Completing tasks amidst various distractions can feel like a battle of willpower. However, researchers have discovered that it’s not just the individual, but the brain itself that controls this process and keeps us on track—or at least tries to.
Focus Works Better in Some Brains
Neurobiologists have uncovered how “visual motion” neurons located in the front of our brains can guide us in the right direction. Thanks to these neurons, individuals can concentrate on the task at hand, regardless of how enticing short-term distractions may be.
According to the senior author of the study, Professor of Neurosurgery Bijan Pesaran, their research indicates that while all brains have the ability to focus on beneficial tasks and filter out distractions, some do this more effectively than others. By understanding how our brains process reward stimuli, we can hope to gain insights into why this ability falters in various cognitive and mental disorders, including attention deficit disorder, schizophrenia, and obsessive-compulsive disorder.
Coordinated “Beta Bursts” Enhance Focus
In animal models, scientists found that a set of neurons in the brain region responsible for motivation and reward activates to maintain focus on the primary task while blocking out other distracting stimuli. This coordinated neural activity, or “beta bursts,” in top-down cognitive function appears to be a key mechanism that allows humans and large mammals (including many primates) to tune out the “noise” to accomplish important tasks.
While this is preliminary research, it already marks a significant step forward in understanding how our brains help us prioritize tasks. It may also provide insights into how to better target focus-related issues in neurodiverse brains.