Bottlenecks in the brain: a causal role for the frontal-parietal network in multitasking limitations. When considering the information processing demands of modern life (for example, hands-free mobile phone use and driving) it is crucial to understand the mechanisms that underlie the severe multitasking limitations experienced by healthy individuals and clinical groups. This project investigates the brain regions critical for such limits to concentration.
Can cognitive training increase the capacity of perceptual attention? There has been an explosion of interest in the potential cognitive benefits of “brain training”. But scientific evidence for the generalizability of such benefits is controversial. Training has been argued to influence such operations as working memory, decision-making and intelligence. Only limited work has examined if training affects perceptual attention, which is important for awareness and is impaired in normal ageing and ....Can cognitive training increase the capacity of perceptual attention? There has been an explosion of interest in the potential cognitive benefits of “brain training”. But scientific evidence for the generalizability of such benefits is controversial. Training has been argued to influence such operations as working memory, decision-making and intelligence. Only limited work has examined if training affects perceptual attention, which is important for awareness and is impaired in normal ageing and in many psychiatric and neurological disorders. The project examines whether perceptual attention can be trained, using a combination of behavioural measures, brain imaging and stimulation protocols, and computational modelling. The results will have important implications for psychological theories of attention.Read moreRead less