Scientists have solved a problem that philosophers could not solve: the cause of our actions is an unconscious choice.

“People consider themselves free only for the reason that they are aware of their actions, but do not know the reasons that caused them.” Spinoza

The existence of free will is one of the most important unresolved problems of philosophy since antiquity. Do we make decisions consciously, or are our choices made unconsciously long before we are aware of them? Immanuel Kant included the problem of free will among his antinomies - questions the answers to which lie beyond the bounds of possible knowledge. But scientists are not afraid of difficult tasks that philosophers have not succeeded in. Hundreds of experimental works by psychologists and neurophysiologists have been devoted to the study of free will, and it seems that the answer has been found: the cause of our actions is not a conscious choice.

One of the leading experts in this field is Harvard University psychology professor Daniel Wegner, who summarized the available experimental data in the monograph “The Illusion of Conscious Will.” As the title of the work suggests, Wegner comes to the conclusion that free will is an illusion. Free will is not the cause of our actions, but accompanies them in the same way as the low battery signal on the screen mobile phone accompanies battery discharge, but does not cause discharge. This is just a feeling that allows us to distinguish an action performed by us from processes that do not depend on us.

When we perform a desired action, we tend to interpret it as a manifestation of free will. However, sometimes people commit an action, but do not experience the feeling of realized free will. Wegner, Carpenter and a number of other psychologists were interested in the unusual effect that occurs during spiritualistic seances. A group of people place their hands on a round table that can rotate. Participants in the session believe that the table will begin to rotate at the will of the spirit they have called upon. Often the table actually begins to move, and every single member of the group is ready to swear that they are not involved in this rotation. When the Bible is placed on the table, the rotation stops to everyone's shock.

The involvement of spirits in the rotation of the table can be verified by the nature of the fingerprints left by the participants in the seance on the dusty tabletop. It's one thing for your fingers to passively resist a rotating table, and quite another for them to actively spin the table. The direction of the strokes will be different. Observations have shown that people, not spirits, spin the table. But people did not feel free will and therefore experienced the illusion that someone else was turning the table. Another type of Ouija uses a cardboard board with words or letters on it. For example, the words “yes” and “no”.

A group of people grab a disc and hold it above the board. They ask questions to the summoned spirit, and he brings the disk to one of the answers. At the same time, the answers are logical, for example, to the question “are you alive?” the spirit consistently answers “no.” As in the previous example, people are convinced that they are not causing movement. However, if the participants are blindfolded and the board is unfolded in secret, the answers of the “spirits” cease to be logical, that is, the answers are chosen by people, not spirits, although they themselves do not realize it. There are many such examples, called automatisms.

But the opposite is also true: we often experience free will in actions that we did not perform. For example, in a number of experiments described by Wegner, people admitted their guilt for pressing the “wrong” computer key that they did not press. To do this, it is enough to provide a false witness to the error, and the nature of the error must be such that its commission seems plausible. In some cases, a person not only experiences a feeling of guilt for an action he has not committed, but also “remembers” the details of his violation. Wegner gives an example from his own life when he sat down to play computer game and only after some time of enthusiastically pressing keys did he realize that he was not controlling the game, but was watching the screensaver for it.

Severe impairments in the sense of free will may occur in patients with brain disorders. For example, described clinical cases when people feel that they control the movement of the sun across the sky or cars on the roads. They believe that their will is the cause of these movements. On the other hand, there are people with “alien hand” syndrome who are sure that their hand lives its own life and does not obey their will. To an outside observer, all movements of the hand appear to be conscious: the hand can perform complex actions, for example, buttoning a shirt. But the owner is convinced that someone else is controlling the hand. Some people believe that they are controlled “from outer space” and do not at all feel their will behind the actions they perform.

Thus, free will is a feeling that does not always correspond to reality. We know for sure that free will can be an illusion and we have the right to ask: could any feeling of free will be an illusion? When we begin to deliver a long monologue, we do not think it through from beginning to end, but each word falls into place and fits into an elegant coherent picture, as if we knew the whole monologue from the very beginning. Our consciousness does not yet know what we will say next, but for some reason this does not stop us from expressing our thoughts. Isn't this strange?

However, the arguments are not limited to philosophical reflections. Row scientific research testifies to the fact that the “free will” we are aware of is not the cause of our actions. Psychologist Benjamin Libet discovered the so-called “readiness potential” in the brain, an arousal in a certain area of ​​the brain that occurs hundreds of milliseconds before a person makes a conscious decision to act. In the experiment, people were asked to press a button at a random time whenever they wanted. At the same time, participants were required to note the moment at which they made a conscious decision to press the button. What was surprising was that the experimenters, measuring the readiness potential, could predict the moment of pressing the button hundreds of milliseconds before the subject realized that he had decided to press the button. The chronology was as follows: first, scientists saw a jump in the readiness potential on the measuring instruments, then the person realized that he wanted to press the button, and after that the button itself was pressed.

