(ORDO NEWS) — Clearing your mind is a question that many people ask themselves, but there are those who are sure that it is possible. However, reality seems to indicate otherwise.
A new study shows that when people lose awareness of their thoughts, a large global connection forms between different areas of the brain.
While awake, we are constantly generating thoughts: planning what to do, reflecting on what we have just seen, recalling details from the past.
However, this brain work is not constant, most likely there are periods of time when our mental “content” seems to have disappeared or we are not aware that we have specific thoughts.
This phenomenon, commonly known as “pure mind”, is relatively poorly understood in the field of cognitive science. There is very little research on this brain condition.
A new study published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences provides new insights into what happens in the brain when the mind becomes clear.
This momentary state often occurs spontaneously. It is characterized by the manifestation of special brain activity, visible in the pictures of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI).
This method, which uses powerful magnetic fields, records small changes in blood flow in different areas of the brain during activity.
An international team of scientists analyzed previous data from a study in which healthy participants were in an MRI machine and thought about something.
Volunteers reported their cognitive experience just before the beep sounded. These moments also produced images of his brain activity.
Among these experiences were thoughts dependent or independent of stimuli, perceptions of the environment, and absence of mind (pure reason).
To delve deeper into this unusual brain activity , the authors analyzed the activation patterns between different neurons over time. With this data, it was possible to classify with high accuracy whether someone had conscious thoughts.
Empty states of consciousness are characterized by a strong global connection between different areas of the brain at the same time.
This hyperconnected brain pattern has also been associated with high global signal amplitude on MRI imaging with low levels of cortical activation.
Researchers describe this mental state as something similar to a state of deep sleep, but while awake.
Thus, people with empty minds will not be able to have conscious thoughts, because the nature of the brain activity at that time does not allow this to happen.
The results of the study confirm that people can have a clear mind while awake and that it does not have to be constantly occupied with conscious or identifiable thoughts.
The scientists believe that further research is needed using various methods of analyzing brain activity to confirm the connectivity pattern found by the authors and delve into the mechanisms underlying this mental state.
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