Explain alerting, orienting and executive attention, and outline what is known about their neurologic correlates
What will be an ideal response?
Alerting: Alerting is defined as being prepared to attend to some incoming event, and maintaining this attention. Alerting also includes the process of getting to this state of preparedness. The brain areas involved in alerting are the right frontal and parietal cortexes as well as the locus coeruleus. The neurotransmitter norepinephrine is involved in the maintenance of alertness. If the alerting system does not work properly, people develop symptoms of ADHD; in the process of regular aging, dysfunctions of the alerting system may develop as well.
Orienting: Orienting is defined as the selection of stimuli to attend to. This kind of attention is needed when we perform a visual search. You may be able to observe this process by means of a person's eye movements, but sometimes attention is covert and cannot be observed from the outside. The orienting network develops during the first year of life. The brain areas involved in the orienting function are the superior parietal lobe, the temporal parietal junction, the frontal eye fields, and the superior colliculus. The modulating neurotransmitter for orienting is acetylcholine. Dysfunction within this system can be associated with autism.
Executive Attention: Executive attention includes processes for monitoring and resolving conflicts that arise among internal processes. These processes include thoughts, feelings, and responses. The brain areas involved in this final and highest order of attentional process are the anterior cingulate, lateral ventral, and prefrontal cortex as well as the basal ganglia. The neurotransmitter most involved in the executive attention process is dopamine. Dysfunction within this system is associated with Alzheimer's disease, borderline personality disorder, and schizophrenia.
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Indicate whether the statement is true or false.
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a. True b. False Indicate whether the statement is true or false
An elementary science teacher wants to provide students with practice in the skill of defining operationally. What would be the most suitable activity?
a. The teacher provides a collection of small hardware items and asks the students to sort the items into categories. b. The teacher obtains some butterfly chrysalises and asks students to keep track of how long it takes the chrysalises to hatch into butterflies. c. The teacher provides the students with bar magnets, circular magnets, and spherical magnets, and asks them to identify the north and south poles of each. d. The teacher asks students how hot they like their soup to be. e. All of the above f. None of the above a. The teacher provides a collection of small hardware items and asks the students to sort the items into categories. b. The teacher obtains some butterfly chrysalises and asks students to keep track of how long it takes the chrysalises to hatch into butterflies. c. The teacher provides the students with bar magnets, circular magnets, and spherical magnets, and asks them to identify the north and south poles of each. d. The teacher asks students how hot they like their soup to be. e. All of the above f. None of the above
Answer the following statement(s) true (T) or false (F)
1.Students with ASD can find it difficult to transition from one activity to another given the verbal instruction, which can often lead to noncompliance. 2. Students with ASD have strengths in auditory processing, putting them at an advantage in classrooms where information is communicated verbally. 3. Atypical responses to sensory inputs may impede the emotional regulation of students with ASD; however, it does not influence their academic achievement. 4. The consistent noise in a typical classroom environment can escalate the anxiety level of students with ASD and trigger a problematic reaction. 5. Sensory sensitivity is not included in the ASD diagnostic criteria; therefore,the stimulations in the classroom have very limited impact on the learning of students with ASD.