Initially, many scientists treated these experiments with skepticism. It was suggested that such a delay may be associated with a violation of the attention of the subjects. However, subsequent experiments by Haggard and other researchers showed that although attention influences the described delays, the main effect is replicated: the readiness potential signals a person's will to press the button before the person experiences that will. In 1999, experiments by neuroscientists Patrick Haggard and Martin Eimer showed that if a person is given a choice between two buttons, by measuring similar readiness potentials, it is possible to predict which button the person will choose before he is aware of his choice.

In 2004, a group of neuroscientists published an article in the respected scientific journal Nature Neuroscience that people with certain damage to an area of ​​the cerebral cortex called the parietal cortex cannot tell when they decided to start moving, although they can indicate the moment when the movement began. Researchers have suggested that this region of the brain is responsible for creating a pattern of subsequent movement. In 2008, another group of scientists attempted to replicate the button-pressing experiments using more modern technology– functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). MRI allows you to study changes in the activity of different parts of the brain, observing changes in blood flow (the most active parts of the brain require more oxygen). The subjects were seated in front of a screen on which the letters changed. The test subject had to remember which letter they would choose between two buttons when they saw it. Scientists have tried to determine which areas of the brain are stimulated by the most information about what choice a person will make: will he press the left or right button.

Taking into account all statistical corrections, brain activity in the above-mentioned parietal cortex (and several other areas) made it possible to predict a person’s choice before he was aware of it. In a number of conditions, the forecast was made 10 seconds before the subject made a conscious decision! Neuroscientist John-Dylan Haynes and colleagues who participated in this study concluded that the network of control regions of the brain responsible for making decisions begins to form long before we begin to suspect it. This work was also published in the journal Nature Neuroscience.

In the review of “The God Gene” (see “New” dated 06/06/2008), we touched upon the research of Roger Sperry, the objects of which were people who had undergone surgery to separate the hemispheres of the brain. For these studies in 1981 he was awarded Nobel Prize. Sperry showed that people with a severed corpus callosum (the bridge connecting the left and right hemispheres of the brain) develop two independent personalities - one in the left hemisphere, the other in the right hemisphere. This has a direct application to the question of free will: amazing fact that the two personalities of such a person do not conflict and are not even aware of each other’s existence.

The hemispheres were separated, but for them it was as if nothing had changed! It seems that any action performed by our body is interpreted by consciousness (consciousnesses?) as a result of the manifestation of its free will, even if it was not such. Imagine two people living in the same room but not knowing about their neighbor. Every time a window opens, each of them is convinced that it was he who opened it.

The belief that we can freely and consciously choose our actions is fundamental to our view of the world. However, this point of view is not consistent with recent experimental data, which indicate that our subjective perception of freedom is nothing more than an illusion, that our actions are determined by processes in our brain that are hidden from our consciousness and occur long before the feeling of a decision being made.

“We must look at ourselves and at the world through the eyes of three completely different personalities,” two of whom are not armed with speech.
The human brain, McLean believes, is “equivalent to three interconnected biological computers,” each of which has “its own own mind, their own sense of time and space, their own memory, motor and other functions.”

Quotes from the article:

All humans have a triune brain system, which includes:
- reticular (reptilian) brain,
- emotional (limbic, mammalian) brain,
- visual brain (cerebral cortex, neocortex).

1. Reptilian brain (R-complex)

It exists 100 million years ago, it is the oldest.

Has a fundamental influence on our behavior. Responsible for the safety of the species and controls basic behavior. This is the instinct of reproduction, protection of one's territory, aggression, the desire to possess and control everything, following patterns, imitation, deception, the struggle for power, the desire for hierarchical structures, ritual behavior, minority control.
He is characterized by cold-blooded behavior, lack of empathy, and indifference to the consequences of our actions regarding other people.

Its functions are quite simple: “run - fight - freeze.” It is very useful for immediate reactions. First – reaction, then comprehension. In this sense, this is our “autopilot”, which we cannot consciously control. His main task– protection of the body, he is defensive, he is always “on guard” and looks out for danger to the body.

It is also the reptilian brain that first of all becomes the object of external manipulation in order to instill in you a constant fear of “not surviving”, feeding you information about crises, rising prices, wars, disasters, accidents, violence, carrying out painful reforms and much more that scares us modern society from the cradle to the grave.

He also sometimes confuses imaginary danger with real threat. In such situations, the reptilian brain literally takes control of your mind and body.

Surely you can remember that there were times in your life when the reptilian brain took over your mind and you “overreacted” to a situation? In a sense, our reptilian brain still functions within us as the ancient dinosaurs, or our distant and wild ancestors.

