Summary

Given that human cognition occurs at varying time scales, ranging from a millisecond level to days and years, it is crucial to investigate and better understand the temporal dynamics of cognition. Within these larger processes, I focus on attention, which as we know it, has a key role in the allocation of cognitive processes to the incoming information. As the events in our environment unfold in time, our attentional system does not enable us to attend them at all times, but rather vary in order to optimize the selection by limiting it to a particular time. In my thesis, I aim to explore these time related constraints and the time-course of auditory attention by employing different tools and paradigms. I try to challenge these temporal constraints on attention during auditory information processing by exploring other factors, which may or may not have a role in this relationship. My presentation during this midway evaluation will be mainly based on the empirical findings of my auditory attentional blink study, where I asked the question of whether these temporal limits be could altered when the events are related to our domain of expertise. I will discuss my findings based on the complex relationship between attention, memory, and expertise under the experimental temporal constraints, and draw links to some of the theoretical accounts to explain this phenomenon, as well as other potential explanations of my results ranging from evolutionary perspectives to aspects relating to the experimental setting.