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posted by chromas on Wednesday June 19 2019, @10:22PM   Printer-friendly
from the pay-no-attention-to-the-man-behind-the-scream dept.

Submitted via IRC for Bytram

How we tune out distractions

In a 2015 paper, [assistant professor Michael] Halassa and his colleagues explored how attention can be consciously shifted between different types of sensory input, by training mice to switch their focus between a visual and auditory cue. They found that during this task, mice suppress the competing sensory input, allowing them to focus on the cue that will earn them a reward.

This process appeared to originate in the prefrontal cortex (PFC), which is critical for complex cognitive behavior such as planning and decision-making. The researchers also found that a part of the thalamus that processes vision was inhibited when the animals were focusing on sound cues. However, there are no direct physical connections from the prefrontal cortex to the sensory thalamus, so it was unclear exactly how the PFC was exerting this control, Halassa says.

In the new study, the researchers again trained mice to switch their attention between visual and auditory stimuli, then mapped the brain connections that were involved. They first examined the outputs of the PFC that were essential for this task, by systematically inhibiting PFC projection terminals in every target. This allowed them to discover that the PFC connection to a brain region known as the striatum is necessary to suppress visual input when the animals are paying attention to the auditory cue.

[...] Using a similar experimental setup, the researchers also identified a parallel circuit that suppresses auditory input when animals pay attention to the visual cue. In that case, the circuit travels through parts of the striatum and thalamus that are associated with processing sound, rather than vision.

The findings offer some of the first evidence that the basal ganglia, which are known to be critical for planning movement, also play a role in controlling attention, Halassa says.

[...] The researchers also found that the same circuits are employed not only for switching between different types of sensory input such as visual and auditory stimuli, but also for suppressing distracting input within the same sense — for example, blocking out background noise while focusing on one person’s voice.


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  • (Score: 2) by krishnoid on Wednesday June 19 2019, @11:55PM (1 child)

    by krishnoid (1156) on Wednesday June 19 2019, @11:55PM (#857671)

    So sad they no longer sell this wonderful device [thinkgeek.com].

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  • (Score: 2) by Gaaark on Wednesday June 19 2019, @11:59PM

    by Gaaark (41) on Wednesday June 19 2019, @11:59PM (#857674) Journal

    Awww, you ruined the whole 'ignore' joke!

    ;)

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