Attention - Catch the Ladybug!

How To Play

In some cultures, ladybugs are a sign of good luck. This exercise, however, is anything but a game of chance. Click as fast as possible on the ladybug that appears at random on your screen. Here, the challenge is that the more ladybugs you catch, the smaller and faster they become! Multiple challenge levels make this even more fun. You will need to focus on the task at hand and resist any distraction that might arise.

Cognitive Function Exercised

We receive a lot of stimulation from the world around us, too much for the brain to process in detail simultaneously. Much of this input, however, is not always important or relevant to us. Ideally, we should spend more time and resources processing the important things and less time on the unimportant things. Attention skills help us to do just that, by selecting and processing what is really important to us.

This game requires concentration and good visuo-spatial skills. First, the main area of the brain exercised is the posterior parietal lobe of the cortex. This brain center is crucial for orienting visual attention and shifting it from one location to another. The second brain area exercised is the right frontal cortex. This area is crucial for maintaining alertness.

Benefits to Daily Life

One definition of Attention is the cognitive process of selectively concentrating on one aspect of the environment while ignoring others. We use our attention skills when we are driving and searching for a street address, when we are trying to focus on breaking news on television while children are at play nearby, or when we are working on an important project while co-workers are talking in the adjacent area. The examples are numerous. We constantly use our attention skills and these skills are such a basic component of our very awareness.