Adapting to changes through repeated exposure.
The human brain can learn to filter out distracting or disruptive stimuli, such as a bright roadside billboard or a flashing online banner, through repeated exposure. Researchers from Leipzig University and Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam have demonstrated this effect using electroencephalography (EEG), showing that early visual processing in the brain changes with experience. Their findings were recently published in The Journal of Neuroscience.
Distractions tend to become easier to ignore after repeated encounters. This process, known as learned suppression, plays a key role in the visual system and complements our ability to consciously direct attention. In a series of EEG experiments with 24 participants of all genders, the researchers examined how learning affects attention to highly noticeable distractions, particularly when such distractions consistently appear in the same location.
Visual System Adapts to Repeated Distractions
“We found consistent evidence that learning alters the early responses of the visual system to these stimuli,” says Dr Norman Forschack from the Wilhelm Wundt Institute of Psychology at Leipzig University, one of the study’s authors.
In the experiments, participants were asked to locate a specific target object – for example, a green circle among green diamonds. As part of the task, a distracting stimulus – such as a red diamond – was frequently placed in the same position. Analysis of brain activity revealed that, over time, the brain began to suppress that position within the very first moments of visual processing.
Improved Focus and Performance
Participants also performed significantly better in locating the target object when the distracting stimulus appeared in the learned position, compared to when it appeared elsewhere.
“These findings show that our brain doesn’t just react automatically to striking stimuli, but can also learn through experience to filter out distractions efficiently,” explains Forschack. “Interestingly, we also observed reduced visual processing for target stimuli when they appeared in the position where the distractor had been frequently shown,” he adds.
It remains unclear how this habitual attenuation of visual processing works in everyday life – for example, for commuters who repeatedly travel the same routes. According to the researchers, consistent design of roads and traffic environments could be beneficial for road safety.
Dock Duncan of Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, the study’s lead author, concludes: “It is clear that people automatically recognize familiar user interfaces or textbook chapter layouts and find these useful, and that this effect is already reflected in basic visual processing.”
Reference: “Learning modulates early encephalographic responses to distracting stimuli: a combined SSVEP and ERP study” by Dock H. Duncan, Norman Forschack, Dirk van Moorselaar, Matthias M. Müller and Jan Theeuwes, 3 April 2025, Journal of Neuroscience.
DOI: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.1973-24.2025
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