Latest news with #UniversityofLiege
Time of India
26-04-2025
- Health
- Time of India
Researchers review past studies, say 'mind blanking' is distinct with unique brain activity
New Delhi: Mind blanking is a distinct state of mind, with unique neural and cognitive properties , according to a research article. Often experienced after performing tasks requiring sustained focus, mind blanking can include lapses in attention and memory and sometimes, a temporary absence of inner speech. Writing in the article, published in the journal Trends in Cognitive Sciences , the authors explained that when we are awake, our thoughts shift through varied contents. "However, there are moments that are seemingly devoid of reportable content, referred to as mind blanking," they wrote. Author Athena Demertzi, a neuroscientist at the University of Liege , Belgium, said, "We sought to better understand mind blanking by parsing through 80 relevant research articles -- including some of our own in which we recorded participants' brain activity when they were reporting that they were 'thinking of nothing'." The team found that how commonly one experiences mind blanking ranges between 5-20 per cent of the time on average. Children with attention disorders (such as ADHD ) were found to report "thinking about nothing" more often, compared to neurotypical people. Further, the authors noted a lowered heart rate and pupil size among people experiencing a mind blank after having engaged in tasks needing sustained attention. The participants also showed brain activity that was relatively less complex -- a state of mind which the researchers said is usually observed in unconscious people. The authors also suggested that mind blanking could be " local sleep episodes ", as a person's ability to process sensory information -- such as touch and temperature -- is disrupted, with slow, sleep-waves seen in their brain. The researchers said that mind blanking has been previously studied as part of research and experiments designed to study mind wandering -- a state of mind where thoughts "occur seamlessly", and "resemble a stream continuously flowing". However, the team argued that mind blanking is a distinct experience -- it involves feeling sleepier, more sluggish, and making more errors -- and should be looked at independently.
Calgary Herald
24-04-2025
- Health
- Calgary Herald
Your mind really can go blank when you're awake. Here's what happens in your brain
Article content The human mind really can go blank during consciousness, according to a new review that challenges the assumption people experience a constant flow of thoughts when awake. Article content Instead, there are moments when the human mind seems empty of any content, and people seemingly aren't thinking of anything at all. Article content Article content Mind blanking is a common, daily life phenomenon linked to changes in states of arousal, the researchers report, and tends to occur towards the end of long and demanding attention tasks like exams, when people are sleep deprived or after an intense workout. Meaning that, 'when the brain is in a high- or low-arousal state, a mind blank is more likely to occur.' Article content In experiments with healthy volunteers, the brain shows signs of 'deactivation' and an increase in sleep-like slow brain waves during a reported mind blank. Heart rates and pupil sizes decrease. A part of the brain appears asleep, 'which may represent a state of 'local sleep' rather than outright sleep,' the researchers write. Article content The experience has been described as a 'lack of conscious awareness,' they noted, during which 'the individual is not focally aware of any stimuli, either internal or external,' a particularly dangerous state if it occurs during high-risk, inopportune moments, like driving. Article content Article content It may be the result of glitches in memory, language or attention. In experiments, people report feeling sleepier, and more sluggish, and they make more errors on attention tasks moments before their minds go 'nowhere.' Article content Article content While some people never report mind blanking, adults and children with ADHD (attention deficient hyperactivity disorder) report the experience more frequently than 'neurotypical people,' the researchers said. Article content 'Mind going blank' is also one of the core symptoms of generalized anxiety disorder. It's also related to strokes, seizures, traumatic brain injuries and an 'ultra-rare' sleep disorder (Kleine-Levin syndrome) that affects primarily teenage boys and that causes them to sleep up to 20 hours a day. Article content 'The experience of a 'blank mind' is as intimate and direct as that of bearing thoughts,' the team of neuroscientists and philosophers write. Article content It's not entirely clear what these 'blanks' represent, they said. However, 'We sought to better understand mind blanking by parsing through 80 relevant research articles — including some of our own in which we recorded participants' brain activity when they were reporting that they were 'thinking of nothing,'' Athena Demertzi, of the University of Liege, Belgium, said in a press release.
