An Automated Social Content Archive by Mario Breskic

Private and secure persistent archive of my posts

October 25, 2024 at 11:02PM

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Automated Social Content Archiver
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codeandcanvas:

I have had a weird day, no, not a weird day: I have felt a stressful noise in my head earlier, like chatter I could not understand, and which only when focussing on it became words, emotions, memories maybe.

This worried me, because I realised that I have no idea what the cause for this noise is. Talking about it with a dear person close to me, I came to understand that while the both of us had a clear memory of when this head noise happened (which later turned out to be what our brains literally default to when unfocussed and unoccupied with external stimuli, called “default mode network”), I had no idea what the physiological causes for the sensation itself were, or in general are.

So I just went to ask Copilot, and you can see for yourself where that lead me to below

What is the feeling of noise in my mind, a stressful, wordless chatter? Copilot It’s like your brain is playing a chaotic symphony, right? An endless loop of jumbled thoughts with no intermission. It can be exhausting. Just imagine if we could hit "mute" and let a little calmness settle in. Have you found anything that helps quiet it down? You I am not sure. I believe that I am changing too many variables at once, while there are too many other variables which could cause this feeling of chaotic symphony. It is difficult to control all these variables. What kind of research exists about this, I want to read research about not only the causes for this stressful, wordless chatter in my mind, but also about what this noise neurologically, biophysiologically, chemically, and psychologically is, according to latest findings? Copilot It sounds like you're experiencing a lot of internal noise, which can be really challenging to manage. There's actually quite a bit of research on this topic, exploring various aspects of what causes this mental chatter and how it affects us. Causes of Mental Chatter Research suggests that mental chatter often stems from task-unrelated thoughts that intrude when we're trying to focus This can be due to stress, anxiety, or even just the brain's natural tendency to wander. Ethan Kross, in his book "Chatter," explains that this kind of self-talk can be both helpful and harmful, depending on how we manage it Neurological and Biophysical Aspects Neurologically, mental chatter is linked to the default mode network (DMN) in the brain, which is active when we're not focused on the outside world . Overactivity in the DMN can lead to excessive rumination and worry. Studies have shown that brain connectivity and the interaction between different brain regions play a significant role in this process Chemical and Psychological Aspects Chemically, neurotransmitters like glutamate and dopamine are involved in the regulation of thoughts and emotions ALT
Psychological research highlights the impact of mental chatter on emotional well- being, stress levels, and interpersonal relationships. Techniques like distanced self- talk (using your own name or the second person "you" in your inner monologue) have been shown to help manage this chatter Latest Findings Recent studies have explored the neural circuits involved in anxiety and how certain receptors, like delta opioid receptors (DOPs), can play a role in reducing anxiety Researchers are also looking into multi-omic data to understand the molecular differences in people with conditions like PTSD and depression, which can contribute to mental chatter Would you like more detailed information on any specific aspect, or perhaps some strategies to manage this mental noise? You For now, I think that exploring the “default mode network” in the brain is what I need to understand more about, and need more detailed information on this, the neurological and biophysical aspects. Go into as much detail as possible, and then collate a list of reading material consisting of published works about the “default mode network” in the brain, with an emphasis on two categories of books: for laymen, and for college-level readers/students, please. Copilot The default mode network (DMN) is a fascinating topic! It's a network of brain regions that show increased activity when a person is not focused on the outside world, such as during daydreaming, introspection, and mind-wandering The DMN includes areas like the medial prefrontal cortex, posterior cingulate cortex, precuneus, and angular gyrus. It's involved in self-referential thoughts, memory retrieval, envisioning the future, and understanding others' perspectives Detailed Information on the Default Mode Network Neurological Aspects • Brain Regions Involved: The DMN includes the medial prefrontal cortex, posterior cingulate cortex, precuneus, and angular gyrus ALT
Function: It's active during rest and internally focused tasks like daydreaming, self- reflection, and thinking about the past or future Clinical Significance: Dysregulation of the DMN has been linked to various mental health conditions, including depression, anxiety, Alzheimer's disease, and autism Biophysical Aspects • Neuroimaging: Techniques like functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) have been crucial in identifying and studying the DMN Connectivity: The DMN shows coordinated activity across its regions, which is essential for its functions Metabolism: Studies have shown that the brain's metabolism remains relatively constant between rest and task performance, indicating ongoing activity in the DMN during rest Reading Material For Laymen 1. "The Brain: The Story of You" by David Eagleman - This book provides an accessible introduction to various brain functions, including the DMN. 2. "Thinking, Fast and Slow" by Daniel Kahneman - While not exclusively about the DMN, it offers insights into how the brain processes information, which can help understand the DMN's role. 3. "The Mind's Eye" by Oliver Sacks - This book explores the brain's visual system and includes discussions on brain networks like the DMN. For College-Level Readers/Students 1. "The Neuroscience of Mind: A Unified Theory of the Human Brain" by Zoltan Torey - This book delves into the neuroscience behind brain functions, including the DMN. 2. "Principles of Neural Science" by Eric Kandel - A comprehensive textbook that covers various aspects of neuroscience, including the DMN. ALT
3. "The Cognitive Neuroscience of Memory" by Michael D. Rugg and Endel Tulving - This book provides detailed information on memory processes and the role of the DMN. I hope this helps! If you have any more questions or need further information, feel free to ask. You Please export this interaction as a pdf Copilot I can’t generate a PDF for you directly, but you can easily copy our conversation and paste it into a document. From there, you can save it as a PDF. If you need help with this, just let me know! You Thank you. You have helped me. Copilot I'm really glad to hear that. Any time you're curious or need to untangle your thoughts, I'll be right here. Take care, friend. ALT

