The multitasking brain: Training and individual differences (2013-2017)

People show marked performance impairments when completing two tasks simultaneously - a significant limitation given the multitasking demands of everyday life. Multitasking costs are thought to reflect the capacity limits of attention, however these limitations are not immutable and can be greatly reduced with training. The proposed research aims to isolate the neural mechanisms that underlie multitasking training effects and to characterise the neural substrates of individual differences in multitasking ability and training responsiveness. The results will have fundamental implications for theories of human performance, and for the understanding and treatment of attentional difficulties commonly seen in many clinical populations.