Attention and processing

There are two types of processing: top-down and bottom-up control. Top-down processing is when the brain communicates to the organ based on previous experience. Bottom-up processing is the opposite, when information from the environment is relayed to the brain. The concept of attention is preferential processing of a subset of information from the environment. Endogenous attention is voluntary, top-down control that can be sustained over long periods of time. The main brain region involved is the frontoparietal networks. Exogenous attention is reflexive, bottom-up processing which ir rapid but quickly fades. It primarily uses modality-specific brain areas, such as the primary visual cortex or auditory cortex.