Attention
We Become What We Attend To
How attention shapes the bridge between consciousness and subconsciousness.
Posted June 8, 2026 Reviewed by Jessica Schrader
Key points
- Attention is key to unlocking the space between the conscious and subconscious.
- The brain receives vastly more information than consciousness can process. Attention acts as a filter.
- Attention has parts that are under volitional control and parts that are beyond our control.
“I am more forgetful these days. Is this normal for old age or am I getting dementia?“
This is one of the most common questions I get asked as a neurologist. There is no easy way to answer this question—it is our job to do a whole evaluation, a bit of detective work to figure this out, but in broad terms, there are two reasons we may not remember something. One is a true problem with encoding or storing memory. The other is an attention problem: the information never fully entered the system in the first place.
If you focus and try to remember, and still cannot remember, this may suggest a true memory problem.
But much of what people describe as "memory problems" are actually attention problems.
What Is Attention?
The word “attention” is used ubiquitously: “attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)," "pay attention,” or "our attention span is getting shorter in this era of social media." But in neuroscience, compared to a more concrete mental faculty like language, memory, motor control, or vision, how attention works is still not fully understood.
Having said that, “attention” may be the key to unlock the space between consciousness and the subconscious. It is a switch, a filter, and perhaps one of the most powerful tools we have for shaping our inner life.
Gorilla Suit on the Basketball Court
If a person in a gorilla suit walked through a basketball game, would you notice?
Most people confidently answer yes.
But in a now classic experiment, roughly half of participants fail to notice the gorilla suit, when instructed to count basketball passes.
Participants were “instructed to count basketball passes,” thinking that was the primary assignment here. They were hyper-focused on the passes. If the participants were instructed to watch the court for any unusual object, it is not difficult to imagine them noticing a person with a gorilla suit.
The experiment demonstrated that we may experience the same reality in a very different way, depending on where we put our attention. In fact, this concept is probably not that novel. We experience it every day. When we are having a conversation, we usually tune out most of the other sounds in the environment.
We do not experience everything that enters our eyes and ears. We experience what receives attention.
This is because the brain receives vastly more information than consciousness can process.
Attention acts as a filter.
Without attention, consciousness would be overwhelmed.
Global workspace theory (GWT) holds attention as key to consciousness. Many specialized brain systems work simultaneously in the background. Attention is like a spotlight on a stage, which brings up small parts of brain processing into our awareness, where they become available to the rest of the brain.
Voluntary and Involuntary Aspects of Attention
Attention, just like many other brain functions, has parts that are under volitional control and parts that are beyond our control.
Biological constraints limit attention. We may forget or miss the gorilla because of resource issues.
At a basic science level, “attention blink” experiment reveals physiological limitation. Participants are asked to identify targets presented rapidly one after another. When the second target appears too soon after the first (roughly a few hundred milliseconds), people missed it—not because their eyes were closed, but because conscious processing was temporarily occupied.
In a broader everyday experience, we all know that we cannot fully control our attention.
Early in my career, I assumed that if I solved a patient's most bothersome symptom, they would feel dramatically better. Instead, I noticed something curious. Once one symptom improved, attention often shifted to the next problem.
This was not ingratitude. It reflected how attention works. The brain is designed to detect unresolved problems. What is fixed fades into the background. What remains broken captures attention.
Anxiety, cravings, anger, and rumination can all creep up and spiral. We tell ourselves we don't want to think about this anymore, yet we cannot stop.
On the other hand, in a condition like ADHD, patients have difficulty holding and attending to one thing or one thought. Their attention jumps from one thing to another.
You Become What You Attend To
But there are aspects of attention that are under volitional control. Attention is the currency of consciousness, and we need to make every effort to use this currency wisely.
The brain is constantly generating thoughts, emotions, memories, urges, and perceptions.
Most never reach awareness and remain unconscious, but those that repeatedly capture attention become our experience.
Over time, these experiences shape our identity.
In that sense, our lives are shaped by what we repeatedly attend to. Attention determines what enters consciousness, what is remembered, what is learned, and ultimately who we become.
We cannot control everything that appears in the mind. But we can become more curious about what captures our attention—and more intentional about what we return to again and again.
Let’s start paying more attention to our attention.
References
Simons DJ, Chabris CF. Gorillas in our midst: sustained inattentional blindness for dynamic events. Perception. 1999;28(9):1059-74. doi: 10.1068/p281059. PMID: 10694957.
Shapiro KL, Raymond JE, Arnell KM. The attentional blink. Trends Cogn Sci. 1997 Nov;1(8):291-6. doi: 10.1016/S1364-6613(97)01094-2. PMID: 21223931.
