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What happens in your brain when you pay attention? | Mehdi Ordikhani-Seyedlar
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What happens in your brain when you pay attention? | Mehdi Ordikhani-Seyedlar

Understanding Attention: Overt vs. Covert

The Complexity of Attention

  • Paying attention is challenging due to the multitude of distractions; it involves not just focusing on specific information but also filtering out irrelevant data.

Types of Attention

  • There are two primary ways to direct attention:
  • Overt Attention: Involves moving your eyes towards an object to focus on it.
  • Covert Attention: Focuses on something without eye movement, such as scanning surroundings while driving.

Brain Patterns and Cognitive Interfaces

  • The speaker, a computational neuroscientist, studies cognitive brain-machine interfaces that connect brain activity with computer models to assess brain function.
  • Accurate brain patterns are crucial for developing effective therapies; incorrect patterns can lead to ineffective treatments.

Investigating Brainwave Patterns

Experimental Setup

  • An experiment was designed using two flickering squares at different rates to analyze brain signals based on overt and covert attention.

Observations from Overt Attention

  • When participants focused directly on one square, their brain signals reflected the flickering rate from the visual processing area at the back of the head.

Insights into Covert Attention

  • Participants were instructed to look at the center of the screen while paying attention covertly. Both flickering rates appeared in their signals, but only the attended square showed stronger activation.

The Role of Frontal Brain Areas

Filtering Mechanism in the Brain

  • The frontal part of the brain acts as a filter for information, allowing only relevant stimuli (the attended flicker) while inhibiting distractions (the ignored flicker).

Implications for ADHD

  • Individuals with ADHD struggle with this filtering ability, making it difficult for them to concentrate on tasks due to inability to inhibit distractors.

Potential Applications of Cognitive Interfaces

Training and Rehabilitation Possibilities

  • Cognitive brain-machine interfaces could help individuals with ADHD train their brains to better manage distractions through interactive games.

Personal Reflection and Future Aspirations

Channel: TED
Video description

Attention isn't just about what we focus on -- it's also about what our brains filter out. By investigating patterns in the brain as people try to focus, computational neuroscientist Mehdi Ordikhani-Seyedlar hopes to build computer models that can be used to treat ADHD and help those who have lost the ability to communicate. Hear more about this exciting science in this brief, fascinating talk. The TED Talks channel features the best talks and performances from the TED Conference, where the world's leading thinkers and doers give the talk of their lives in 18 minutes (or less). Look for talks on Technology, Entertainment and Design -- plus science, business, global issues, the arts and more. Follow TED on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/TEDTalks Like TED on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TED Subscribe to our channel: https://www.youtube.com/TED