15 Apr 2010

マルチタスクは脳を分断する:Multitasking Splits the Brain

Multitasking Splits the Brain - ScienceNOW
http://news.sciencemag.org/sciencenow/2010/04/multitasking-splits-the-brain.html?rss=1
  • When the brain tries to do two things at once, it divides and conquers, dedicating one-half of our gray matter to each task, new research shows
  • The work also reveals that the brain can't effectively handle more than two complex, related activities at once.
  • When it comes to task management, the prefrontal cortex is key.
  • sn-multitasking.jpg
    Going halvsies. When tackling tasks A and B simultaneously, half of the brain handles A (red) while the other handles B (yellow).

    Credit: Etienne Koechlin, INSERM-ENS
  • the brain can’t efficiently juggle more than two tasks because it has only two hemispheres available for task management.
  • This shows there are conditions in which you can’t add a third task, but it depends on the type of task and whether it draws on other parts of the brain,”
  • he finds the dual-task division of labor “novel and exciting.”
  • The study illustrates our striking lack of knowledge about how the brain’s hemispheres organize themselves, he says. “I wouldn’t have bet multitasking worked this way.”’
fMRIで脳が綺麗に分断されている図がインパクトある｡

タスクの内容にもよるみたいだけど､全く似たようなタスクは駄目で､例えば食事をしながら本を読むことなどは､脳の活動領域が綺麗に仕分けされるので大丈夫なようだ。複雑なことを2つ同時にやるのは駄目みたいです。まあ当り前と言えば当り前か。