Do you have a feeling of an unresolved problem? So strange, as if mental itching. It does not allow to think about something else. Keeps you awake. Constantly distracting.My problem was a lack of understanding of the reason why these sensations arise.On an intuitive level, everything is transparent: there is a feeling described above - there is a problem. But for what reason did the brain decide that it was necessary to start the mechanisms that determine these sensations? And what are these mechanisms?But after learning how the brain works with problems, you can dramatically improve your Problem-Solving Skills. Streamline the decision process. Understand why we sometimes make mistakes.It seems worth it to try to disassemble the brain and from assemble the details back into a small mathematical model. Will we try?DISCLAIMER:If it seems to you that I took something āfrom the ceilingā, I highly recommend reading the previous article. I deliberately omit many details to reduce complexity. If you want to clarify something - let's put it out in a comment.Let's start with an example. In order not to go far, let's take the problem of this article: We do not know how the brain defines problems.Let's sketch out the concepts that we work with in the form of a graph:
The brain defines objects using connected regions of neurons 1 . You can call them clusters, or subnets. I depicted them in circles. Between them there are ātracksā of neurons - these are arrows in the picture.These objects can be combined into more complex structures - models.For example, if I read the word āappleā, then I will activate a section of the visual cortex that recognizes this word. Together with it, a section of the auditory cortex is activated, which is responsible for the sound of the word āappleā. And this will catch the sites that are responsible for pronouncing the words, therefore, pronouncing the word āappleā to myself, I will slightly activate the muscles responsible for its pronunciation. So I got a word model. From it, the brain can get a model of the apple as a physical object: appearance, smell, the sound of a crunch when bitten. Such connected activations of the networks of our brain, we are used to call associations.Let's get back to our problem.Joint activation of the circles ādefinitionā and the circle āin the brainā - gives an associationwith a circle "neural subnet." If this did not occur for you, it means that it was not āsavedā. Actually, this text is needed to create and consolidate it. Let us depict this in the picture:
What happens when we try to attach this problem to the object? What neural subnets define it? As with the apple, we have the sound of the word āproblemā, and there is an object that describes the āfeeling of the problemā. Let's portray:
This is our definition at the moment. So far, we have not received any new information. We just described what we already knew, but using the concept of a āconnected neural subnetā. Let's clarify our request and see what happens:- Okay, Brain, how are these arrows and circles connected with the sensation of a problem?............Feel it? There is no strong association. Gestalt does not close. The answer does not come.............This lack of signal is the āproblemā.What is happening in the brain at this moment? Schematically, this can be represented as follows:
There are two areas that are activated at about the same time, but there is no connection between them. There are associations, but in order to put together a picture, they are not suitable.And our solution looks like this:
All the sensations at the time the problem occurs are due to the brain trying to establish a connection. The most logical explanation seems to me: when subnets are activated in the brain for which there are no strong associations, serotonin is released. Raising his level is characterized by interest and an excited state. Unfortunately, I canāt check directly, and there is no proof yet - this is just a hypothesis. By the way, didnāt you notice that life is kind of fresh, if you have no goal or task?When the problem is solved, i.e. connection is established - we feel satisfaction. Most likely, dopamine is released at this point.Let's try to go through the whole chain and see what happens:The brain is made up of neurons. They form strongly connected subnets. Activating such a subnet gives us a sense of āobjectā or āwholeā. When several objects are activated independently and there is no strong association for them, we have a feeling of a problem. Unclosed gestalt, as it is sometimes called. At this point, serotonin is released, it is responsible for the fact that we feel interest, excitement, anxiety. When the brain finds a path between objects, the problem is solved. Dopamine is released. We are satisfied. We feel that we understood something.So, if we are nervous, itās worth trying to praise ourselves or solve some simple problem and generate dopamine.If we are not interested in anything, we must try to pose the problem and increase serotonin. Praising yourself is also worth it. There are no solved problems - there is no dopamine, but here its lack is a consequence.It turned out pretty well. It is fully consistent with psychiatry, treatment of depressive conditions, a list of side effects of antidepressants, approaches to different types of disorders in psychotherapy.So, since I mentioned this, I am obliged to recall the following:DO NOT PRESCRIBE YOURSELF ANTI-PRESS RESPONSE!Why? You yourself just explained about serotonin and dopamine.ā . , - . , . . ā , . , . ā , . - . , . . . , ā - .
. - , , . ā . ā , Ā« Ā». ā .
So, the problem is the lack of connection between groups of brain neurons. We figured it out.But, as we know, life is boring without them, so I prepared a fly in the ointment for this barrel of dopamine:The brain at this level does not know that there are ārightā and āwrongā compounds. He cares only about the connection between objects. At this level, there is no moderator deciding: "This thought is good," "But this is somehow strange." There are separate mechanisms for filtering āstrangeā, more about them later. And when the moderation system is sleeping, something like this may happen:* Sounds of a siren *-Capitan, we donāt know who created the world! We do not have the necessary association!-Start a search for a solution. Turn on serotonin.-Capitan, we see the article, it says: "The world was created by aliens."-Check the connection.-There is a connection! The objects āworldā, ācreatedā and āaliensā are present in the memory, and the signal successfully passes through the entire chain!- The task is solved. You can take a dip in the dopamine baths.And do not care that the "aliens" - it's just a word, no one has ever seen them, and in general there is no evidence of their existence.I think you have come across such a style of thinking - now you better understand where it comes from.However, this was an absurdly obvious example. Here's another:Iāve thought all my life that I understand what a āproblemā is. In my head, the word defined sensation, and sensation the word. Cyclic dependence did not create a āsense of problemā. Is there a connection? So that's great.So, chuckle at all sorts of strange guys who believe in homeopathy. And then you realize that you made a mistake of the same type.On this I will probably end. A list of the following questions so that the interest does not cool down:- How does the brain solve problems? - The brain needs to somehow activate the subnets, and choose which ones are more suitable in order to make a decision.
- How does context dependency work? Why is the brain able to correctly interpret polysemantic words, and how is this done? - But we have no problems with the fact that onions are onions, but are sports.
- How to exit the decision process? We can just score on him.
- How is āmoderationā carried out? How does the brain find errors in existing patterns and what happens at that moment? - After all, we somehow know how to recognize the wrong patterns and change them.
Falsification bounty programm:Hypothesis: āA sensation of a problem is formed at the moment of activation of subnets that do not have an obvious path between themā - participates in a program for encouraging critical thinking.Falsification reward: $ 50Possible falsification criterion:Evidence in favor of the lack of connection between the process of activation of incoherent areas in the brain and the release of neurotransmitters.Conditions50 , .
, . . , ā . , (, , , ).
. .. , ā . 90/100 ā . (90/100 , )