14 DAY TRIAL // A group of investigators at the University of California in Davis (UCD) announces the discovery of a series of mechanisms that allows our brains to remain alert, by adapting itself to cues our environment throws at us.
These cues include natural events, social situations, language, emotions experienced by others and so on. The same strategy also ensures maximal possible productivity at all times, the team goes on to say.
The new study was only made possible by the use of advanced brain-imaging technologies, such as functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI). Details of the study were presented in the latest issue of the esteemed medical Journal of Neuroscience.
An amazing thing the team discovered was the fact that the brain is capable of changing its neural wiring in order to eliminate distractions that may decrease alertness or productivity. The mechanism is obviously especially powerful when we want to stay focused on something.
Still, even unconsciously, the brain is perfectly capable of protecting itself against being distracted unnecessarily from the task at hand. At the same time, the new connections are formed in such a way that they can take the best possible advantage of our knowledge of current situations.
According to UCD expert Joy Geng, PhD, it's the situations we're in at any particular time that dictate how fast and efficient information coming in from our sensory systems gets processed. In other words, the brain decides how relevant new data are based on what you're doing at that particular time.
When people focus on one particular task, such as for example during a test, the brain rearranges its neural pathways so that new input related to that task gets priority, and is processed faster and more effectively. At the same time, anything else is assigned a lower importance value.
Analysis conducted using fMRI techniques also reveal that the brain doesn't always reform its pathways in order to accommodate our focus on a particular task. Another mechanism it uses to boost performance is to simply reroute pertinent data.
The UCD team likened this to the way valves control water flow through an interconnected network of pipes. Opening and closing certain valves can make the flow more rapid, or slow it down. Some sections of the network allow water through faster than others, PsychCentral reports.