How Does the Brain Afford to Pay Attention?

How Does the Brain Afford to Pay Attention?

Attention is a phenomenon that takes place when our brains fire neurons in a particular region reinforcing a particular idea, concept, or object. An article titled, “Brain regions ‘tune’ activity to enable attention,” by Michael C. Purdy describes how the brain selectively attends to a certain stimulus. Purdy states, “If areas of the brain involved in detecting a stimulus are at maximum excitability, you would be much more likely to notice the stimulus.” Because the stimulus of interest is emphasized in the brain, it remains a subject of focus, which enables one to remain attentive to it, and ignore the other stimuli that are present. In The Ravenous Brain by Daniel Bor, these neurons are directed based on a competition between the various information the brain receives. An example Bor uses regards a fearing stimuli that is consistently being paid attention to. Bor states, “If you’ve experienced fear of wasps, and one is buzzing around, anything remotely wasp-like suddenly is mistaken for a wasp….the neurons relevant to the details of a wasp are so active that these primed neurons are latching onto any tiny hint of it.” With that said, the fear of wasps is constantly being strengthened by the repetitive firing of neurons pertaining to that particular stimulus, and the competition of focus is that which will win the “battle,” so to speak. Furthermore, any similar buzz-sound or any insect that is present and flapping its wings may trigger the same firing neurons, for they are considered related and significant for that situation.

Another example to better explain this occurrence would be at a venue where many people are present and it’s raining. Let’s say you are looking for a friend that had a bright yellow umbrella. The stimulus you are looking for, (the yellow umbrella), will be the primary focus of interest and you would ignore anything that is not relative to this. This is because the brain would focus on anything that may appear as a potential yellow umbrella. It is almost as though the object you are looking for is magnified or exaggerated, or “more vivid” in Bor’s terms. Purdy describes this event as “excitability” in the parts of the brain associated with the certain item of concentration. Additionally, the other information the brain processes is not paid attention to because the brain will “ignore irrelevant sensory stimuli” according to Purdy. Only neurons that relate to or concern the stimulus that is capturing your concentration will be those that are then in your attention and everything else is overlooked or unnoticed. Both Purdy and Bor explain this event similarly in respects to the way in which the brain fires neurons to a specific region, an area that affects a specific thought, idea, or object.

Bor, D. (2012). Pay Attention to that Pattern! In The ravenous brain: How the new science of consciousness explains our insatiable search for meaning (p. 124). New York: Basic Books.

Washington University in St. Louis. (2014, January 16). Brain regions ‘tune’ activity to enable attention. ScienceDaily. Retrieved October 6, 2014 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/01/140116084844.htm