20% each day that they are late, e.g., a critique handed in on Tuesday afternoon will be deducted 1% from the total of 15% while a paper handed in on Wednesday morning would incur 2% deduction from the total of 15%. You must deliver a hardcopy of the paper to me. Email submissions will not be accepted. 3. Exam (35%) The exam might consist of short answer (denitions) and essay questions, and will cover all material covered up to exam date cumulatively. The exam will be take-home, where you will have one week to write your exam--The questions will be handed out on November 12th and are due back to me at the very beginning of November 19th class. No late exams will be accepted. If you are unable to write the exam for a valid and documented reason (e.g., serious illness, death in the family) you must present evidence to me (e.g., doctors note or a death certicate) that you were unable to write the exam. All medical excuses must be personally presented to me as soon as you are able to return to class for a make up to be scheduled. Other than documented valid excuses, there will be no make up exam.
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4. Class Participation (15%) Because one of the main goals of this class is to develop critical thinking, class participation is strongly encouraged. Class participation grade will be based on thoughtful contribution to class discussion. Discussions posted discussion boards will not be graded. Your nal grade will be computed from the respective contributions of your presentation, critique, exam, and class participation grades. Only the nal grade will be rounded up according to scientic convention (e.g., 84.4=84%; 84.5=85%). Final letter grades will be assigned according to the following scheme:
A 100-85 A84-80 B+ 79-75 B 74-70 B69-65 C+ 64-60 C 59-56 D 55-50 F 49-0

University Policies Plagiarism and Cheating: McGill University values academic integrity. Therefore, all students must understand the meaning and consequences of cheating, plagiarism and other academic offences under the Code of Student Conduct and Disciplinary Procedures. See www.mcgill.ca/integrity for more information. Every student registered in this course is obliged to read the statement about academic integrity, and I will assume that you have done so. Grading of Written Work: In accord with McGill Universitys Charter of Students Rights, students in this course have the right to submit their written work that is to be graded in either English or French. Students with Disabilities: If you have a disability please contact the Ofce for Students with Disabilities at 514-398-6009. All accommodations and provisions for the course evaluations and exams are to be handled directly through the Ofce for Students with Disabilities. Additional policies governing academic issues which affect students can be found in the McGill Charter of Students' Rights (Chapter One of the Student Rights and Responsibilities Handbook available as a PDF on www.mcgill.ca/les/secretariat/Student-Handbook-2009-English.pdf). Disclaimer: In the event of extraordinary circumstances beyond the Universitys control, the content and/or evaluation scheme in this course is subject to change. Should this occur you will be notied in due time.

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Lecture Topics and Class Schedule

Week 1, Sept 3rd, 2013 Lecture Topic: Introduction; What is attention and how to measure it?
No Readings Assigned.

Week 2, Sept 10th, 2013 Discussion Topic: What is attention and how to measure it. Lecture Topic: What do we pay attention to?
Assigned Readings: Course Pack
Posner (1978). Chapter 1-Mental chronometry, p1-24, In Chronometric Explorations of Mind. Page 99.
James, W. (1890). Chapter -11, In The Principles of Psychology (available on WebCT).
Kantowitz, Roediger & Elmes (2009). Chapter 8: Attention and reaction time. In Experimental Psychology, (9th Edition). Page 53.

Week 3, Sept 17th, 2013 Discussion Topic: What do we pay attention to? Lecture Topic: How do we pay attention?
Assigned Readings: Journal Articles:
New, J., Cosmides, L., & Tooby J. (2007). Category-specic attention for animals reects ancestral priorities not expertise. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 104(42), 16598-16603.
Anderson, B.A., Laurent, P.A. & Yantis, S. (2011). Value-driven attentional capture. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 108(25), 10367-10371.
Lavie, N., & Driver, J. (1996). On the spatial extent of attention in object-based visual selection. Perception and Psychophysics, 58, 12381251. Optional (but highly recommended classic reading):
Posner, M. I. (1980). Orienting of attention. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 32, 3-25.

Week 4, Sept 24th, 2013 Discussion Topic: How do we pay attention? Lecture Topic: Development of attention.
Assigned Readings: Course Pack:
Jonides, J. (1981). Voluntary versus automatic control over the minds eyes movement. In J. B. Long & A. D. Baddeley (Eds.), Attention and performance IX. Page 81. (A classic reading). Journal Articles:
Klein, R. M. (2009). On the control of attention. Canadian Journal of Experimental Psychology, 63(3), 240-252.
Klein, R. M. (1988). Inhibitory tagging system facilitates visual search. Nature, 334(4), 430-431. Optional (but highly recommended classic reading):
Treisman, A. M & Gelade, G. (1980). A feature-integration theory of attention. Cognitive Psychology, 12, 97-136.

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Week 5, Oct 1st, 2013 Discussion Topic: Development of attention Lecture Topic: Where is attention in the brain?
Course Pack
Brodeur, A., D., Trick, M., I, & Enns, J. T. (1997). Selective attention over the lifespan. In Burack A. J. & Enns J. T. (Eds.). Attention, development, and psychopathology. Page 177. Journal Articles
Johnson, M. H., Posner, M. I., & Rothbart, M. K. (1994). Facilitation of saccades toward a covertly attended location in early infancy. Psychological Science, 5(2), 90-93.
Goldberg, M.C., Maurer, D., & Lewis, T. L. (2001). Developmental changes in attention: The effect of endogenous cuing and distractors. Developmental Science, 4(2), 209-219.

