Re: [Fwd: The Brain's Dark Energy Scien amer]
On Thu, Feb 25, 2010 at 2:52 PM, Charles charlesrobertgood...@gmail.comwrote: On Feb 23, 9:02 am, Brent Meeker meeke...@dslextreme.com wrote: But recent analysis produced by neuroimaging technologies has revealed something quite remarkable: a great deal of meaningful activity is occurring in the brain when a person is sitting back and doing nothing at all. The best way to come up with an idea or solve a problem is often to sleep on it, or to at least to take a break, maybe go for a walk and let your mind idle. I used to find that cigarette breaks were very useful in my work as a software developer before I gave up smoking (now I have to enforce breaks), and in my attempts at writing a novel I often find that the way forward - resolving a scene, say - often comes to me if I happen to wake up in the middle of the night. Charles There was a study on this a few years ago, which proves there is something to the phenomenon: http://www.scientificblogging.com/news_releases/sleep_on_it_debunked_unconscious_thought_no_better_than_thinking_through_tough_problems http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn8732 I think it is a little sensationalist, however, for new scientist to take the fact that there is some base level of neural activity and assume that it unlocks the key to Alzheimer's or consciousness, however. Jason -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups Everything List group. To post to this group, send email to everything-l...@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to everything-list+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/everything-list?hl=en.
Re: [Fwd: The Brain's Dark Energy Scien amer]
On Feb 23, 9:02 am, Brent Meeker meeke...@dslextreme.com wrote: But recent analysis produced by neuroimaging technologies has revealed something quite remarkable: a great deal of meaningful activity is occurring in the brain when a person is sitting back and doing nothing at all. The best way to come up with an idea or solve a problem is often to sleep on it, or to at least to take a break, maybe go for a walk and let your mind idle. I used to find that cigarette breaks were very useful in my work as a software developer before I gave up smoking (now I have to enforce breaks), and in my attempts at writing a novel I often find that the way forward - resolving a scene, say - often comes to me if I happen to wake up in the middle of the night. Charles -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups Everything List group. To post to this group, send email to everything-l...@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to everything-list+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/everything-list?hl=en.
[Fwd: The Brain's Dark Energy Scien amer]
As long thought, consciousness is only a small part of what the brain does - maybe even only a small part of "thinking". Brent Original Message The Brain's Dark Energy ( Preview ) Brain regions active when our minds wander may hold a key to understanding neurological disorders and even consciousness itself Key Concepts Neuroscientists have long thought that the brain’s circuits are turned off when a person is at rest. Imaging experiments, however, have shown that there is a persistent level of background activity. This default mode, as it is called, may be critical in planning future actions. Miswiring of brain regions involved in the default mode may lead to disorders ranging from Alzheimer’s to schizophrenia. Imagine you are almost dozing in a lounge chair outside, with a magazine on your lap. Suddenly, a fly lands on your arm. You grab the magazine and swat at the insect. What was going on in your brain after the fly landed? And what was going on just before? Many neuroscientists have long assumed that much of the neural activity inside your head when at rest matches your subdued, somnolent mood. In this view, the activity in the resting brain represents nothing more than random noise, akin to the snowy pattern on the television screen when a station is not broadcasting. Then, when the fly alights on your forearm, the brain focuses on the conscious task of squashing the bug. But recent analysis produced by neuroimaging technologies has revealed something quite remarkable: a great deal of meaningful activity is occurring in the brain when a person is sitting back and doing nothing at all. It turns out that when your mind is at rest—when you are daydreaming quietly in a chair, say, asleep in a bed or anesthetized for surgery—dispersed brain areas are chattering away to one another. And the energy consumed by this ever active messaging, known as the brain’s default mode, is about 20 times that used by the brain when it responds consciously to a pesky fly or another outside stimulus. Indeed, most things we do consciously, be it sitting down to eat dinner or making a speech, mark a departure from the baseline activity of the brain default mode. http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=the-brains-dark-energy -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Everything List" group. To post to this group, send email to everything-l...@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to everything-list+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/everything-list?hl=en.
