Directory listing very slow on OS X

When I try to open files (using File-Open menu item), the directory listing is so slow as to be almost unusable. For example, when I scroll through the listing to find a file, I get the spinning beach ball every 20 entries or so, and the system takes 5-10 seconds to update. I've been having this problem for the last six months or so, only in Matlab, not in other applications. Most of my Matlab directories have 200 files or less, so it's not an issue of having an extreme number of files. Also, directory listing is instant via terminal, and acceptable in all other programs. This is definitely a Matlab issue.

I'm using R2014a and OS X 10.10.3. Any help is very appreciated! I can't be the only one this is happening to!