Interesting, how the brain works

[Harry Bloomfield]

I've always wondered about the system the brain might use, to learn the physical tasks, like walking and driving safely. I saw a TV program which attempted to explain it. It seems what the brain does is build up a high speed network route, to the memories of how to do something which it does often enough. Likewise kicking a ball, we build up an high speed link to the memories of just how hard and how to kick a ball, to get the ball to react in a certain way. You don't have to think about it, you just do it automatically.

The high speed network means we can react both more quickly and with greater accuracy.

I have always enjoyed driving, but when driving I am always very relaxed, sat back almost like a passenger. I tend to be much more relaxed driving, than when being driven. I don't have to think about it much, my driving is so very automated and safe - I only need to take over and control the higher functionality of driving. I never think about braking, changing gear, or steering - it all just happens with no input from me.

I often found myself when driving, that I would automatically respond to events on the road, leaving me, or my higher brain function - then wondering just what I had responded to.

Interesting!

 

[Justin Passing]

Interesting enough that people do multiple degrees in it!

The subconscious builds up experience of situations which may a threat, so you find you've done something about the threat before you could have processed the thought.
That's experience, skill, maturity, right? Aaahh wisdom.

Careful though.
When you find yourself behind some wingnut (old bald guy, shrunken down in to his seat, just conical top of head and two large ears showing), who's doing an erratic 23mph in a 30mph zone and annoying you,.....
be ready.
A car will approach being driven perfectly normally in its lane, and your wingnut will hit the bloody brakes.
Wingnut won't even know why he did it, and he'll give you a lame excuse if you ask.
Perhaps he "likes to drive that way and hasn't had an accident so what's your problem?". He's incompetent, he'd fail a driving test.

"Higher brain function" has lost touch. It's protecting him because he's anxious, his conscious thoughts and actions have become too slow. He's too stupid to realise what's going on, so he does it again and again. He needs CBT, - or euthanasia.


British Standard Wingnut :-

--

 

[Dork Lard]

Diynot does "how the brain works".

Fetch me my popcorn, this could get entertaining.

 

[Deleted member 174758]

Any tradesman together with a lot of people on productiom lines getvit - we used to call it "muscle memory". I once eorked with an old guy who could hand saw carcass do dovetails by eye with just a bottom line to work to. He was damned nigh perfect every time, but he did have 50 plus yesrs experience on the bench. If you think about a good plasterer or paintsprayer is just the same

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

Any tradesman together with a lot of people on productiom lines getvit - we used to call it "muscle memory". I once eorked with an old guy who could hand saw carcass do dovetails by eye with just a bottom line to work to. He was damned nigh perfect every time, but he did have 50 plus yesrs experience on the bench. If you think about a good plasterer or paintsprayer is just the same

Yes, that is what I used to call it, but it goes much further than that, it also includes your ability to instantly know that 12 x 12 is 144, your ability to drive giving it little of your attention most of the time and most such tasks. Your 'muscle memory', as your above example, can sometimes do a better job if left to it, than your higher brain function. You don't forget 12 x 12 is 144, you simply need to develop the high speed network route to quickly find the 144 answer again. That was BTW, something I was never good at, at school - the times tables. Instead I developed workarounds.

The program I watched, actually showed the high speed brain networks, being transformed from the slow neural networks.

It also touched on early life memories and why so few of us had memories from earlier than when we are 4 and why the rest of our memories include just short examples or interludes with massive gaps between them. It was suggesting that the full memory is still there, but your brain just mislays the neural routing to access it. Which also explains why often something, a song, a smell, a face can bring a memory flooding back.

 

[Odds]

Read an article in Quanta magazine entitled a good memory or a bad one - one brain molecule decides.

Hope the Lord of Dork has plenty of popcorn left, it's a long read.

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

Read an article in Quanta magazine entitled a good memory or a bad one - one brain molecule decides.

Hope the Lord of Dork has plenty of popcorn left, it's a long read.

Thanks, to me it is an absolutely fascinating subject. I find I am great at remembering the irregular things, but once the irregular become regular, I struggle. I take BP meds morning and evening. When I first started having to take them, no problem with remembering them, but now I find I have to take steps to remind myself.

When I first began having doctors appointments, no problem remembering them, they were so unusual, but now I have more regular appointments I struggle. I began by writing Post-It notes to myself, and sticking them on a kitchen cupboard door. More recently I switched to using Outlook to send time delayed emails to myself as reminders.

 

[Odds]

Thanks, to me it is an absolutely fascinating subject. I find I am great at remembering the irregular things, but once the irregular become regular, I struggle. I take BP meds morning and evening. When I first started having to take them, no problem with remembering them, but now I find I have to take steps to remind myself.

When I first began having doctors appointments, no problem remembering them, they were so unusual, but now I have more regular appointments I struggle. I began by writing Post-It notes to myself, and sticking them on a kitchen cupboard door. More recently I switched to using Outlook to send time delayed emails to myself as reminders.

I'm often around people struggling with Alzheimers and they can find it difficult to recall what they had for breakfast but can relate earlier memories with ease, such as a childhood memory. Music is often used to stimulate their memory and i can relate to that as large quantities of Pink Floyd lyrics are firmly lodged in my mind. These memories always have an emotional connection and i found that article interesting as it mentions smell being a stimulant for powerful emotional connections with the past...not much help if you're looking for your car keys (unless you really, really are in love with your car) but writing reminders is a good way to keep things in mind. I tend to do that if i'm very busy and need to keep several plates spinning at once.

