Interview: What happens in your brain when you pay attention? with Dr. Sasha Hamdani | from TED Health - TED Talks Daily Recap
Podcast: TED Talks Daily
Published: 2026-01-03
Duration: 37 minutes
Guests: Dr. Sasha Hamdani
Summary
Attention is not only about what we focus on but also involves the brain's ability to filter out distractions. Understanding and modeling these processes could lead to treatments for disorders like ADHD and aid those with communication challenges.
What Happened
Attention is not merely about concentration but also involves the brain's filtering mechanisms, primarily managed by the frontal lobe. This episode features insights from computational neuroscientist Mehdi Ordikhani-Seyedlar, who studies brain wave patterns to enhance attention-related technologies. His research could lead to brain-machine interfaces that help individuals with ADHD train their brains to filter distractions more effectively.
Dr. Sasha Hamdani, a psychiatrist specializing in ADHD, elaborates on how ADHD is more about attention regulation than a mere deficit. She emphasizes that ADHD often manifests as hyper-focus, a state where individuals become intensely engrossed in a task, which can be just as disruptive as inattention.
Dr. Hamdani highlights the surge in ADHD diagnoses due to increased awareness and reduced stigma. However, she points out that ADHD remains underdiagnosed in certain populations, such as women and minorities, partly because symptoms differ. Women often present with inattentive symptoms, complicating diagnosis.
Early diagnosis is crucial for managing ADHD effectively, as it allows for timely intervention and better support. The DSM's narrow criteria for diagnosing ADHD, which exclude emotional regulation, are criticized for not fully capturing the disorder's complexity.
Dr. Hamdani discusses self-diagnosis, acknowledging its role in symptom awareness but stressing the importance of professional diagnosis for treatment planning. She also emphasizes the significance of behavioral therapy and understanding individual brain patterns in managing ADHD symptoms.
To aid those with ADHD, Dr. Hamdani developed the app Focus Genie, which uses gamification to track and manage symptoms. The app reflects her personal experiences with ADHD and aims to provide a structured approach to symptom management.
Key Insights
- The frontal lobe is responsible for the brain's filtering mechanisms, which play a crucial role in managing attention beyond mere concentration.
- ADHD is characterized by attention regulation issues, often manifesting as hyper-focus, where individuals become intensely engrossed in tasks, which can be as disruptive as inattention.
- ADHD remains underdiagnosed in women and minorities due to differing symptom presentations, with women often exhibiting inattentive symptoms that complicate diagnosis.
- Focus Genie is an app developed to help manage ADHD symptoms through gamification, reflecting personal experiences and providing a structured approach to symptom management.