National Post
24-04-2025
- Health
- National Post
Your mind really can go blank when you're awake. Here's what happens in your brain
The human mind really can go blank during consciousness, according to a new review that challenges the assumption people experience a constant flow of thoughts when awake. Article content Article content Instead, there are moments when the human mind seems empty of any content, and people seemingly aren't thinking of anything at all. Article content 'Mind blanking' is a newly explored and distinct mental state that isn't the same as a lapse of attention or a wandering mind, the research team writes. People aren't thinking about something else. Article content Article content Article content Mind blanking is a common, daily life phenomenon linked to changes in states of arousal, the researchers report, and tends to occur towards the end of long and demanding attention tasks like exams, when people are sleep deprived or after an intense workout. Meaning that, 'when the brain is in a high- or low-arousal state, a mind blank is more likely to occur.' Article content In experiments with healthy volunteers, the brain shows signs of 'deactivation' and an increase in sleep-like slow brain waves during a reported mind blank. Heart rates and pupil sizes decrease. A part of the brain appears asleep, 'which may represent a state of 'local sleep' rather than outright sleep,' the researchers write. Article content The experience has been described as a 'lack of conscious awareness,' they noted, during which 'the individual is not focally aware of any stimuli, either internal or external,' a particularly dangerous state if it occurs during high-risk, inopportune moments, like driving. Article content It may be the result of glitches in memory, language or attention. In experiments, people report feeling sleepier, and more sluggish, and they make more errors on attention tasks moments before their minds go 'nowhere.' Article content Article content While some people never report mind blanking, adults and children with ADHD (attention deficient hyperactivity disorder) report the experience more frequently than 'neurotypical people,' the researchers said. Article content Article content 'Mind going blank' is also one of the core symptoms of generalized anxiety disorder. It's also related to strokes, seizures, traumatic brain injuries and an 'ultra-rare' sleep disorder (Kleine-Levin syndrome) that affects primarily teenage boys and that causes them to sleep up to 20 hours a day. Article content It's not entirely clear what these 'blanks' represent, they said. However, 'We sought to better understand mind blanking by parsing through 80 relevant research articles — including some of our own in which we recorded participants' brain activity when they were reporting that they were 'thinking of nothing,'' Athena Demertzi, of the University of Liege, Belgium, said in a press release. Article content If scientists can better understand what's happening in the brain, and if people could learn how to deliberately, instead of randomly, not think about anything, it could be an interesting strategy for dealing with anxiety, negative thoughts or other unpleasant emotions, lead author Thomas Andrillon, a cognitive neuroscientist at the Paris Brain Institute, said in an interview with National Post.
Vancouver Sun
24-04-2025
- Health
- Vancouver Sun
Your mind really can go blank when you're awake. Here's what happens in your brain
Article content The human mind really can go blank during consciousness, according to a new review that challenges the assumption people experience a constant flow of thoughts when awake. Article content Instead, there are moments when the human mind seems empty of any content, and people seemingly aren't thinking of anything at all. Article content 'Mind blanking' is a newly explored and distinct mental state that isn't the same as a lapse of attention or a wandering mind, the research team writes. People aren't thinking about something else. Article content Article content Mind blanking is a common, daily life phenomenon linked to changes in states of arousal, the researchers report, and tends to occur towards the end of long and demanding attention tasks like exams, when people are sleep deprived or after an intense workout. Meaning that, 'when the brain is in a high- or low-arousal state, a mind blank is more likely to occur.' Article content In experiments with healthy volunteers, the brain shows signs of 'deactivation' and an increase in sleep-like slow brain waves during a reported mind blank. Heart rates and pupil sizes decrease. A part of the brain appears asleep, 'which may represent a state of 'local sleep' rather than outright sleep,' the researchers write. Article content The experience has been described as a 'lack of conscious awareness,' they noted, during which 'the individual is not focally aware of any stimuli, either internal or external,' a particularly dangerous state if it occurs during high-risk, inopportune moments, like driving. Article content Article content It may be the result of glitches in memory, language or attention. In experiments, people report feeling sleepier, and more sluggish, and they make more errors on attention tasks moments before their minds go 'nowhere.' Article content Article content While some people never report mind blanking, adults and children with ADHD (attention deficient hyperactivity disorder) report the experience more frequently than 'neurotypical people,' the researchers said. Article content 'Mind going blank' is also one of the core symptoms of generalized anxiety disorder. It's also related to strokes, seizures, traumatic brain injuries and an 'ultra-rare' sleep disorder (Kleine-Levin syndrome) that affects primarily teenage boys and that causes them to sleep up to 20 hours a day. Article content 'The experience of a 'blank mind' is as intimate and direct as that of bearing thoughts,' the team of neuroscientists and philosophers write. Article content It's not entirely clear what these 'blanks' represent, they said. However, 'We sought to better understand mind blanking by parsing through 80 relevant research articles — including some of our own in which we recorded participants' brain activity when they were reporting that they were 'thinking of nothing,'' Athena Demertzi, of the University of Liege, Belgium, said in a press release.
