This chapter contrasts the voluntary, endogenous influences on attention to the involuntary, exogenous influences on attention. The neural effects of top-down versus bottom-up attention are presented, including how these effects are observed at multiple levels of processing in the brain. Evidence from fMRI and ERP studies show the separate and interacting effects of endogenous and exogenous attention in multiple visual processing regions and on the C1, P1, N1, and P3 components. Inhibition of return (IOR), an attention process unique to reflexive attention is described, along with corresponding ERP evidence. The debate concerning reflexive orienting and contingent capture is discussed, and the effects of special classes of stimuli (e.g., new objects; faces; emotion-inducing stimuli) on the involuntary allocation of attention are introduced. ERP indices of attentional orienting in visual search (e.g., the N2pc component) versus the suppression of distractors (e.g., the PD components) are discussed. This chapter also describes how memory affects attentional allocation, both in the initial capture and the subsequent holding of attention. Finally, theories are introduced that propose that selection history and reward learning play significant roles in the involuntary biasing and allocation of attention.

The introduction explains the notion of translation used in the book, distinguishing it from other uses of the term in disciplines such as geometry, biology, social sciences, philosophy of language and the performing arts. It suggests that rather than dwelling on translation problems, the activity should be considered as an opportunity to excel cognitively and creatively.

This chapter presents the varied types of attention deficits that are observed in different special populations. These provide evidence for the importance of attention in many aspects of our lives, and this chapter explains how studies of these patients continues to motivate and shape much of the neuroscience research that will be covered in subsequent chapters. Patients suffering from unilateral neglect syndrome, subsequent to brain lesions, have revealed a network of temporo-parietal and ventral frontal regions, lateralized largely to the right hemisphere, that is critical for disengaging and reorienting attention. These patients also provide evidence for the distinction between space-based versus object-based attention. Damage to subcortical structures in the thalamus and superior colliculus are linked to deficits in engaging and moving attention, respectively. The history and current diagnostic criteria for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are described, along with how this disorder affects multiple processes of attention. Symptoms of ADHD and the neglect syndrome are used to introduce the concepts of executive control, the filtering of irrelevant distractors, and the balance of top-down and bottom-up influences on attention. The possibility that dysfunctional attention mechanisms may also play a role in autism, schizophrenia, and anxiety disorders is discussed.

This chapter introduces a fundamental aspect of attention that is beginning to be understood at a deeper level because of neuroscience research. In addition to how attention is allocated at one instant in time, new research is showing that there are temporal limits to attention and that a complete understanding of attention requires understanding the timing of attention. The “attentional blink” phenomenon is discussed, along with neuroscience evidence linking attention and consciousness. The brain mechanisms of attending to time are compared to those involved in attending to space and to static properties of objects. This chapter also explores the relation between attention and memory, highlighting the holding of attention. The factors that determine attentional dwell time, and the brain regions affecting this type of control are introduced. Classic and modern theories of the role of rhythms in the brain are discussed, and evidence from fMRI, ERPs, and single-unit recordings are presented that provide evidence for internally generated versus externally triggered rhythms in the alpha, beta, theta, and gamma frequency bands. The importance of neural entrainment and the synchrony of neural activity within and across brain regions is discussed, in relation to its role in attentional control and conscious processing.

The chapter summarizes previous chapters, presents a view of the status quo of the discipline, and looks forward to the future. If we are in an era in which translating is becoming increasingly machine aided, by increasingly ’skilled’ mechanisms, then translators will be enabled to manage the increasing demands on their time of an increasingly interconnected world.

This chapter explores “predictive coding” models, which challenge classic theories of perception and brain function. By incorporating details of both the connectivity between brain areas and the levels of microcircuitry within cortical regions, these models suggest a radical new way to conceive of perception and cognition. Whereas classic models assume that feed-forward, or bottom-up, processing is mainly responsible for our perception, predictive coding theories suggest that top-down models determine our perception, with bottom-up processing simply correcting errors in those models. Neuroscience evidence is presented for the abundance of top-down connections, the efficiency of neural coding, the role of expectancy in attention, and how the balance of top-down and bottom-up processing is related to the dysfunctional attention processes in some clinical groups. The allocation of attention is thought to be a dynamic and changing process wherein top-down hyper-priors are integrated with current priors that are being continually updated within and across levels. According to such models, attention affects the expected precision (reliability) of bottom-up information and the likelihood that this information will be used to update the current top-down models. Predictive coding theories that are opening new ways of thinking about the neural mechanisms that drive our attention are discussed.