User:Medley3636/Attentional control

Elderly
Some studies of aging and cognition focus on working memory processes and declines in attentional control. One study used fMRI measures during a Stroop task comparing neural activity of attentional control in younger (21–27 years) and older participants (60–75 years). Conditions included increased competition and increased conflict. Results showed evidence of decreases in responsiveness in brain areas associated with attentional control for the older group. This result suggests that older people may have decreases in their ability to utilize attentional control in their everyday lives.

'''A major contributor to age-related decreased attentional control includes the weight of the brain. Several studies conclude that the brain experiences rapid weight loss after the age of 60. This loss of brain weight results from a decrease in cerebral white matter and gray matter. White matter is the area in the brain responsible for exchanging information between gray matter areas. Gray matter tissue in the central nervous system enables individuals to interact with the world and carry out highly skilled functions. Studies reveal that individuals who engage in physical activity increase the cortical volume of gray matter later in life, preventing age-related atrophy and promoting attentional control. However, because most individuals' brains undergo pathological changes after the age of 80 or develop cardiac disease, neuron loss occurs and the brain volume decreases. '''

Relevance to mental illness
Studies have shown that there is a high probability that those with low attentional control also experience other mental conditions. Low attentional control is more common among those with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), "a disorder with persistent age-inappropriate symptoms of inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity that are sufficient to cause impairment in major life activities". Low attentional control is also common in individuals with schizophrenia and Alzheimer's disease, those with social anxiety, trait anxiety, and depression, and attention difficulties following a stroke. Individuals respond quicker and have stronger overall executive control when they have low levels of anxiety and depression. Weak attentional control is also thought to increase chances of developing a psychopathological condition, '''as these individuals have disrupted threat processing and magnified emotional responses to threat. ''' More researchers are accounting for attentional control in studies that might not necessarily focus on attention by having participants fill out an Attentional Control Scale (ACS) or a Cognitive Attentional Syndrome-1 (CAS1), both of which are self-reporting questionnaires that measure attentional focus and shifting. Researchers suggest that people should use experimental and longitudinal designs to address the relationship between ACS, emotional functioning, CAS, and attention to threat. This is due to the increasing problematic occurrences experts are seeing in the field regarding attentional control in relation to other mental illnesses.

Attention problems are also characteristic of anxiety disorders like PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder). '''A recent review revealed that 61.2% of current studies found that participants who experienced PTSD suffered from significant attentional control problems. These problems caused by PTSD can lead to the development of an attentional bias, which causes a person to process''' emotionally negative information preferentially over emotionally positive information. '''Patients who suffer from PTSD commonly struggle to concentrate on certain tasks for longer periods of time, allowing intrusive thoughts to override their current focus. This interference can be caused by many different factors, but it is most commonly triggered by emotional cues, particularly the emotion of fear. Attention is considered a gateway function to advanced cognitive processes such as memory and learning, and attentional interference can cause such cognitive processes to decrease.  In recent years, attentional control therapies have been used to improve attentional control in patients who suffer from PTSD. More recently, yoga and meditation were found to positivity affect attentional control in patients who have experienced PTSD. '''

Lead
Attentional control, colloquially referred to as concentration, refers to an individual's capacity to choose what they pay attention to and what they ignore. It is also known as endogenous attention or executive attention. In lay terms, attentional control can be described as an individual's ability to concentrate. Primarily mediated by the frontal areas of the brain including the anterior cingulate cortex, attentional control is thought to be closely related to other executive functions such as working memory.

Article body
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