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Sustained Attention

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Encyclopedia of Psychopharmacology
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Vigilance

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Sustained attention is the capacity to maintain attention over time on repetitive tasks. It is the need for continuous allocation of processing resources that distinguishes vigilance from other forms of attention, such as divided or selective attention. In humans and other animals, under normal conditions, deficits in sustained attention emerge during “boring” and/or routine activities, especially in situations of low event rate.

Cross-References

Attention

Attention Deficit and Disruptive Behavior Disorders

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© 2010 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Bari, A. (2010). Sustained Attention. In: Stolerman, I.P. (eds) Encyclopedia of Psychopharmacology. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-68706-1_437

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