Week 6, October 8th, 2013 Discussion Topic: Where is attention in the brain? Lecture Topic: Attention & Consciousness
Assigned Readings: Course Pack
Handy, T. C., Hopnger, J. B., & Mangun, G. R. (2001). Functional Neuroimaging of Attention, in The Handbook of Functional Neuroimaging, Page 129. Journal Articles
Treue, S. (2001). Neural correlates of attention in primate visual cortex. Trends in Neurosciences, 24(5), 295-300. Optional:
Kosslyn, S. M. (1999). If neuroimaging is the answer, what is the question? Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London, Series B, 354, 1283-1294.
Anderson, J. S., Ferguson, M. A., Lopez-Larson, M. & Yurgelun-Todd, D. (2010). Topographic maps of mutisensory attention. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 16(107), 20110-11.

Week 7, October 15th, 2012 *Critique Due*; *Last Week Topic Chosen* Sana, F., Weston, T. & Cepeda, N. J. (2012). Laptop multitasking hinders classroom learning for both users and nearby peers. Computers & Education, 62 (2013), 24-31. Discussion Topic: Attention & Consciousness Lecture Topic: Attention and Memory
Assigned Readings: Journal Articles
Cohen, M.A., Cavanagh, P., Chun, M. & Nakayama, K. (2012). The attentional requirements of consciousness. Trends in Cognitive Science, 16 (8), 411-417.
van Boxtel, J. J., A., Tsuchiya, N., & Koch, C. (2010). Opposing effects of attention and consciousness on afterimages, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 107(19), 8883-8888.
Lamme, V. (2003). Why visual attention and awareness are different. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 7(1), 12-18.
Hsu, S., George, N., Wyart, V., Tallon-Baudry, C. (2011). Voluntary and involuntary spatial attentions interact differently with awareness. Neuropsychologia, 49(9), 2465-2476.

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Week 8, October 22nd, 2013 Discussion Topic: Attention and Memory. Lecture Topic: Social attention.
Assigned Readings: Journal Articles
Anderson, E. J., Mannan, S.,K., Rees, G., Sumner, P. & Kennard, C. (2010). Overlapping functional anatomy for working memory and visual search. Experimental Brain Research, 200 (1), 91-107.
Nee, D. E., and Jonides, J. (2009). Common and distinct neural correlates of perceptual and memorial selection. NeuroImage, 45(3), 963-975.
De Fockert, J. W., Rees, G., Frith, C. D., & Lavie, N. (2001). The role of working memory in visual selective attention. Science, 291(5509), 1803-1806.
Beck, V. M., Hollingworth, A. & Luck, S. J. (2012). Simultaneous control of attention by multiple working memory representations. Psychological Science, 23(8), 887-898.

Week 9, October 29th, 2013 Discussion Topic: Social attention Lecture Topic: When attention is broken.
Assigned Readings: Journal Articles ! Friesen, C.K., & Kingstone, A. (1998). The eyes have it! Reexive orienting is triggered by nonpredictive gaze. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 5(3), 490-495.
Vecera, S. P & Rizzo, M. (2006). Eye gaze does not produce reexive shifts of attention: Evidence from frontal-lobe damage. Neuropsychologia, 44, 150-159.
Nummenmnaa, L. & Calder, A. J. (2009). Neural mechanisms of social attention. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 13(3), 135-143. Optional. ! Kingstone, A, Friesen, C.K., & Gazzaniga, M. S. (2000). Reexive joint attention depends on lateralized cortical connections. Psychological Science, 11 (2), 159-166.

Week 10, November 5th, 2013 Discussion Topic: When attention is broken Lecture Topic: Inattention
Assigned Readings: Course Pack
Ramachandran V. S. & Blakeslee S. (1998). Chapter 6: Through the looking glass, In Phantoms in the brain: Probing the mysteries of the human mind. Page 163. Journal Articles
Danzinger, S., Kingstone, A. & Rafal, R. D. (1998). Orienting to extinguished signals in hemispatial neglect. Psychological Science, 9(2), 119-123.
Nicholls, M. E. R., Loetscher, T, & Rademacher, M. (2010). The effects of attentional asymmetries on goal kicking. PloS ONE, 5(8), e12363.

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Week 11, November 12th, 2013 --*Take home exam handed out* Discussion Topic: Inattention Lecture Topic: Attention in the wild?
Assigned Readings: Journal Articles
Smallwood, J. & Schooler, J. W. (2006). The restless mind. Psychological Bulletin, 132(6), 946-958.
Mason, M. F et al (2007). Wandering minds: The default network and stimulus-independent thought. Science, 315, 393-395.

Fox, M. D. Et al (2005). The human brain is intrinsically organized into dynamic, anticorrelated networks. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 102(27), 9673-78. Optional.
Mack, A. (2003). Inattentional blindness: Looking without seeing. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 12(5), 180-184.

Week 12, November 19th, 2013 --*Take home exam due* Discussion Topic: Attention in the wild? Lecture Topic: Class chosen topics
Assigned Readings: Journal Articles
Kingstone, A., Smilek, D & Eastwood, J. D. (2008). Cognitive Ethology: A new approach for studying human cognition. British Journal of Psychology, 99, 317-340.
Park, N. W. & Ingles, J. L. (2001). Effectiveness of attention rehabilitation after an acquired brain injury: A meta analysis. Neuropsychology, 15(2), 199-210.

Week 13, November 26th, 2013 Discussion Topic: Class chosen topics.
Assigned Readings: Journal Articles:

Week 14, Dec 03rd, 2013-- No Class (*Monday schedule)

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