Attention Explained: Understanding Your Brain's Executive Control System
Dr. Andrew Hill tackled attention in his latest neurofeedback livestream, diving deep into the neuroscience of focus, executive function, and why your brain sometimes feels scattered. While demonstrating live neurofeedback training on himself, he explained the lateralized nature of attention and provided practical insights for anyone struggling with focus or sleep issues.
The Attention-Sleep Connection
Hill began by setting up neurofeedback protocols targeting C3 and C4 - the left and right precentral gyrus areas that form the "mind-body connection." These regions handle both incoming sensory information and outgoing motor control, making them crucial for attention regulation.
The key insight: the same thalamocortical circuits that generate sleep spindles also gate sensory input during waking attention. This explains why sleep problems and focus difficulties often occur together, and why SMR (sensorimotor rhythm) training can simultaneously improve both.
"When you're having trouble with managing executive function, with your focus or your impulsivity or your sleep - which can be tied to executive function - I want you to understand what's happening and how maybe to take control," Hill explained while applying electrodes for his demonstration.
Lateralized Attention: Left vs Right Brain Processing
Hill emphasized that attention isn't uniform across brain hemispheres. The left precentral gyrus (C3) specializes in what he calls "attentional mode switching" and state stability through beta wave activity (15-18 Hz). This creates a neurological paradox: the same circuits that maintain vigilant attention during wake also stabilize sleep architecture at night.
The right side (C4) handles different aspects of attention, including the automatic "theta mode" - a halfway rest state where the brain can react to input but exerts less conscious control. Hill configured his protocol to inhibit theta (4-7 Hz) on the right while training faster beta frequencies.
The Arousal Model and Beyond
While acknowledging the traditional neurofeedback "arousal model" that many practitioners know, Hill wanted to provide deeper nuance about attention's time course and laterality. He distinguished between different frequency bands and their functions:
- Theta (4-7 Hz): Automatic mode, less conscious control
- SMR/Low Beta (12-15 Hz): Calm, focused attention
- Mid Beta (15-18 Hz): Active cognitive processing
- High Beta (18+ Hz): Intense focus or anxiety, depending on location
Live Q&A Insights
Question: Does the training feel different in real-time?
Hill confirmed that most people can feel neurofeedback sessions as they happen. "If you do the right session or a good session, it feels kind of good. And if you do the wrong thing or screw something up, it can feel a little bit weird or even bad if it's the wrong protocol for you."
Question: Software recommendations for practitioners?
Hill discussed his work with Eager, the "granddaddy" neurofeedback software he's used for 25+ years (originally running on DOS). He's developing new software focused on tracking subjective changes in sleep, stress, and attention alongside brain training data.
Question: Protocol placement specifics?
Hill places electrodes slightly forward of standard C3/C4 positions to better target the precentral gyrus. This positioning reduces training problems and increases positive outcomes by more thoroughly covering the motor planning areas involved in executive control.
The Bigger Picture: Executive Function as Brain Regulation
Hill's approach goes beyond simple "increase focus" protocols. He tracks multiple regulatory systems - sleep quality, stress response, and attention - to understand how brain training affects the whole system. Attention problems rarely exist in isolation; they're usually part of broader regulatory challenges.
His clinical observation: successful attention training requires understanding these interconnected systems. You can't optimize focus without considering sleep architecture, stress reactivity, and the brain's fundamental need to switch between different states throughout the day.
Key Takeaways
• Attention and sleep share neural circuits - improving one often helps the other through thalamocortical training
• Left brain handles state stability - C3 beta training can improve both focus persistence and sleep consistency
• Right brain manages automatic processing - C4 theta regulation helps with reactivity and impulse control
• Real-time feedback matters - most people can sense whether a neurofeedback session is helping or hindering
• Track multiple systems - attention, sleep, and stress interact; monitor all three during brain training
For practitioners, Hill's emphasis on lateralized protocols and multi-system tracking offers a more sophisticated approach than simple arousal-based models. For individuals, understanding these attention-sleep connections provides insight into why scattered focus often coincides with poor sleep - and how training one system can benefit both.