Brain multitasking can be trained
As you know, the human brain demonstrates the most dismal results when it is forced to perform several tasks at the same time. Efficiency is reduced many times, and not only among older people, but even among young people , although they have grown up in a multitasking environment. It would seem that such a powerful neurocomputer, like the brain, should not have problems performing two simple tasks (for example, typing on a keyboard and talking while) - but there is a known “slowdown”. As it has now become known, this phenomenon has a physical nature: it turns out that an artificial “brake” or a fuse is embedded in the frontal lobe of the brain. However, it can be trained.
Using magnetic resonance imaging, American neuroscientists were able to identify specific areas of the prefrontal cortex, which, for some unknown reason, create artificial delays while simultaneously performing several tasks. For example, if the brain gets two tasks to perform with a time difference of less than 300 ms, then it artificially slows down the implementation of the second task for a time up to 1000 ms until the first is completed. If the time interval between tasks exceeds 1000 ms, then there is no “slowdown”. Interestingly, the speed of the "fuse" can be increased if you train.
In other words, if you constantly talk on the phone while driving (play computer games, listen to the player during a conversation with people, etc.), then over time you will be able to drive the car almost normally. Roughly speaking, the delay in the occurrence of a dangerous situation can be reduced from 1000 ms to 300 ms, and this can save your life. But the reaction rate will never decrease to the level that a person has, who does not speak while driving. That is, training helps, but only to a certain extent.
')
The results of their work were published by scientists in the journal Neuron 2009; 63 (1): 127-38.
Why the brain slows down its own work is not entirely clear. This is some ancient instinct, left over from our ancestor monkeys. In today's information society, such a "brain glitch" leads to thousands of deaths in traffic accidents.
In addition, there is an opinion that, due to the maladjustment of the brain to multitasking, neural structures deteriorate greatly if they work in this mode for many years in a row (for example, working at a computer while answering phone calls). According to some doctors, chronic, long-term multitasking is just as harmful to human health as, for example, smoking. With age, people suffering from this disease will experience about the same symptoms as retired air traffic controllers. Their brains simply wear out to the limit, which contributes to the emergence of a whole bunch of neurological diseases.
via Vanderbilt University
Using magnetic resonance imaging, American neuroscientists were able to identify specific areas of the prefrontal cortex, which, for some unknown reason, create artificial delays while simultaneously performing several tasks. For example, if the brain gets two tasks to perform with a time difference of less than 300 ms, then it artificially slows down the implementation of the second task for a time up to 1000 ms until the first is completed. If the time interval between tasks exceeds 1000 ms, then there is no “slowdown”. Interestingly, the speed of the "fuse" can be increased if you train.
In other words, if you constantly talk on the phone while driving (play computer games, listen to the player during a conversation with people, etc.), then over time you will be able to drive the car almost normally. Roughly speaking, the delay in the occurrence of a dangerous situation can be reduced from 1000 ms to 300 ms, and this can save your life. But the reaction rate will never decrease to the level that a person has, who does not speak while driving. That is, training helps, but only to a certain extent.
')
The results of their work were published by scientists in the journal Neuron 2009; 63 (1): 127-38.
Why the brain slows down its own work is not entirely clear. This is some ancient instinct, left over from our ancestor monkeys. In today's information society, such a "brain glitch" leads to thousands of deaths in traffic accidents.
In addition, there is an opinion that, due to the maladjustment of the brain to multitasking, neural structures deteriorate greatly if they work in this mode for many years in a row (for example, working at a computer while answering phone calls). According to some doctors, chronic, long-term multitasking is just as harmful to human health as, for example, smoking. With age, people suffering from this disease will experience about the same symptoms as retired air traffic controllers. Their brains simply wear out to the limit, which contributes to the emergence of a whole bunch of neurological diseases.
via Vanderbilt University
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/64936/
All Articles