Overcoming Distractions–Training the Aging Brain?

There are so many things vying for our attention, and many of us may find ourselves easily distracted (say for example, by shiny objects). I like to use the example of Dug the talking dog from the fabulous movie, Up. (Going off on a tangent, consider using this movie in your classes, it’s great) But I digress…or perhaps I was distracted….

Kurzweil AI ran an article on November 26th, 2014 reporting on a study on how to train an “aging brain” to ignore distractions. Disruptive sounds help aging brain ignore distractions reports on a new study, the results of which are published in the journal, Neuron. The study, Adaptive Training Diminishes Distractibility in Aging across Species is available with subscription or by purchase here.  The abstract explains the study:

Aging is associated with deficits in the ability to ignore distractions, which has not yet been remediated by any neurotherapeutic approach. Here, in parallel auditory experiments with older rats and humans, we evaluated a targeted cognitive training approach that adaptively manipulated distractor challenge. Training resulted in enhanced discrimination abilities in the setting of irrelevant information in both species that was driven by selectively diminished distraction-related errors. Neural responses to distractors in auditory cortex were selectively reduced in both species, mimicking the behavioral effects. Sensory receptive fields in trained rats exhibited improved spectral and spatial selectivity. Frontal theta measures of top-down engagement with distractors were selectively restrained in trained humans. Finally, training gains generalized to group and individual level benefits in aspects of working memory and sustained attention. Thus, we demonstrate converging cross-species evidence for training-induced selective plasticity of distractor processing at multiple neural scales, benefitting distractor suppression and cognitive control.

Back to the Kurzweil AI article about the study. The Kurzweil story notes that “[d]istractibility (the inability to sustain focus on a goal due to attention to irrelevant stimuli) can have a negative effect on basic daily activities, and is a hallmark of the aging mind.” The article notes the applicability of the research, including applications for individuals with autism or for “individuals struggling with a variety of distractions.” The Kurzweil article  notes the two-fold results of the study, “highlighting the therapeutic potential of this type of brain training to improve our ability to focus with age, it also shows that even in the aged adult, the brain is responsive to learning-based approaches that can improve cognition.”

I was  pondering the results of this study vis a vis individuals suspected of having diminished capacity.  I was wondering whether there is application of the training to those individuals who may have difficulty with some ADLS if due to distractability. Would this be a temporary or long term solution and an alternative to guardianship for some?