Brain Distractions: Genetic, Environmental Factors Play a Role

First Posted: Apr 18, 2014 12:01 PM EDT
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A new brain-related discovery could potentially revolutionize the way doctor's treat attention-deficit disorders.

As an estimated 5 percent of children in the United States are believed to suffer from Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, according to the American Psychiatric Association, scientists examined how certain environmental and/or genetic factors may dramatically hinder the brain's ability to prevent distraction.

Researchers from Simon Fraser University have conducted the first study that shows how our brains rely on an active suppression mechanism to avoid distraction when we need to focus.

"This is an important discovery for neuroscientists and psychologists because most contemporary ideas of attention highlight brain processes that are involved in picking out relevant objects from the visual field. It's like finding Waldo in a Where's Waldo illustration," said lead study author John Gaspar, who made the discovery during his master's thesis research, via a press release. "Our results show clearly that this is only one part of the equation and that active suppression of the irrelevant objects is another important part."

For the study, researchers conducted three experiments that monitored the performance of 47 students in attention-demanding visual tasks, with the mean age of participants 21. Various neural processes were examined, including attention, distraction and suppression, all through the recording of electrical brain signals via embedded sensors in a cap that each individual wore.

Specifically examining how certain consumer devices can disrupt learning, thinking and understanding in a technology-driven society, scientists hope to better understand how to treat distraction-related attentional deficits.

"Distraction is a leading cause of injury and death in driving and other high-stakes environments," notes John McDonald, the study's senior author, via the release. "There are individual differences in the ability to deal with distraction. New electronic products are designed to grab attention. Suppressing such signals takes effort, and sometimes people can't seem to do it.

"Moreover, disorders associated with attention deficits, such as ADHD and schizophrenia, may turn out to be due to difficulties in suppressing irrelevant objects rather than difficulty selecting relevant ones."

Researchers hope to conduct further studies in order to determine how certain devices distract some more than others and why women seem to be better at performing certain visual attentional tasks than men. 

More information regarding the findings can be seen via the Journal of Neuroscience

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