Research summary
Paying attention requires the coordination of several fundamental neurocognitive operations. It also entails the ability to ignore irrelevant distractions. Despite decades of scientific research, much is still unknown about how people’s attention spans, or attentional operations, work. As Canada Research Chair in Cognitive Neuroscience, Dr. John McDonald wants to fill this knowledge gap.
Using electroencephalographic (EEG) scalp recordings of brain electricity, he and his research team are developing new methods to isolate and track attentional operations as they unfold in the human brain. Their goal is to advance our understanding of the attention processes that are critically important for perception, action and higher-level cognition. McDonald’s team are testing the limits of people’s typical attentional capabilities during multi-tasking and identifying sources of attention impairment during shift work. Ultimately, their findings will support the study of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and degenerative diseases that affect the ability to pay attention.