ACTUALIZACION POR TEMAS
La atencién selectiva I: teorias,
estructuras cerebrales, y mecanismos
neuroquimicos implicados
Sergio Meneses Ortega*
‘Simén Brailowsky Klipstein™
‘Summary
In order that the central nervous system (CNS) processes.
the baggage of sensory information fo which itis constantly
‘exposed 2 selection of the information must be made. The
brain processes that make this possible is called selective
In this review, we describe the distinct stages involved in
the evolution of dur concept of selective attention. intially, for
‘some time, this concept was ignored. This oblivion was due,
in pan, to the dominant influence of behavioral psychology
‘The description in 1949 of the arousal reaction produced by
lectrical stimulation of the relicular formation of the brain
stem changed this appraisal. And more recently, with the
advent of techniques allowing higher temporal and spall
levant signals must be excluded from the analysis in order to
‘attend to the meaningful messages. Information processing
theories attribute a different location in the CNS, where the
‘main selection of information takes place. Some theories
‘emphasize the very fine sensory relays as being the most
Important in the process of selecting relevant information
Other thoories suggest that during the processing of
information, different types of associations are established
‘according to a specific hierarchy. In this manner, selection
Tevels,
{formation takes place, various schools of thought have evol-
‘ved. There are advocates of the localizationism, globalism or
antlocalizationism, while others suggest the existence of a
funcional hierarchy ora link between distributed systems. The
latter derives trom Hebb's concept of neuronal assemblies,
“which eventually was incorporated in Mountcaste's definition
‘of medules of information processing
Using imaging techniques in patients with localized lesions,
‘or in animal models, it as been possible to determine brain
rogions participating in attentional processes. Regions with im-
= Fscutad de Pstcologia, UNAM e Instituto de Neuroclencias. Univer.
siied de Guadalajara. Calle Del ayo 261, Col. Jardines de! Bosauo
‘4820, Guadaiajra, Jal
* Instituto de Fisiologia Coluler. Departamento de Neurociencas, Uni-
versidag Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, 04610 Mesico, DF.
portant interconnectvity withthe brain stem, diencephalon and
pathways
Suggested that cognitive functions are constituted by en-
Ssenibles of elementary operations occurring at defined brain
levels.
1h order to determine neurochemical mechanisms involved
Containing these molecules display variations in the levels of
activation associated with various levels of arousal, or with
the application of sensory stimul. Thus, the locus coorvieus,
a noradrenergic nucleus with widespread projections to the
‘cerebral cortex, has been associated with changes in cortical
“signal-to-noise” rato allowing the solection of relevant stimuli
‘among many signals from the background. Moreover, @
‘lationship has been established between catecholaminergic
systems and pathology. In addition, tls possible to induce
attentional deficits lesioning these systems.
In the second part of this review we will describe elec-
trophysiological correlates of selective attention. We wi
address studies using recordings of evoked potentias, unitary
‘activity and otoacustic response, and wil refer to the most
{frequent attentional alterations im man: hemi-inattention,
learning disabilties, and epileptic absences.
Resumen
Para que ol sistema nervioso central (SNC) pueda proce-
‘sar la gran cantidad de informacion sensorial a la cual esta
‘Duestoconstantemente, debe efectuarse una seleccion de
Informacion. Los procesos cerebrales que hacen posible
‘selaccin se conocen come afencian selectiva,
‘En esta revision describimes las distintas etapas por las
‘que ha transcurrido el concepto de atencién selectiva.Inicial-
mente, este concepto fue ignorado duranie algun tiempo Este
‘lvido se debid, en parte, a Ia influencia dominante del andii-
sis experimental de la conducta. Esta situacion cambi6 con
la deseripcion, en 1949, de la reaccion de alertamiento pro-
‘ducida por la estimulacién eléctrica de la formactén reticular
del tallo cerebral. Recienternente, con la legada de técnicas
‘que permiten evaluar el funcionamiento del sistema nervioso
‘con una alta resolucion temporal y espacial el estudio detas
funciones cerebrales, en general, yde los procesos cognos-
citivos, en particular, ha cobrado un nuevo impulso.
Con base on las teorias del procesamiento de informacién,
‘sehan propuesto varios modelos para explicar como se.efec-
Salucl Mental V. 18, No. 3, septiembre do 1995tua la seleccién teorlas del“.
{to" proponen que las sefales irelevantes deben ser exclu
das del andlisis con el fin de atender los mensajes de interés.
Estas teorias cifteren en el nivel del SNG, en el que ocurre a
seleccion de Ia informacion. En un caso se propone que la se-
leceion de informacion importante ocutre en los primeros re-
levos de la via sensorial. Otras teorlas sugieren que durante
el procesamento de informacién se establecen diferentes t-
jerdo con una jerarquia especif-
‘cabo en dite-
‘Se han dasarrollado varias lineas de pensamiento que bus-
can el sito en el cual ocurre la seleccién de informacion. Hay
Sefensores de las teorias lecalizacionistas, globalistas 0
antilocaizacionistas, mientras que otros propanen {a existen-
{ia de una jerarquia funcional o de sistomas distibuidos. Esta
‘ima idea deriva del concepto de ensamble neuronal pro-
puesto por Hebb, el cual fue incorperado en la definicion de
Mountcastie de los médulos de procesamiento de informa:
len
Empleando técnicas de imagenologia en pacientes con le-
siones localizadas o en modelos animales, ha sido posible