The Action Control and Cognition Lab at the University of Hyderabad has shed light on the active control mechanisms in our brain, and the concept of “distractor suppression” as a tool.
It identified spatially-guided distractor suppression defined as the deliberate control of the brain’s ability to suppress distracting elements based on their spatial locations as a goal-driven process.
The study looked at how our brain focuses on important things and ignores distractions. They found that this ability is better when these elements appear in predictable locations.
“When the target appeared at filtered locations or when the spatial filter varied randomly on every trial, filtering did not benefit suppression,” the study noted.
“Results indicate that voluntary goal-driven control of salient distractor suppression occurs when the knowledge of the salient distractors is consistent throughout the task.”
“Such goal-directed control, however, lacks flexibility such that knowledge of the salient distractors needs to be consistent for a period of time,” the study noted.