" Attending to one sense, such as vision, does not simply kick up the activity in the region of the brain in charge of that sense. It also reduces activity in regions responsible for other senses. If you are really concentrating on the little black lines and curves on this white page, you are less likely to feel someone brush against you, or to hear someone speaking in the background. "

― Jeffrey M. Schwartz , The Mind and the Brain: Neuroplasticity and the Power of Mental Force