My theory of MD brain fog

[Drake]

So I was sitting in my Psychology class today (that I happen to be failing, probably due to MD :P) when my teacher started talking about memory. Now we all know that when we daydream we develop a "brain fog" that makes it extremely difficult to remember short-term information or causes interference with day-to-day activities.

According to my teacher, short-term memory can be impaired by an excess of incoming information to the brain. Now our daydreams take up a lot of incoming information I believe and that is exactly what brain fog is: an excess of incoming information that blocks our memory processes.

So next time you're daydreaming and you realize you've just done something stupid, whether it be forgetting something important or something else, now you have logical cause to blame MD for it!

[Paradox]

Is this to do with how the hippocampus processes information? Because I was listening to a lecture the other day about this.

It was something along the lines of, if you are not consciously present in the moment, your hippocampus is not engaged, so you can't lay down memories on a conscious level, but your mind still rememers on a more subconscious level.

It's called dissociation, which I guess MD is a form of.

The human mind is fascinating.

 

 

[LD]

I don't think of it as a memory thing, more as an attention thing. You can't encode into memory what you aren't attending to - and when we MD we our attentional resources are shifted inward, rather than to our surroundings.  So, naturally, our memory for what's going on during that time (in your case, the lecture) is impaired. It's true that the hippocampus is important for creating new memories. However, when we imagine ourselves doing things, there is usually activation in the visual cortex (back of the head) and also in other parts of the brain, but those areas depend on what we're imagining ourselves doing.

I have a phd in cog psychology, and I'm currently looking into neuroimaging research on daydreaming and visualization  -- not for work, just for my own curiosity about MD (hence the TMI).

 

[Elizabeth]

Sounds really interesting. Let us know if you find anything related to MD :) I also suffer from bad attention spans and brain fog sometimes. I usually could snap out of it for school because of my fear of failing but classes on subjects that I have no interest in (math, some science, etc.) it was MUCH harder to concentrate in. I am not analytical at all, except with some computer work, so those types of classes were a living hell!! I don't know if psychology is considered analytical because I did well in those two classes.

LD said:

I don't think of it as a memory thing, more as an attention thing. You can't encode into memory what you aren't attending to - and when we MD we our attentional resources are shifted inward, rather than to our surroundings.  So, naturally, our memory for what's going on during that time (in your case, the lecture) is impaired. It's true that the hippocampus is important for creating new memories. However, when we imagine ourselves doing things, there is usually activation in the visual cortex (back of the head) and also in other parts of the brain, but those areas depend on what we're imagining ourselves doing.

I have a phd in cog psychology, and I'm currently looking into neuroimaging research on daydreaming and visualization  -- not for work, just for my own curiosity about MD (hence the TMI).

 

[roxanne]

LD, that sounds fascinating.  I would love to study the same thing.  I find the brain the most interesting thing there is. And of course being an MD'er, I find daydreaming/fantasizing particularly interesting.   I worked in research for years and think I remember that the insula was involved in DD'ing and that that  part of the brain has to do with our capacity to (emotionally) respond to music.   Is that accurate?  So many of us here respond to & are triggered by music.  I think Cynthia listed it as the number one trigger.  I believe that part of the brain is often involved with addictions, as well.   I know DD'ing/ fantasizing involves several/many parts of the brain, but that particular connection struck me.

[Wish Upon A Wish]

I found the same thing, especially this year, when we did physics in science (we split the sciences next year) and during maths last year and worse this year, because of how the teacher taught. He wasn't a bad teacher or anything. a lot of people did well, and he explained things well enough, but he was always talking in a near monotone and didn't really try to make the class interesting. I struggled so hard to pay attention.

Elizabeth said:

Sounds really interesting. Let us know if you find anything related to MD :) I also suffer from bad attention spans and brain fog sometimes. I usually could snap out of it for school because of my fear of failing but classes on subjects that I have no interest in (math, some science, etc.) it was MUCH harder to concentrate in. I am not analytical at all, except with some computer work, so those types of classes were a living hell!! I don't know if psychology is considered analytical because I did well in those two classes.

LD said:

I don't think of it as a memory thing, more as an attention thing. You can't encode into memory what you aren't attending to - and when we MD we our attentional resources are shifted inward, rather than to our surroundings.  So, naturally, our memory for what's going on during that time (in your case, the lecture) is impaired. It's true that the hippocampus is important for creating new memories. However, when we imagine ourselves doing things, there is usually activation in the visual cortex (back of the head) and also in other parts of the brain, but those areas depend on what we're imagining ourselves doing.

I have a phd in cog psychology, and I'm currently looking into neuroimaging research on daydreaming and visualization  -- not for work, just for my own curiosity about MD (hence the TMI).