The DOI matches its Crossref record; 85 of the 86 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
The Attention System of the Human Brain: 20 Years After
Open accessAbstract
Here, we update our 1990 Annual Review of Neuroscience article, “The Attention System of the Human Brain.” The framework presented in the original article has helped to integrate behavioral, systems, cellular, and molecular approaches to common problems in attention research. Our framework has been both elaborated and expanded in subsequent years. Research on orienting and executive functions has supported the addition of new networks of brain regions. Developmental studies have shown important changes in control systems between infancy and childhood. In some cases, evidence has supported the role of specific genetic variations, often in conjunction with experience, that account for some of the individual differences in the efficiency of attentional networks. The findings have led to increased understanding of aspects of pathology and to some new interventions.
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“The cost of this subjective detachment appears to be a disruption of mental functions that are crucial to the development of identity, self-control, and emotion regulation [1, 16, 36, 37, 116].”
From Dissociation and Alterations in Brain Function and Structure: Implications for Borderline Personality Disorder (2017) · cites this paper as [36]
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredThe source backs part of the claim, not all of it — or backs it for a different population, condition or comparison.
In the citing paper
“before engaging in cognitive activities, learners go through a stage of attention, which consists of three subsystems: the orienting, detecting/executive, and alerting systems (Petersen & Posner, 2012; Posner & Boies, 1971; Posner & Petersen, 1990).”
From University students' Motivated Attention and use of regulation strategies on social media (2015) · cites this paper as Petersen & Posner, 2012
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredThe source backs part of the claim, not all of it — or backs it for a different population, condition or comparison.
In the citing paper
“Petersen and Posner (2012) called the executive process focal attention and noted that it is the pathway to the cognitive activities.”
From University students' Motivated Attention and use of regulation strategies on social media (2015) · cites this paper as Petersen & Posner, 2012
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredThe cited source says what the claim attributes to it.
In the citing paper
“The regulation of this reactivity through attention is associated with three functionally, anatomically, and neurochemically distinct networks of attention in the brain: the alerting, orienting, and executive systems”
From School Readiness and Self-Regulation: A Developmental Psychobiological Approach (2015) · cites this paper as Petersen & Posner 2012
The cited source says what the claim attributes to it.
In the citing paper
“From a cognitive point of view, attention includes three subsystems: (a) The executive control system selects the target information for further processing, (b) the orienting system directs learners' attention to sensory stimuli, and (c) the alerting system keeps learners alert and vigilant for priority events.”
From The indirect relationship of media multitasking self-efficacy on learning performance within the personal learning environment: Implications from the mechanism of perceived attention problems and self-regulation strategies (2017) · cites this paper as Petersen & Posner, 2012
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In the citing paper
“First, conceptually, in the dominant model of attention, the executive attention network is defined as similarly to common EF, as involving task set maintenance to provide top–down control supporting resolution of competition between response options (Posner and Petersen, 1990; Petersen and Posner, 2012).”
From Advancing understanding of executive function impairments and psychopathology: bridging the gap between clinical and cognitive approaches (2015) · cites this paper as Petersen and Posner, 2012
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In the citing paper
“One significant factor that can affect inhibitory control is alertness [20]”
From The rollercoaster of obsessive-compulsive disorder: How chronotype and time of day affect behavioral inhibition in adults with OCD (2025) · cites this paper as [20]
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredThe check wasn’t confident either way, so it gives no verdict — never disputed.
In the citing paper
“Dissociation is thought to interfere with a coherent encoding of salient events [35–37], leading to a fragmentation (compartmentalization) of memory”
From Dissociation and Alterations in Brain Function and Structure: Implications for Borderline Personality Disorder (2017) · cites this paper as [36]
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredIn the citing paper
“Posner and Petersen (1990; 2012) conceptualized attention as consisting of three functionally independent attentional networks, which are responsible for a distinct set of cognitive processes: the alerting, orienting, and executive control networks.”
From Atypical attentional networks and the emergence of autism (2013) · cites this paper as Petersen & Posner, 2012
In the citing paper
“Our behavioral measure of EF entailed multiple attention and memory-related functions which may be more strongly related to a broader network centered on the dorsolateral PFC (Petersen & Posner, 2012).”
From Family-based care buffers the stress sensitizing effect of early deprivation on executive functioning difficulties in adolescence (2023) · cites this paper as Petersen & Posner, 2012
In the citing paper
“The third is attentional arousal (or vigilance), which is anchored in ascending noradrenergic neural systems7 and closely related to earlier ADHD-related proposals of arousal, activation, and gain efficiency, as well as to components of response-time variability.10 It is perhaps the most enduring cognitive mediator proposed for ADHD.11–13”
From Working Memory and Vigilance as Multivariate Endophenotypes Related to Common Genetic Risk for Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (2018) · cites this paper as [7]
In the citing paper
“Neuroimaging studies show that the brain regions involved in attention control mainly include the ACC, the adjacent PFC, and the striatum/basal ganglia [13].”
