Higher cortical functions: attention and vigilance.

The ability to sustain attention over time (vigilance) is a cognitive function that often is impaired in patients with psychiatric disorders. Attention has been found to be disordered in a number of psychiatric conditions, including attention deficit disorder, schizophrenia, antisocial personality disorder, and the impulse control disorders. Less widely known is the finding that attention also is affected in patients suffering from anxiety disorders, posttraumatic stress disorder, mood disorders, and borderline personality disorder.In this article, the significance of attention deficits with regard to the mood disorders, anxiety disorders, posttraumatic stress disorder, and borderline personality disorder, is described.