Why Thinking Hard for Hours Can Make You Mentally Tired

To Claire Wilson

Thinking hard for a few hours can be mentally exhausting, and you might find out why.Prolonged concentration leads to the accumulation of a compound called glutamic acid Located in the anterior region of the brain.

This may provide an explanation as to why we avoid difficult tasks when we are mentally exhausted.

Says too much glutamate is potentially harmful Anthony Wheeler at the Paris Brain Institute in France, which led the study. “The brain wants to avoid this, so it’s trying to reduce activity.”

Many of us have experienced mental exhaustion after thinking hard, but until now we didn’t know why. . Even if you don’t have a specific idea in mind,default mode network‘, as active as ever.

To learn more, Wheeler and his team used a technique called magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) that harmlessly measures the levels of various chemicals in living tissue.

They focused on an area of ​​the brain that faces the front and sides, called the lateral prefrontal cortex, which many previous studies have shown to be involved in challenging mental tasks.

The team asked 40 people to perform memory tasks while lying in the MRS scanner. These included watching a series of numbers appear on the screen and stating whether the current number was the same as the previous number. Of the participants, 26 of him performed the more difficult version of this task, and the remaining 14 of him were given the easier version.

Levels of eight different brain chemicals were measured, including glutamate, a key signaling agent between neurons. At junctions between neurons called synapses, electrical signals cannot jump across the gap. Instead, small particles of compounds such as glutamate are released to transmit the signal.

After completing the six-hour memory task, those who performed the more difficult version had elevated glutamate levels in the lateral prefrontal cortex compared to when the experiment began. remained approximately the same. There were no elevations in the other seven brain chemicals measured among all participants.

Among participants performing more difficult tasks, their elevated glutamate levels tallied with dilated eye pupils, another widespread measure of fatigue. , reported feeling tired, but there was no rise in glutamate or dilation of the pupils.

Researchers also investigated whether mental fatigue affects decision-making. They did this by interspersing the memory task with different exercises.For example, people chose to earn money right away or get something else later.

Participants who performed the more difficult task felt more tired and quickly transitioned to smaller reward options as glutamate accumulated. It might be an example of avoiding a difficult mental task, such as making a choice or calculating.

“One way [reduce glutamate build-up] The key is to reduce activation in the lateral prefrontal cortex during selection,” Wiehler said. “That way, you’re more likely to pick attractive options.”

By measuring brain glutamate, he says, it may be possible to reveal how hard certain areas of the brain are working. hoover challenge at the University of Zurich, Switzerland. “For molecules and neurotransmitters, we haven’t been able to measure properly. [level]”This looks really promising,” he says.

It may be used by doctors to evaluate people for conditions that can make concentration difficult, such as: Forgetfulness rear COVID-19 When attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder In children, he says.

Journal reference: biology today, DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2022.07.010

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