From A translational neuroscience perspective on mindfulness meditation as a prevention strategy (2016) · cites this paper as [13]
In the citing paper
“Alertness is also an essential permissive signal for the orienting and executive aspects of attention (Robbins, 1997; Harris and Thiele, 2011; Petersen and Posner, 2012)”
From Ancestral Circuits for the Coordinated Modulation of Brain State (2017) · cites this paper as Petersen and Posner, 2012
In the citing paper
“Posner's model of attention, which is widely accepted and, crucially, has itself been validated across different units of analysis [68-72].”
From Advancing the study of sluggish cognitive tempo via DSM, RDoC, and hierarchical models of psychopathology (2019) · cites this paper as [70]
In the citing paper
“Within this model, alerting, orienting, and executive control networks carry out different functions that involve different brain structures and neurotransmitters [68-72].”
From Advancing the study of sluggish cognitive tempo via DSM, RDoC, and hierarchical models of psychopathology (2019) · cites this paper as [70]
In the citing paper
“Similar to the vagus nerve, the trigeminal conveys sensory inputs from skin, muscles, and skull to extensive connections within the locus coeruleus, reticular activating system, and nucleus tractus solitarius,12 regions involved in selective maintenance of attention.13”
From Double-blind, sham-controlled, pilot study of trigeminal nerve stimulation for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (2019) · cites this paper as [13]
In the citing paper
“These include automatic salience evaluation, [ 4 9 8 _ T D $ D I F F ] inhibition/interruption of ongoing activity[ 4 9 9 _ T D $ D I F F ] , alerting, salience-driven switching, and reflexive orienting [40,43,47,48].”
From Anxiety and Threat-Related Attention: Cognitive-Motivational Framework and Treatment (2018) · cites this paper as [40]
In the citing paper
“For example, individual differences in executive attention control are related to variables such as education experience and dopamine genes; and individual differences in alerting have been linked with function of the noradrenaline neurotransmitter system (Petersen & Posner, 2012;Posner & Fan, 2008;Posner & Rothbart, 2005).”
From Anxiety and attention to threat: cognitive mechanisms and treatment with attention bias modification (2016) · cites this paper as Petersen & Posner, 2012
In the citing paper
“Guided by their review of cognitive neuroscience research findings, Petersen and Posner (2012) updated their 1990 attention model and identified five networks: an alerting network, two orienting networks and two executive control networks.”
From Anxiety and attention to threat: cognitive mechanisms and treatment with attention bias modification (2016) · cites this paper as Petersen & Posner, 2012
In the citing paper
“Another advantage is that recent models of attention no longer uphold the distinction between separate shifting, engagement and disengagement components of orienting (Posner & Fan, 2008) and distinguish between bottom-up and topdown influences on orienting (Corbetta & Shulman, 2002;Petersen & Posner, 2012).”
From Anxiety and attention to threat: cognitive mechanisms and treatment with attention bias modification (2016) · cites this paper as Petersen & Posner, 2012
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Citations
Cites
Control of goal-directed and stimulus-driven attention in the brain
Corbetta, M., & Shulman, G. L. (2002) · Nature Reviews Neuroscience · doi:10.1038/nrn755 · Cited by 12,881
Neural Mechanisms of Selective Visual Attention
Desimone, R., & Duncan, J. (1995) · Annual Review of Neuroscience · doi:10.1146/annurev.ne.18.030195.001205 · Cited by 8,388
The attention system of the human brain
Posner, M. I., & Petersen, S. E. (1990) · Annual Review of Neuroscience · doi:10.1146/annurev.ne.13.030190.000325 · Cited by 8,070 · cited 1×
“The most unique aspect of our original article, which separated it from the many excellent summaries of the attention literature appearing in the Annual Review of Neuroscience in the years since, is the discrete anatomical basis of the attention system: divided into three networks, each…”
BackgroundSelf-citationConflict monitoring and cognitive control
Botvinick, M. M., Braver, T. S., Barch, D. M., Carter, C. S., & Cohen, J. D. (2001) · Psychological Review · doi:10.1037/0033-295x.108.3.624 · Cited by 7,351
Cognitive and emotional influences in anterior cingulate cortex
Bush, G., Luu, P., & Posner, M. I. (2000) · Trends in Cognitive Sciences · doi:10.1016/s1364-6613(00)01483-2 · Cited by 6,259
Self-citationAston-Jones, G., & Cohen, J. D. (2005) · Annual Review of Neuroscience · doi:10.1146/annurev.neuro.28.061604.135709 · Cited by 4,472
Brain stem reticular formation and activation of the EEG
Moruzzi, G., & Magoun, H. W. (1949) · Electroencephalography and Clinical Neurophysiology · doi:10.1016/0013-4694(49)90219-9 · Cited by 4,307
Functional Network Organization of the Human Brain
Power, J. D., Cohen, A. L., Nelson, S. M., Wig, G. S., Barnes, K. A., Church, J. A., Vogel, A. C., Laumann, T. O., Miezin, F. M., Schlaggar, B. L., et al. (2011) · Neuron · doi:10.1016/j.neuron.2011.09.006 · Cited by 4,124
Self-citationDoes Rejection Hurt? An fMRI Study of Social Exclusion
Eisenberger, N. I., Lieberman, M. D., & Williams, K. D. (2003) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.1089134 · Cited by 3,849 · cited 2×
“…found in the medial frontal/anterior cingulate in such diverse operations as perception of either physical (Rainville et al. 1997) or social (Eisenberger et al. 2003) pain, processing of reward (Hampton & O’Doherty 2007), monitoring or resolution of conflict (Botvinick et al. 2001), error…”
BackgroundMethod(2002) · Cited by 3,806
Flagged first, then by citations
1 of the 86 references couldn’t be matched to a known paper.
