A thread on something you might not know about how attention works
There are two totally separate brain systems that govern attention:
- your ability to maintain focus on the thing ('enhancement')
- your ability to tune out other things ('suppression').
#ADHD #NeurodiverseSquad
There are two totally separate brain systems that govern attention:
- your ability to maintain focus on the thing ('enhancement')
- your ability to tune out other things ('suppression').
#ADHD #NeurodiverseSquad
How attention works 2/8
"These processes [focusing on something and tuning out distractions] are so separate, in fact, there are different networks of brain structures that carry out their respective functions, each of which is critical for attention."
"These processes [focusing on something and tuning out distractions] are so separate, in fact, there are different networks of brain structures that carry out their respective functions, each of which is critical for attention."
How attention works 3/8
"Although it may seem counterintuitive, we now appreciate that focusing and ignoring are not two sides of the same coin […] it is not necessarily true that when you focus more on something, you automatically ignore everything else better."
"Although it may seem counterintuitive, we now appreciate that focusing and ignoring are not two sides of the same coin […] it is not necessarily true that when you focus more on something, you automatically ignore everything else better."
How attention works: 4/8
By understanding these as separate systems, rather than seeing an inability to suppress distractions as just a side-effect of not having focused well enough, you'll be better equipped to try and improve the situation.
By understanding these as separate systems, rather than seeing an inability to suppress distractions as just a side-effect of not having focused well enough, you'll be better equipped to try and improve the situation.
How attention works 5/8
It's the suppression aspect, our ability to tune out distracting stimuli, that declines with age, not our ability to focus on the object we choose.
It's the suppression aspect, our ability to tune out distracting stimuli, that declines with age, not our ability to focus on the object we choose.
How attention works 6/8
So, just like if you needed reading glasses you'd just buy them and wear them, maybe now you need to remove external distractions to read a book properly, and you should go ahead and do that instead of just CONCENTRATING... HARDER...
So, just like if you needed reading glasses you'd just buy them and wear them, maybe now you need to remove external distractions to read a book properly, and you should go ahead and do that instead of just CONCENTRATING... HARDER...
How attention works, afterthought:
It also probably means older people are genuinely more sensitive to a cluttered room or desk than young people (rather than young people just being too lazy to tidy or whatever the prevailing theory is).
It also probably means older people are genuinely more sensitive to a cluttered room or desk than young people (rather than young people just being too lazy to tidy or whatever the prevailing theory is).
This fact comes from an old issue of my newsletter, The Whippet (and also the book (The Distracted Mind). I wrote about it *before* I was diagnosed with ADHD incidentally, just really interested in the research on why it's so hard to focus! No reason don't ask questions!!
• • •
Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to
force a refresh
