By: Inas Essa

Drawing attention during different situations to a high extent determines how successful it would be. While the tone of voice plays a role in that, there is another factor of high importance: using visuals.

Previous research has highlighted the importance of behavioral state on sensory processing and attention and how a required degree of arousal is needed. This arousal plays a vital role in controlling brain-wide neural activity patterns, particularly through alteration by norepinephrine; a hormone and neurotransmitter that is fundamental for brain performance and is known to be involved in paying attention.

Researchers of a new study from the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio have shown that more norepinephrine is released when and where the visual information is processed. This explains why adding visual information to engage children is effective to increase their attention!

Paying Attention

Authors of the new study, published in the journal Science Advances, report that norepinephrine is locally regulated in a brain region called the visual cortex. They clarified that, before this study, research suggested the possibility of local regulation of norepinephrine release and its relation to attention increase; yet, it had never been directly demonstrated.

“A certain amount of this chemical needs to be released for optimum brain performance and ability to pay attention,” Dr. Paukert, MD, assistant professor of cellular and integrative physiology at UT Health San Antonio, said. “So, if there is either too much of it or too little of it, it may affect how we process information.”

Diseases That Influence Paying Attention

Some disease states affect norepinephrine release and alter it, which leads to difficulties in paying attention. These diseases include Alzheimer’s disease, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

It could be explained as in conditions like Alzheimer’s and ADHD, the release of norepinephrine is reduced, resulting in lower attention, while in other substance use and PTSD, the level is too high. The research findings also included cells called astrocytes that function as helper cells in the brain and central nervous system.

“When a person makes a movement, such as turning the head to listen to a parent, and that is combined with visual stimulation, then more norepinephrine is released where visual information is processed,” Dr. Paukert said. “Our second finding, also important, is that astrocytes can reliably detect the rate of norepinephrine release.” This means that astrocytes alter their response accordingly to the norepinephrine levels, which is expected to change brain performance.

“Understanding norepinephrine release, its local regulation and the astrocyte response may represent a mechanism by which one could enhance sensory-specific attention,” Dr. Paukert added.

References

science.org

news.uthscsa.edu/visuals-increase-attention