Attention in flux

Selective attention comprises essential infrastructural functions supporting cognition-anticipating, prioritizing, selecting, routing, integrating, and preparing signals to guide adaptive behavior. Most studies have examined its consequences, systems, and mechanisms in a static way, but attention is at the confluence of multiple sources of flux. The world advances, we operate within it, our minds change, and all resulting signals progress through multiple pathways within the dynamic networks of our brains. Our aim in this review is to raise awareness of and interest in three important facets of how timing impacts our understanding of attention. These include the challenges posed to attention by the timing of neural processing and psychological functions, the opportunities conferred to attention by various temporal structures in the environment, and how tracking the time courses of neural and behavioral modulations with continuous measures yields surprising insights into the workings and principles of attention.

Automated summary

Selective attention is an essential cognitive function that involves predicting, prioritizing, selecting, routing, integrating, and preparing signals to guide adaptive behavior. This review focuses on the impact of timing on attention and highlights the challenges posed by the timing of neural processing and psychological functions, the opportunities provided by temporal structures in the environment, and the insights gained from tracking the time courses of neural and behavioral modulations using continuous measures.