Random neuronal firings cause mistakes
Scientists report that spontaneous brain activity, bursts of electrical noise in our neurons, may be what causes people to sometimes screw up simple physical tasks. For example, basketball players who miss an easy shot may be able to rightly blame these fluctuations. Researchers at Washington University scanned the brains of volunteers while playing a simple game where they pushed a button in response to an on-screen cue. From New Scientist:
As expected, the brain scans revealed increased activity within the left motor cortex – the region associated with controlling movement of the right hand – shortly after each button-pushing prompt.Link
Fox and colleagues also monitored spontaneous activity within the left motor cortex by analysing its "mirror image" in the right motor cortex. This allowed them to see how spontaneous brain activity affected each button press, independent of the "task-related" brain signals.
The researchers found that volunteers pressed the button with about half the force, on average, if spontaneous activity occurred a few seconds before each prompt.
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"bursts" of electrical noise in our neurons...
a.k.a. Brain-farts.
So THAT'S what happens when I randomly drop my keys or toss a pen across the room while talking. Finally I have an excuse beyond being a clumsy numbskull!
wht th fck r thy tlkng bt ths nvr hppns t m
As the motor cortex is studied more will be known regarding its function of execution. This is very interesting, and who ever said that basketball is 90% mental
Would be interesting (although difficult) to see if these 'misfirings' have the same effect as random mutations do in evolutionary genetics.
That is, maybe almost all of them cause a 'mistake' but once in a while they result in a better way to do something. Or an insight into something previously inscrutable, or a new Hobbesian 'complex idea' (that notion itself the result of a misfiring?), or...
I'll bet next week they will have a pill for that