When information overload occurs, parts of the brain switch off

In a fascinating study, Angelika Dimoka, director of the Center for Neural Decision Making at Temple University in Philadelphia (USA), investigated how mental overload affects the brain. In her experiment, subjects had to make decisions based on extensive information. The researchers gave the participants increasing amounts of information and examined their brains using an imaging technique. Surprisingly, the scientists observed that activity in a part of the brain (the so-called PFC region) increased with increasing amounts of information, only to suddenly disappear, as if a fuse had blown. "The subjects suffered an 'information overload,'" says Dimoka, "and subsequently began making stupid mistakes and poor decisions because the PFC brain region, which is responsible for intelligent decision-making, shut down." At the same time, they experienced increased frustration and anger because, with the shutdown of the PFC region, emotional brain regions previously controlled by the PFC region became violently activated. These two effects therefore work in the same direction. "If the brain is bombarded with too much information," says Dimoka, "decisions become increasingly unreasonable." This is because information overload causes the very brain regions we need for rational decision-making to shut down, allowing the emotional regions to take over.

What can we learn from this?

When you're faced with an important or difficult decision, you can spend as much time as you want gathering information and advice. But when you actually make the decision, you turn off your emails, social media, and TV and think for a while. It's much better to focus on a few key pieces of information and ignore the others in the decision-making process. Information overload lowers the quality of your decisions.

And what can we do about information overload?

1. Everything you have control over: Don't contribute to information overload and increased complexity. Whatever you do, consider the bigger picture and choose the least complex path.

2. Everything you can influence: When you're in a team reviewing project options, also address the issue of information overload and complexity. Reducing complexity and focusing on the right amount of information should be just as important criteria for the team's success as quality and meeting deadlines.

Of course, you can also do something directly for your brain. If you need to be more resilient in your stressful workday, want to concentrate better and longer, and be fitter overall, BrainEffect® rapid contains a blend of selected plant extracts and minerals. It was specially developed by nutritional physiologists to improve your brain's performance.

Source:

Sharon Begley: The Science of Making Decisions. Newsweek February 27, 2011 http://www.newsweek.com/science-making-decisions-68627