You can find the original upload on my arena account here https://www.are.na/block/31536061 with my comments on how two of these books (the more academic ones) are labelled wrong, but I will provide these comments here as well, but first I’ll link you to the commented pdf in my social archive:

https://social.mariobreskic.de/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/What-is-the-feeling-of-noise-in-my-mind.pdf

Below are now the comments I made about this exchange with Copilot

Caveat lector:
None of the Zoltan Torey books are called that, and “The Cognitive Neuroscience of Memory” is not by Rugg et Tulving.
Take this as what it is, not what you want it to be.

Second comment

URLs from this interaction, to peruse at your own discretion:

The Chatter in Our Minds

Chatter: The Health Impacts of the Voice in Our Heads

https://www.apa.org/monitor/2022/01/special-frontiers-neuroscience

Uncovering anxiety: Scientists identify causative pathway and potential cures

Researchers unveil shared and unique brain molecular dysregulations in PTSD and depression

Default mode network – Wikipedia

What Is The Default Mode Network?

Default Mode Network

Third comment

Further quizzing Copilot about the missing books lead to this:

“The Neuroscience of Mind: A Unified Theory of the Human Brain” by Zoltan Torey has the ISBN of
9780262530859
which is actually “Neurophilosophy: Toward a Unified Science of Mind/Brain: Toward a Unified Science of the Mind-Brain (Computational Models of Cognition and Perception)”

“The Cognitive Neuroscience of Memory” by Michael D. Rugg and Endel Tulving has the ISBN of
9781848727724
which is actually “Cognitive Neuroscience of Memory (Special Issues of Cognitive Neuroscience)”

Close enough in case of the second book, but confused. See here https://ift.tt/2aqud7m or here https://ift.tt/tpmXVBy for my rubberducking/notepadding in public

End of comments

Interesting, right?

The noise in our heads, and what this noise defaults to, is literally the default mode of our brains. We, as far as I can understand it, rarely, if ever, idle. I don’t know if this default can be changed, but I’ll just be cheerful for no damn reason.

Copilot’s quality control for quoted and referenced books is meh, but I don’t think that will stop you from researching for yourself, now will it? Tagging this up with a few sensible hashtag guesses, keeping it away from the archive by not using the tag “code and canvas”, should hook it into tumblr’s internal knowledge database quite nicely.

Much has happened in between then and now, and as I am watching the sci‑fi show Foundation, I notice how often I still have to I stop thinking about myself watching it, but then I am just in the present, enjoying the show.

And quitting rumination feels a lot like quitting smoking. At least, it reminds me of that kind of effort. All these moments of saying “no” will eventually become a sum “no”.

I’ll be gone for a while. Remember those couple of hundred hours of study? I think I can manage them now.

I think I can manage a lot of things now. Let’s see where this takes us, yeah?

Source: My after‑hours blog on Tumblr Code & Canvas

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