Dorsal Attention Network (DAN)

Dorsal attention network (DAN) — one of several highly interconnected brain networks — primarily consists of the frontal eye fields (FEF) and part of the parietal lobe. Primarily a voluntary, top-down attention process, it’s responsible for directing/maintaining focus on the most relevant external sensory information at a given moment (cognitive control and selective attention). This includes visual spatial attention tasks. DAN is activated when there’s a need to deliberately focus on something specific, like reading a sentence, searching for a particular person or object, or tracking a moving target. Studies show altered DAN connectivity in both ADHD and autism. Also see: Ventral Attention Network (VAN)