“Clean up your desk so you can work better”, your parents perhaps told you when you were younger… A piece of common-sense advice that has now been validated by neuroscience.

Researchers at Yale University recently showed that visual clutter has little effect on our ability to perceive information, but a far greater one on our ability to process it efficiently. In macaque monkeys, whose visual capacities are close to those of humans, under such conditions, information is transmitted almost normally to the primary visual cortex, but the way in which it is relayed to the secondary visual cortex is affected.

Can we compensate for this negative impact through the strength of our attention? In part, yes, indicate the researchers. This is the example of a driver watching out for a car that might overtake them, while centering their vision on the road in front of them. But the energy expenditure is high.

This research will certainly have applications in ergonomics. In the short term, it also opens up avenues for improving one’s concentration.

Source: ‘Visual clutter’ alters information flow in the brain, Mallory Locklear, Yale News, October 2024.