The ventral attention network (VAN) is one of two sensory orienting systems in the human brain, the other being the dorsal attention network

Dorsal attention network

The dorsal attention network is one of two sensory orienting systems in the human brain, the other being the ventral attention network. It is involved in voluntary orienting and shows activity increases after presentation of cues indicating where, when, or to what subjects should direct their...

. Its main function is to reorient attention towards salient stimuli. The VAN is considered to be involved mostly, if not entirely, in involuntary actions. The neural network is right hemisphere lateralized and includes the right temporal-parietal junction and the right ventral frontal cortex. This system shows activity increases upon detection of salient targets, especially when they appear in unexpected locations. Activity increases also are observed in the ventral system after abrupt changes in sensory stimuli, at the onset and offset of task blocks, and at the end of a completed trial.

The ventral attention network is one of several low frequency resting state networks in the brain. The others include the dorsal attention network and the default network

Default network

The default network is a network of brain regions that are active when the individual is not focused on the outside world and the brain is at wakeful rest. Also called the default mode network , default state network, or task-negative network , it is characterized by coherent neuronal oscillations...

.