 

[motorbiking]

It's important to understand how the brain lays down reinforced pathway conductors/insulators using Myelin. It's why practice doesn't make perfect, if you keep getting it wrong. Its why visualisation in sport works and its sadly why humans miss cyclists and motorcycles when pulling out of junctions.

 

[ajohn]

I find I am great at remembering the irregular things, but once the irregular become regular, I struggle. I take BP meds morning and evening.

Some of that is normal. Say driving the same route to work each day. Then try to remember detail. Probably wont unless something unusual happens or an effort is made to remember detail.

Pills. I am not totally sure about this but have to wonder. I've taken a daily vitamin pill for a very long time. Reason, cracks in the corner of my lips. Doctor say dentist, Dentist say diet. A dentist modified my bite by removing teeth when I was 10. A school dentist. Our usual dentist was really annoyed with my mom for letting him do this. He'd blame the dentist who did the work. Cracks came no matter what I ate. A pill a day and no more cracks. Anyway having bored you all

Some years ago now doc put me on statins. The time when they wanted everybody to take them. I couldn't remember if I had taken the pill. I don't eat a bad diet and cholesterol levels crashed. I came off them for other reasons but my brother did as well. He thought he was having short term memory problems. No more problems remembering if I tool my vitamin pill.

It seems to be a fact that our brains need a certain amount of crap fat around. These days I use a butter spread on my toast. I'd use butter if it would spread more easily out of the fridge. The heat from the toast helps with the spread.

 

[ajohn]

its sadly why humans miss cyclists and motorcycles when pulling out of junctions.

We seem to have some sort of visual memory. In this case conditioned to looking for cars. There seems to be another as well. The were are the car keys type. Put them somewhere unusual and people may find they can walk right past them and not even see them especially if in a bit of a rush. Our brain remembers what the things in our houses look like is thought to be the reason.

 

[Odds]

We seem to have some sort of visual memory. In this case conditioned to looking for cars. There seems to be another as well. The were are the car keys type. Put them somewhere unusual and people may find they can walk right past them and not even see them especially if in a bit of a rush. Our brain remembers what the things in our houses look like is thought to be the reason.

That's just a blind spot.
A woman was looking right through me when she stepped out into the road and i couldn't avoid hitting her as i cycled up a hill. I couldn't have been more than 10' away and she simply didn't watch where she was going. Silly moo. She was okay. I picked her up, dusted her down and went on my way again pondering the choice of using my powers of invisibility to fight crime or get into gigs for free.

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

I'm often around people struggling with Alzheimers and they can find it difficult to recall what they had for breakfast but can relate earlier memories with ease, such as a childhood memory.

Oh, I struggle with remembering that sort of thing, simply because it's one of the regular things I do and no special reason to bother remembering what I had. Girlfriend rings at least daily and sometimes asks me what I had for dinner. On Saturday she rang, asked and I couldn't immediately remember, but by the end of the call I did manage to remember.

Yesterday I had a ready rolled cottage pie, with roast potatoes and veg, for a late lunch. I then had a ham sandwich a bit later, but by 9pm I was feeling a bit peckish and fancying a baked potato, but wondering why I was peckish. I'd managed to forget I'd had a ham sandwich, I knew I had something, because the used plate was in the bowl waiting to be washed. To stick in my memory, it has to be something out of the ordinary, but I can eventually pull up the memory given a bit of time - no it's not alzheimers, I have always been like that.

not much help if you're looking for your car keys (unless you really, really are in love with your car) but writing reminders is a good way to keep things in mind.

I'm don't generally lose things, and become very annoyed with myself on those rare occasions when I do mislay. I avoid such problems by learning and developing careful habits, but it all falls apart when I deviate from those habits. My car keys stay in the car, in the ignition when parked at home. When out somewhere and I park, the keys get hooked onto my trouser belt loop, and as I do that, I simultaneously press the lock button.

When I leave home I tap my pockets to check keys, phone, wallet - check. Stand to get off the bus, tap pockets, keys, phone, wallet -check.

At home, to try to keep things (reasonably) tidy with minimum effort, things which need to be taken up the stairs get placed on the bottom step. Things which to need to go back to the garage, workshop, or hut, are placed by the back door. To be dealt with next time I need to go up stairs/outside etc..

I do sometimes forget to feed the dog, and even sometimes to top her water up, but she is more than capable of reminding me. I habitually give her a DentaStick every morning, whilst waiting for the coffee to brew, if I forget she gives me 'the stare'. If the stare doesn't work, I get the tapping on my leg treatment.

 

[Odds]

A memory dog is a great idea - every home should have one.

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

It's important to understand how the brain lays down reinforced pathway conductors/insulators using Myelin. It's why practice doesn't make perfect, if you keep getting it wrong. Its why visualisation in sport works and its sadly why humans miss cyclists and motorcycles when pulling out of junctions.

As an ex motorcyclist of many years, I find I don't miss them - one look for general traffic, a second look for bikes, with windows open, using both ears and eyes. I am also very aware of the thick A pillars of my car being very able to hide bikes, so make a point of moving my point of vision, to make sure nothing is hiding behind the A. I slipped up just once, pulling out of a T junction, on a bend - motorcyclist came sweeping round the bend on my left, as I was about to pull out and turn right. I pulled partially out and stopped, he wobbled a bit as he tried to slow and avoid me, I saw him just in time.