VOLUME LXVII | JUL 2022

Unleashing the Power of Visual Learning to Guide Our Attention

Just like a seasoned detective who can quickly identify the most relevant clues at a crime scene, our brain has become adept at selecting important visual information while filtering out distractions. This ability is driven by statistical learning, a process where our brains extract patterns and regularities from past experiences to make better predictions about what’s important in our visual environment. In this article, we delve into the fascinating role of visual statistical learning (VSL) in shaping our attentional selection. While previous research has already shown us that VSL helps us form higher order representations of what we see, here we explore its impact on guiding our attention. By understanding how VSL influences what we pay attention to, we gain insights into the cognitive mechanisms underlying perception and how we prioritize certain stimuli over others. To unlock the full potential of this research and its implications for everyday life, dive into the intriguing world of visual learning and attentional selection!

Marc Harper

Marc is a Canadian exercise physiologist in St. John’s, linking fitness to sharper thinking. He writes about real-world ways to stay strong and sharp, inspired by Newfoundland’s tough, no-frills lifestyle.

While the visual environment contains massive amounts of information, we should not and cannot pay attention to all events. Instead, we need to direct attention to those events that have proven to be important in the past and suppress those that were distracting and irrelevant. Experiences molded through a learning process enable us to extract and adapt to the statistical regularities in the world. While previous studies have shown that visual statistical learning (VSL) is critical for representing higher order units of perception, here we review the role of VSL in attentional selection.
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