How The Brain Ignores Distractions

When we concentrate on something, we also engage in the unsung, parallel act of purposefully ignoring other things. A new study describes how the brain may achieve such "optimal inattention." With this knowledge, scientists at Brown University hope they can harness our power to ignore -- for instance, to reduce pain. "This is about the mechanisms the brain is using to block out distracting things in the environment," said Stephanie Jones, assistant professor (research) of neuroscience at Brown and corresponding author of the study. Ignore the hand, attend the foot read more

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