A young friend of mne said once explained why he had been married and divorced in a span of two weeks by saying, we both had a brain fart and once we realized what we had done we both decided to move on with our lives. His turn of phrase always puzzled me so when I saw this article I took the time to read it. Brain farts evidently are quite common and can cause serious problems for people. So enjoy the reading.
Why we have brain farts, and what scientists are doing to stop them by Robert T. Gonzalez
published in Neuroscience July 1, 2011
Brain farts, the momentary lapses in attention that strike when you least expect them, may actually be rooted in abnormal patterns of brain activity. Neuroscientists call them "maladaptive brain states." We spoke to researchers in an emerging field of neuroscience that examines these brain states to learn about the neurological basis of brain farts, their potential evolutionary origins, and how they might one day be a thing of the past.
For a long time, the mistakes caused by brain farts during monotonous tasks were chalked up to momentary, unavoidable fluctuations in brain activity. Consequently, much of the research since the early nineties surrounding human error and brain activity has been focused on how our brains react to mistakes in order to facilitate processes like correction and learning. In contrast, very little attention has been paid to what goes on in our brains in the moments leading up to a mistake.
But a handful of recent studies have demonstrated that what we refer to colloquially as "brain farts" may actually be rooted in a number maladaptive brain states. These unusual neural patterns happen when you're doing monotonous or repetitive activities — and they can develop as many as thirty seconds before a mistake occurs. It's this aspect of the maladaptive brain state that has led some scientists to conclude that we may one day be capable of predicting, and preventing, the elusive brain fart.
For more from this article go to this link: Why we have brain farts, and what scientists are doing to stop them
Why we have brain farts, and what scientists are doing to stop them by Robert T. Gonzalez
published in Neuroscience July 1, 2011
Brain farts, the momentary lapses in attention that strike when you least expect them, may actually be rooted in abnormal patterns of brain activity. Neuroscientists call them "maladaptive brain states." We spoke to researchers in an emerging field of neuroscience that examines these brain states to learn about the neurological basis of brain farts, their potential evolutionary origins, and how they might one day be a thing of the past.
For a long time, the mistakes caused by brain farts during monotonous tasks were chalked up to momentary, unavoidable fluctuations in brain activity. Consequently, much of the research since the early nineties surrounding human error and brain activity has been focused on how our brains react to mistakes in order to facilitate processes like correction and learning. In contrast, very little attention has been paid to what goes on in our brains in the moments leading up to a mistake.
But a handful of recent studies have demonstrated that what we refer to colloquially as "brain farts" may actually be rooted in a number maladaptive brain states. These unusual neural patterns happen when you're doing monotonous or repetitive activities — and they can develop as many as thirty seconds before a mistake occurs. It's this aspect of the maladaptive brain state that has led some scientists to conclude that we may one day be capable of predicting, and preventing, the elusive brain fart.
For more from this article go to this link: Why we have brain farts, and what scientists are doing to stop them
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