How we find a face in a crowd: Our brains use special tricks to pick out certain features from busy scenes

If you have ever lost a friend at a music festival or tried to look for someone in a busy street, you will probably be aware how difficult it can be to spot a face in a crowd.
When in a crowd of thousands of people, searching for one little hand waving above the heads or a distinctive item of clothing can often seem pointless.
But a new study shows our brains have a special ability to tune what our attention focuses on when we know what to look out for, meaning knowing what our attention should be drawn to makes the process much easier.
OUR BRAINS AND CROWDS  Dr Guilhem Ibos and Professor... read more