[Subcategories of Attention Function and Its Assessment Methods].

Abstract

The subcategories of attention function have various classification methods. In this section, we have listed subcategories that are easily applicable to neuropsychology, namely selective, sustained, spatial, and divided attention, attentional inhibition, and attention shifting. Among them, selective attention is a function excluding unnecessary information from a myriad of data while selecting essential information. Sustained attention, in contrast, is a function directing attention to information over a certain period and maintaining it during task execution, are the two basic subfunctions in attention. Attentional inhibition, divided attention, and attention shifting are regarded as attentional control functions or executive control of attention, which are closely related with working memory and executive function. However, there is also an overlap observed among these subfunctions. Since our cognitive activities are intertwined with attention functions, it is challenging to purely extract specific attention functions.