Focus
<p ><b>Attention</b> is the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cognitive_process" title="Cognitive process" class="mw-redirect" >cognitive process</a> of selectively concentrating on one aspect of the environment while ignoring other things. Attention has also been referred to as the allocation of processing resources.<sup id="cite_ref-0" class="reference" ><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Focus_(cognitive_process)#cite_note-0" >[1]</a></sup>
Examples include listening carefully to what someone is saying while ignoring other conversations in a room (the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cocktail_party_effect" title="Cocktail party effect" >cocktail party effect</a>) or listening to a cell phone conversation while driving a car.<sup id="cite_ref-1" class="reference" ><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Focus_(cognitive_process)#cite_note-1" >[2]</a></sup> Attention is one of the most intensely studied topics within <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychology" title="Psychology" >psychology</a> and<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cognitive_neuroscience" title="Cognitive neuroscience" >cognitive neuroscience</a>.
In 1890, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_James" title="William James" >William James</a>, in his textbook <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Principles_of_Psychology" title="Principles of Psychology" >Principles of Psychology</a></i>, remarked:</p>
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<td valign="top" ><i>Everyone knows what attention is. It is the taking possession by the mind, in clear and vivid form, of one out of what seem several simultaneously possible objects or trains of thought. Focalization, concentration, of consciousness are of its essence. It implies withdrawal from some things in order to deal effectively with others, and is a condition which has a real opposite in the confused, dazed, scatterbrained state which in French is called distraction, and Zerstreutheit in German.</i><sup id="cite_ref-2" class="reference" ><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Focus_(cognitive_process)#cite_note-2" >[3]</a></sup></td>
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<p >Attention remains a major area of investigation within <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Education" title="Education" >education</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychology" title="Psychology" >psychology</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neuroscience" title="Neuroscience" >neuroscience</a>. Areas of active investigation involve determining the source of the signals that generate attention, the effects of these signals on the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neuronal_tuning" title="Neuronal tuning" >tuning</a> properties of sensory <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neurons" title="Neurons" class="mw-redirect" >neurons</a>, and the relationship between attention and other cognitive processes like <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Working_memory" title="Working memory" >working memory</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vigilance_(psychology)" title="Vigilance (psychology)" >vigilance</a>. A relatively new body of research is investigating the phenomenon of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traumatic_brain_injuries" title="Traumatic brain injuries" class="mw-redirect" >traumatic brain injuries</a> and their effects on attention.</p>