Despite common belief that
the human brain is built for multitasking,
two Vanderbilt scientists
believe that our cerebra! center
is nothing more than a one-trick
pony.
It’s a fact our brain works hard
to hide.
‘As complex as it is, it struggles:’
said Rene Marois, an associate
professor of psychology
at Vanderbilt University. “While
we get the impression that we are
able to do two things at once, such
as driving and talking on a cell
phone, in reality our brain shuts
down one of the functions briefly
as we’re taking on the other task.
All the information in our brain
suddenly hits a bottleneck.”
Marois and Paul Dux, a
postdoctoral research associate
in psychology, are the first to
identify the regions of the brain
responsible for what previous
researchers labeled the “bottleneck”
Results of the Vanderbilt duo’s
work are timely as Tennessee
and other states consider banning
the use of cell phones while
driving.
Tasks ‘bottleneck’ in brain
Making an argument for
such a ban was not the goal of
the research, though Marois and
Dux admit their work is likely
to be used as a reference down
the road.
“We were interested in trying
to understand limitations and
in finding where in the brain
this area called an information
bottleneck might be taking place:’
Dux said. “We found that tasks as
simple as pressing a button when
a visual stimulus appears caused
a delay in brain function.”
They also suggest that other
simple tasks, such as opening
a door and lighting a cigarette
simultaneously, come at a cost to
brainpower.
The delay is known as dualtask
interference, and the researchers
said driving presents
particular challenges.
“While we are driving, we are
bombarded with visual information:’
Marois said. “Our research
features neurological evidence
that the brain cannot effectively
do two things at the same time.
Even those people who think
using a headset with their cell
phone while driving is safe ...
they’re still doing two cognitively
demanding tasks at once”
To identify the bottleneck, they
used functional magnetic resonance
imaging, a technology that
reveals the brain areas active in
mental tasks by mapping changes
in the blood’s oxygen levels. Dux
and Marois rapidly sampled brain
activity while subjects performed
two demanding tasks: pressing
the appropriate computer key in
response to hearing one of eight
possible sounds and uttering an
appropriate response to seeing
images.
Brain puts driving on hold
The results revealed that the
central bottleneck was caused by
the inability of parts of the brain
to process the two tasks at once.
Each brain region that responded
to tasks and showed
neural activity was slotted, or
prioritized.
“The neural response to the
second task was postponed until
the response to the first was
completed.” Dux said. “So when
you’re driving and you decide to
dial someone up on the phone,
you are actually putting the
driving on hold, as far as your
brain is concerned. That can be
dangerous.”
Brain research or not, some
Tennesseans think cell phones
and driving should be banned.
Period. The only legislation on
the books in Tennessee deals with
cell phones while driving through
a school zone.
“Not long ago I was stopped
at a red light and saw a woman
drive through the intersection
talking on a cell phone with one
hand and smoking a cigarette
with the other.” said Mary Spicer
of Nashville. “I guess she was
driving with her knees. It’s getting
ridiculous, and I’ve written
our lawmakers about putting a
law on the books.” Not everyone
agrees.
“Education is the answer,
not legislation.” Barry Breen of
Nashville said. “Cell phones are
another additional distraction
while driving. Any number of
distractions is present when driving.
Should reaching to adjust the
CD player also be banned ... how
about turning to talk to someone
in the vehicle, etc.?”
The National Highway Traffic
Safety Administration has
published a study indicating that
driver distractions were blamed
for 20 to 30 percent of all vehicular
accidents in 2004.
Marois and Dux say they do
not talk on their cell phones while
driving.
“Dual-tasking can cost up to
a full second, and that’s a good
period when you’re moving the
speed limit,” Dux said.
Research doesn’t end
Next up for the researchers is
the exploration of what is happening
in the bottleneck to slow
performance.
“We may look at people involved
doing complex activities
like flying a plane to see how
their brains react to multitasking:’
Dux said. “A pilot seems to
be doing many things at once. But
is his brain doing more than one
thing at a time?”
There’s at least one aspect of
such a study that the Vanderbilt
duo won’t have to worry about.
Passengers aren’t the only ones
on an airline not allowed to use
their cell phones in-flight.
Source: Brain in the News, Jan.
2007: Ralph Loos, The Tennessean
(Nashville)
Originally Posted by Kinson
commento veloce che devo andare a cena : ma da che parte inseriscono anche il fumo come attività multitasking ? Che comincio a leggere da li
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