THE CONCEPT OF ATTENTION

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Published Dec 4, 2009
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Vol. 87 No. 10 (2009): Issue Oct 2009

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Olfa Ben azouz
Lamia Dellagi
Oussam Kebir
Karim Tabbane

Abstract

Background: Attention is a complex function which matches environment’s information to the needs of the organism.
Aims: describe the different variety of attention, the attentionnel tests and attentional disorders in the psychiatric pathology.
Methods: review of literature on PUBMED.
Results: There are several types of attention such as selective attention, sustained attention and the divided attentions. Besides these different varieties of attention, we find the pre attentive phenomena: alertness and orientation which leads to preparing the attention.. The investigation of attention requires different tools of measures such as the Stroop test, the Continuous performance test or the “test de Barrage de zazzo” and a few years ago the visual detection task of Posner and the attentional network test that explores the three attentional networks independently. In psychiatric illness, the attentional disorders are not specific although certain
abnormalities are more suggestive of some pathology like the disengagement deficit in schizophrenia and the attention deficit and hyperactivity of children.
Conclusion: There are several types of attention and pre attentive phenomena which investigation require specific cognitive tests.

Keywords:

Attention , Attentionel deficit, cognitive tests

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