Research works printed but not linked: 5
- 10.1037//0033-295X.108.3.624 · DOI · Paper page
- Carter CS, Krug MK. 2012. Dynamic cognitive control and frontal-cingulate interactions. See Posner 2012b, pp. 89–98
- 10.1037//0033-295X.87.3.272 · DOI
- Marrocco RT, 1998, The Attentive Brain, 35
- Shulman GL, Corbetta M. 2012. Two attentional networks: identification and function within a larger cognitive architecture. See Posner 2012b, pp. 113–27
Cited by
Sorted by citations
The Neuroscience of Mindfulness Meditation
Tang, Y.-Y., Hölzel, B. K., & Posner, M. I. (2015) · Nature reviews. Neuroscience · doi:10.1038/nrn3916 · Cited by 2,889
Self-citationThe role of the posterior cingulate cortex in cognition and disease
Leech, R., & Sharp, D. J. (2014) · Brain · doi:10.1093/brain/awt162 · Cited by 2,247
Precision Functional Mapping of Individual Human Brains
Gordon, E. M., Laumann, T. O., Gilmore, A. W., Newbold, D. J., Greene, D. J., Berg, J. J., Ortega, M., Hoyt-Drazen, C., Gratton, C., Sun, H., et al. (2017) · Neuron · doi:10.1016/j.neuron.2017.07.011 · Cited by 1,335
Self-citationNigg, J. T. (2017) · Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry · doi:10.1111/jcpp.12675 · Cited by 1,518
School Readiness and Self-Regulation: A Developmental Psychobiological Approach
Blair, C., & Raver, C. C. (2015) · Annual Review of Psychology · doi:10.1146/annurev-psych-010814-015221 · Cited by 1,240
Metadata
- Authors
- Petersen, S. E., & Posner, M. I.
- Affiliations
- Washington University in St. Louis (US)
- University of Oregon (US)
- Venue
- Annual Review of Neuroscience
- Publisher
- Annual Reviews
- Published
- 2012-07-21
- Volume
- 35
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 73-89
- ISSN
- 0147-006X (ISSN-L)
- 1545-4126
- PMC
- PMC3413263
- OpenAlex
- W2121049815
- Cited by
- 3,439
- References
- 86
- Citations by year
- 2026: 227 · 2025: 278 · 2024: 294 · 2023: 289 · 2022: 263 · 2021: 318 · 2020: 300 · 2019: 249 · 2018: 254 · 2017: 277 · 2016: 214 · 2015: 203 · 2014: 164 · 2013: 85 · 2012: 21
- FWCI
- 11.97
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Locations
- Annual Review of Neuroscience (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (acceptedVersion)
- PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
- Funders
- James S. McDonnell Foundation
- Georgia State University
- National Institutes of Health
- National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NS61144, NS32797, R21NS061144)
- Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (HD-060563, P01HD060563)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Neural and Behavioral Psychology Studies
- Physical Sciences › Computer Science › Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition › Visual Attention and Saliency Detection
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Cognitive Abilities and Testing
- Keywords
- attention, attentional networks, orienting, executive function, individual differences, genetic variation, attentional control
- MeSH terms
- Animals, Attention, Brain, Brain Mapping, Humans, Models, Neurological, Neural Pathways, Orientation, Social Control, Informal, Executive Function
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