News Brief by Steven Hefter
It is widely believed in the neuroscience world that in
order to stay focused on a task at hand, the brain’s network that controls
external, involved thinking must be activated, while the default network, or
the part of the brain that are associated with day-dreaming, must be turned
off. Cornell University neuroscientist
Nathan Spreng and his team of researchers refute this claim, and instead hypothesize
that activating areas of the brain that are associated with “off-task” mental
activity can enhance mental activity on difficult tasks at hand.
There are many studies that show that activation of the
default network hinders the ability of the brain to focus on tasks, but,
according to Spreng, in those studies the default network activity conflicts
with the task. For example, if a person
reminisces about an event that happened in the past while trying to read a
book, the efficiency of reading will decline.
Spreng used a different research method in which off-task
brain activity aids the completion of the experimental task. The task in Spreng’s research study, called
“famous faces n-back,” tests whether the long-term memory of famous people,
which activates the default network, can boost short-term memory. The task involved viewing a set of famous and
anonymous faces continuously and then assessing whether the current face
matched the one two faces back. The authors
of the study explain how participants were more accurate in matching famous
faces. Therefore, if the task demand is associated
with default network processes, then “off-task” mental activity can improve execution
of goal-oriented tasks. Spreng explains
that there is an “ongoing dialogue” between completing external tasks and
internal significance.
The study was titled “Goal-congruent default
network activity facilitates cognitive control” and was published in the Journal of Neuroscience in October.
Cornell
University. "Reminiscing can help boost mental performance." ScienceDaily.
ScienceDaily, 23 October 2014.
.
Posts
