The human
brain is considered to be pretty quick, but it lacks many of
qualities of a super-efficient computer. For instance, we have trouble
switching between tasks and cannot seem to actually do more than one
thing at a time. So despite the increasing
options—and demands—to multitask, our brains seem to have trouble keeping
tabs on many activities at once.
A new study, however, illustrates how the brain can simultaneously keep
track of two separate goals, even while it is busy performing a task
related to one of the aims, hinting that the mind might be better at multitasking
than previously thought.
"This is the first time we observe in the brain concurrent
representations of distinct rewards," Etienne Koechlin,
director of the cognitive neuroscience laboratory at the French National
Institute for Health and Medical Research (Inserm) in Paris and
coauthor of the new study, wrote in an email to ScientificAmerican.com.
To read the full, original article click on this link: Motivated Multitasking: How the Brain Keeps Tabs on Two Tasks at Once: Scientific American
Author: Katherine Harmon
