Through a reading-based experiment, researchers have discovered an area of ​​the brain that controls our ability to concentrate. A major discovery that would help solve the attention problems of some patients.

ANALYSIS

It is a promising discovery. Researchers have identified the area responsible for our attention, a precious and fleeting resource. These scientists, attached to the National Institute of Health and Medical Research (Inserm) and to the National Center for Scientific Research (Cnrs), thus looked into our ability to concentrate. Specifically, they wondered how the brain sorts out important information from that which is worth ignoring.

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Intention and focus

Thanks to previous work, researchers knew that the prefrontal cortex, an area of ​​the brain, was dedicated to remembering our intentions at the time. It is this part that allows you to complete a task or discussion started a few moments earlier.

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Based on this observation, they assumed that the stimulation sorting system should be located near this part of the brain. To be sure, they studied the behavior of 85 patients by placing around fifty electrodes on their brains to make recordings. The researchers then asked the participants to read a text. The words broadcast on a screen were gray and interspersed with others, which were colored white and had no connection to the story. The goal: to force individuals to focus only on gray terms in order to understand the meaning of the text.

Signals activated in a specific area

Whenever a new word appeared, the guinea pigs asked if they should read it or not. To make this choice, they took into account the color of the words. Thanks to this exercise, the researchers set out to find an area of ​​the prefrontal cortex that reacted each time a new word appeared on the screen. In a part of the prefrontal cortex, a signal was systematically lit 200 milliseconds after the word was displayed but also when the guinea pig made its choice to read the word or not.

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This research has also shown that the brain decides in less than a quarter of a second if an object or image is worth paying attention to. According to scientists, the region of the brain concerned by this study could well be involved in the attention problems observed in certain individuals.