MSGID: 1:317/3 63f83d79   
   PID: hpt/lnx 1.9.0-cur 2019-01-08   
   TID: hpt/lnx 1.9.0-cur 2019-01-08   
    Trained brains rapidly suppress visual distractions    
      
     Date:   
         February 23, 2023   
     Source:   
         Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience - KNAW   
     Summary:   
         Researchers show that while strong distractions may automatically   
         capture our attention, the trained brain can rapidly suppress such   
         distractions to help us efficiently reach our goals.   
      
      
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   FULL STORY   
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   Have you ever found yourself searching for your keys or phone only to   
   end up getting distracted by a brightly colored object that grabs your   
   attention? This type of attentional capture by objects that stand out from   
   their surroundings is known as 'pop-out'. Pop-out is often functional,   
   for instance when we want people to pay attention to bright red road   
   signs. It can however also distract us from our goals, for instance   
   when a brightly colored binder prevents us from finding our keys on a   
   cluttered desk. Would it not be nice if pop-out for distracting items   
   could somehow be blocked or suppressed to avoid distractions and help   
   us find whatever we are looking for faster?   
      
   ==========================================================================   
   New research from the Vision and Cognition group at the Netherlands   
   Institute for Neuroscience, published in PNAS, demonstrates that this   
   is indeed possible.   
      
   After training, the visual brain can suppress neuronal responses to   
   pop-out distractors that are usually enhanced compared to responses to   
   other, non- distracting, items. The researchers trained monkeys to play   
   a video game in which they searched for a unique shape among multiple   
   items, while a uniquely colored item tried to distract them. As soon as   
   the monkeys found the unique shape, they made an eye movement to it to   
   indicate their choice. After some training, monkeys became very good at   
   this game and almost never made eye movements to the distractor.   
      
   Neurons in area V4 of the visual cortex, a brain area that processes   
   visual information relatively early after is is captured by the   
   eyes, showed consistently enhanced responses to the shape target   
   stimuli. Responses to the distracting color stimuli on the other hand were   
   only very briefly enhanced but became rapidly suppressed. It appears that   
   the brain first briefly detects the presence of the distracting stimulus,   
   and then quickly suppresses it to avoid that it will interfere with the   
   search for the shape target. The color pop-out signal that might cause   
   distraction is thus essentially inverted into a kind of negative pop-out,   
   or "pop-in," to avoids distraction.   
      
   Researcher Chris Klink: "Choosing what to attend to is very important   
   for visual perception, and behavior in general. Even though the brain   
   has impressive processing power, it simply cannot handle all available   
   information at once. Attention needs to strike a balance between our   
   own internally generated goals and whatever appears to be important in   
   the environment.   
      
   Dealing with distraction in an efficient way is a crucial aspect of that   
   process, that we now understand a little bit better."   
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   ==========================================================================   
   Story Source: Materials provided by   
   Netherlands_Institute_for_Neuroscience_-_KNAW. Note: Content may be   
   edited for style and length.   
      
      
   ==========================================================================   
   Journal Reference:   
      1. P. Christiaan Klink, Rob R. M. Teeuwen, Jeannette A. M. Lorteije,   
      Pieter   
         R. Roelfsema. Inversion of pop-out for a distracting feature   
         dimension in monkey visual cortex. Proceedings of the National   
         Academy of Sciences, 2023; 120 (9) DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2210839120   
   ==========================================================================   
      
   Link to news story:   
   https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/02/230223132908.htm   
      
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