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Orienting in normal and pathological development

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 October 2008

Mary K. Rothbart ,
Michael I. Posner  and
John Rosicky
Mary K. Rothbart*
Affiliation:
University of Oregon
Michael I. Posner
Affiliation:
University of Oregon
John Rosicky
Affiliation:
University of Oregon
*
Address correspondence and reprint requests to: Mary K. Rothbart, Department of Psychology, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR 97403.
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Abstract

The term plasticity is often confined to changes due to learning. We believe, however, that the rapid lability of human behavior as different mental contents receive attention represents an important form of plasticity. Recent research in temperament and cognitive neuroscience provides an account of the development of a specific neural system involved in attentional self-regulation. In this paper, we concentrate on a network involved in orienting. We describe what is currently known about this network and its development during the first years of life. This network interacts with other attentional networks that come to control orienting to remembered events as well as those currently present. Orienting reflects processes that are both deeply biological and also open to cultural influences through learning. Attention is influenced by the current emotional state and is also important in achieving control over the emotional state. We present evidence on how learning influences eye position between 4 and 18 months of life and indicate influences of orienting on important aspects of infant behavior. Like any biological system, problems can arise in these mechanisms. We speculate on how individual differences in distress proneness and orienting may relate to the development of psychopathology.

Type
Articles
Information
Development and Psychopathology , Volume 6 , Issue 4 , Fall 1994 , pp. 635 - 652
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1994

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