Attention subcortical pathways

In the relaxed state, a subject can use more pathways than in stress and anxiety.This is due to the influence of neuromodulators (norepinephrine, dopamine) from subcortical structures. They provide a highly focused activation of the really necessary pathways by increasing both the glutamate and the GABA effects, the norepinephrine in the sensory areas, the dopamine in the frontal areas.The reduction of the linear part of the stimulus-response pathway by norepinephrine would mean faster reaction times, without thinking too much .The high attention would fade out the extra pathways and concentrate on short emergency pathways . 

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