In the phenomenon of attentional blink, identical visual stimuli are sometimes fully perceived and sometimes not detected at all. This phenomenon thus provides an optimal situation to study the fate of stimuli not consciously perceived and the differences between conscious and nonconscious processing. We correlated behavioral visibility ratings and recordings of event-related potentials to study the temporal dynamics of access to consciousness. Intact early potentials (P1 and N1) were evoked by unseen words, suggesting that these brain events are not the primary correlates of conscious perception. However, we observed a rapid divergence around 270 ms, after which several brain events were evoked solely by seen words. Thus, we suggest that the transition toward access to consciousness relates to the optional triggering of a late wave of activation that spreads through a distributed network of cortical association areas.

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Timing of the brain events underlying access to consciousness during the attentional blink

Under conditions of rapid serial visual presentation, subjects display a reduced ability to report the second of two targets(Target2; T2) in a stream of distractors if it appearswithin200-500 msec of Target 1 (Tl). This effect. known as the attentional blink(AB),has been central in characterizing the limits of humans’ ability to consciously perceive stimuli distributed across time. Here, we review theoretical accounts of the AB and examine how they explain key findings in the literature. We conclude that the AB arises from attentional demands of Tl for selection, working memory encoding, episodic registration,and response selection, which prevents this high-level central resource from being applied to T2 at shortT1-T2 lags. Tl processing also transiently impairs the redeployment of these attentional resources to subsequent targets and the inhibition of distractors that appear in close temporal proximity to T2. Although these findings are consistent with a multifactorial account of the AB,they can also be largely explained by assuming that the activation of these multiple processes depends on a common capacity-limited attentional process for selecting behaviorally relevant events presented among temporally distributed distractors. Thus, at its core, the attentional blink may ultimately reveal the temporal limits of the deployment of selective attention.

/pdf/the-attentional-blink-a-review-of-data-and-theory-a1a78wgwvs.pdf

The attentional blink: A review of data and theory

2005 Special Issue: Emotion recognition in human-computer interaction

What is the time course of visual attention? Attentional blink studies have found that the 2nd of 2 targets is often missed when presented within about 500 ms from the 1st target, resulting in theories about relatively long-lasting capacity limitations or bottlenecks. Earlier studies, however, reported quite the opposite finding: Attention is transiently enhanced, rather than reduced, for several hundreds of milliseconds after a relevant event. The authors present a general theory, as well as a working computational model, that integrate these findings. There is no central role for capacity limitations or bottlenecks. Central is a rapidly responding gating system (or attentional filter) that seeks to enhance relevant and suppress irrelevant information. When items sufficiently match the target description, they elicit transient excitatory feedback activity (a "boost" function), meant to provide access to working memory. However, in the attentional blink task, the distractor after the target is accidentally boosted, resulting in subsequent strong inhibitory feedback response (a "bounce"), which, in effect, closes the gate to working memory. The theory explains many findings that are problematic for limited-capacity accounts, including a new experiment showing that the attentional blink can be postponed.

/pdf/a-boost-and-bounce-theory-of-temporal-attention-4lpo9erkp7.pdf

A Boost and Bounce theory of temporal attention

http://wexler.free.fr/library/files/martens%20%282010%29%20the%20attentional%20blink.%20past%2C%20present%2C%20and%20future%20of%20a%20blind%20spot%20in%20perceptual%20awareness.pdf

The attentional blink: Past, present, and future of a blind spot in perceptual awareness

A neurodynamic model of the attentional blink.

REQUIRED) The law-making process is the source of legislation and is inextricably bound up with the developments of improving the efficiency and effectiveness of e-government. Against this backdrop, both the normative law-making process (as prescribed in law) and the law-making processes as found in practice are being analyzed. Both types of processes are modeled using Business Process Modeling Notation (BPMN) and the process descriptions are compared with each other. The retrospective analyses of several cases show deviations from normative processes as prescribed in law. It was found that the law-making process is a highly fragmented process and that there is hardly any back office integration. Paradoxically, law (resulting from the law-making process) complicates the improvement of the law-making process. Our analysis shows that the law-making process can be treated like any other business process. We recommend the use of business process (re-)engineering and transformation instruments to improve the law-making process.

Stephanus Kockelkoren

Papers

A neurodynamic model of the attentional blink.

Analyzing law-making from a business process view: The paradox of law-making