Health & Medicine
Neurology: Brain Waves Behind Indecisiveness Discovered
Kathleen Lees
First Posted: Aug 21, 2015 12:49 PM EDT
Researchers have discovered the brain waves behind indecisiveness.
Scientists at the University of Zurich found that both the precision and stability of preference decisions not only depends on the strength of activation of one or more brain regions, but also, the key for stable preference choices. Furthermore, the intensity of communication between two areas of the brain represents our preferences or are involved in spatial orientation, as well as action planning, according to a news release.
In this recent study, researchers used transcranial alternating current stimulation--otherwise known as a non-invasive brain stimulation method that inables generation of coordinated oscilations in the activity of particular brain regions. While test subjects were unaware of stimulation, the technique helped researchers intensify or reduce information flow between the prefrontal cortex located directly below the forehead and the parietal cortex just above the ears. Then, the test subjects had to make preference-based or purely sensory decisions regarding food.
"We discovered that preference-based decisions were less stable if the information flow between the two brain regions was disrupted. Our test subjects were therefore more indecisive. For the purely sensory decisions, however, there was no such effect," Professor Christian Ruff, a neuroeconomist from the University of Zurich, said. "Consequently, the communication between the two brain regions is only relevant if we have to decide whether we like something and not when we make decisions based on objective facts."
While researchers were unable to determine choices by intensifying the information flow, the participants were young, healthy test subjects with highly developed decision-making skill. Yet the study findings could be used for therapeutic measure in the future-including for patients who suffer from a high degree of impulsiveness and indecisiveness via the aftermath of brain disorders.
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TagsHealth, Human, Indecisiveness, Brain, Brain Waves, Function, Stability, Preferrence, Region, Represent, Action, Planning ©2024 ScienceWorldReport.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. The window to the world of science news.
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First Posted: Aug 21, 2015 12:49 PM EDT
Researchers have discovered the brain waves behind indecisiveness.
Scientists at the University of Zurich found that both the precision and stability of preference decisions not only depends on the strength of activation of one or more brain regions, but also, the key for stable preference choices. Furthermore, the intensity of communication between two areas of the brain represents our preferences or are involved in spatial orientation, as well as action planning, according to a news release.
In this recent study, researchers used transcranial alternating current stimulation--otherwise known as a non-invasive brain stimulation method that inables generation of coordinated oscilations in the activity of particular brain regions. While test subjects were unaware of stimulation, the technique helped researchers intensify or reduce information flow between the prefrontal cortex located directly below the forehead and the parietal cortex just above the ears. Then, the test subjects had to make preference-based or purely sensory decisions regarding food.
"We discovered that preference-based decisions were less stable if the information flow between the two brain regions was disrupted. Our test subjects were therefore more indecisive. For the purely sensory decisions, however, there was no such effect," Professor Christian Ruff, a neuroeconomist from the University of Zurich, said. "Consequently, the communication between the two brain regions is only relevant if we have to decide whether we like something and not when we make decisions based on objective facts."
While researchers were unable to determine choices by intensifying the information flow, the participants were young, healthy test subjects with highly developed decision-making skill. Yet the study findings could be used for therapeutic measure in the future-including for patients who suffer from a high degree of impulsiveness and indecisiveness via the aftermath of brain disorders.
Related Articles
For more great science stories and general news, please visit our sister site, Headlines and Global News (HNGN).
See Now: NASA's Juno Spacecraft's Rendezvous With Jupiter's Mammoth Cyclone