New research from Trinity College Dublin, led by ADAPT researchers Dr Sara Carta and Prof. Giovanni Di Liberto, has revealed that the brain can briefly process two conversations at the same time when shifting attention between speakers.
Published in PLOS Biology, the study challenges the traditional view that people can only focus on one speaker at a time. Using EEG recordings, researchers found that the brain begins engaging with a new conversation before fully disengaging from the previous one, creating a short overlap of around one to two seconds where both conversations are represented simultaneously.
The research was carried out by scientists from Trinity College Dublin, the Trinity College Institute of Neuroscience (TCIN), and the ADAPT Research Ireland Centre, in collaboration with the Eriksholm Research Centre. Dr Sara Carta conducted the work under the supervision of Prof. Giovanni Di Liberto and Prof. Alejandro López Valdés.
According to Prof. Di Liberto, this brief “dual-tracking” ability may help explain why some people are particularly skilled at navigating busy social environments and rapidly shifting their attention between competing sources of information.
The findings could support the development of more advanced hearing technologies, including hearing aids that better reflect how people naturally switch attention between voices. They may also improve understanding of why noisy environments can be especially challenging for older adults and people with hearing difficulties.
The study was supported by Research Ireland and the William Demant Foundation through the Research Ireland Centre for Training in AI (CRT-AI).
The published journal article can be read Open Access at: https://journals.plos.org/plosbiology/article?id=10.1371/journal.pbio.3003876