2. The limbic system is the “emotional brain.”

Mammal brain. Its age is 50 million years, this is an inheritance from ancient mammals.

It is responsible for the survival of the individual, self-preservation and self-defense; manages social behavior, maternal care and education. It is involved in the regulation of functions internal organs, smell, instinctive behavior, experiences, memory, sleep, wakefulness, etc. This brain is 98% identical to the brain of “our little brothers.”

The emotional brain is considered the main generator of emotions, connects emotional and physical activity. This is where fear, fun, and change of mood arise. By the way, exactly limbic system exposed to psychotropic substances. Disturbances in the limbic system can cause unexplained attacks of rage, fear or sensitivity.

The emotional brain gives us the “feeling life.” It is important to know that this is a “monotonous brain”; it loves comfort and routine, and strives for security and consistency. For the emotional brain, safety is doing today what you did yesterday, and tomorrow what you did today.

The “gravity” of the emotional brain, in its desire to preserve what we already have, manifests itself in resistance to change, it holds and pulls us back into the so-called “comfort zone” - the status quo, as part of homeostasis. Any of our attempts to get out of it is stressful for the emotional brain.

Every decision you make goes through his filter: “Is this good for me? Is it safe for my family? Isn’t there a threat in this?” And if something threatens, you reject this choice. In other words, when the emotional brain makes decisions, it bases it on what is close and familiar to you.

When you feel resistance to change, it means your emotional brain is controlling your mind.

His features:
- lives in the present time;
- auditory (communication using sounds and tones);
- orientation towards life in a group, his priority is the survival of the group, family, clan;
- does not know the options, only “yes” and “no”, “good-bad”, “this or that”;
- associativity with certain moments of life - when we think about something, we enter into an image and experience feelings.

The emotional brain does not distinguish between threats to our body and threats to our ego. Therefore, we begin to defend ourselves without even understanding the essence of the situation.

The reptilian and emotional systems of the brain have existed together for 50 million years and interact very well. This is why it is so important to understand that these two tightly coupled systems can often take control of the mind and body. For the reptilian brain, the threat can be physical, for the emotional brain it can be emotional. For example, loss of love, fear of the unknown, or changes occurring in a person's life.

3. Visual brain (cerebral cortex, neocortex - left and right hemispheres).

Thinking brain. This is the rational mind - the youngest structure. Age 1.5 – 2.5 million years.

It represents what we call reason: reflections, conclusions, the ability to analyze, things happen in it cognitive processes etc. Possesses spatial thinking, visualization pictures appear here, focus on the future, its research and analysis.

With it you can imagine anything you want!

This is also our “thought mixer” (about 60,000 thoughts a day!).

This brain can determine:
- what actions you need to take,
- set goals and make a plan,
- discuss your goals and dreams,
- inspire you and cause action for a short period of time,
- using logic to accept or reject ideas and goals.

It is important to remember that the conscious brain is not responsible for actions on a long-term basis.
Today, neuroscience has proven that the conscious brain is responsible for only 2% of long-term goals. The remaining 98% is the responsibility of our subconscious.

Now, having an idea about the structure of our brain, we can move on. At one time, Confucius said that “the world is transformed by those who were able to transform themselves, knowing that the greatest mastery begins with control of the mind. When the mind becomes an obedient servant of a person, the whole world will lie at his feet.”

Continuing the material, quotes on this topic from another source:

Real and hidden capabilities of the brain

1. Reptilian brain

During human evolution, the brain stem called the reptilian brain was the first to develop. It is the weakest component of human intelligence. This area of ​​the brain is responsible for sensory-motor reactions (the work of the five senses with which we perceive the material world).

Human life takes place in three-dimensional space.
Our senses, and therefore the associated Consciousness, are oriented towards the perception of the range of this space. As you can see, this range is small, considering that space is multidimensional and by no means linear, as we perceive it.

The real world in which we live and to which our Consciousness is oriented is not at all the same as we know and imagine (idealize) it. We now have yet to explore, understand and inhabit this unknown World.

Behavioral stereotypes embedded in the reptilian brain are associated with the instinct of survival, with the desire to procreate.

When the reptilian brain shows dominant activity, a person loses the ability to think on all others, disproportionately more high levels. The development of the brain and thinking occurs only through study; there is no other way: either you strain it or you lose it! When a person “loses” his brain, he degrades.

To avoid this, first it will be enough to agree with the fact that our perception of the World is limited, incomplete, and our “reference point” and “system of measures” are archaic. Wisdom says: “What gets measured gets done.” We live in the atomic age, but we measure by “quarters”, by eye.

If you think about it, a person accepts the perception of the World from the point of view of a reptile (its eyes) as the Ultimate Truth, having built his worldview, morality, morality on this shaky and very unreliable foundation...

2. Mammal Brain

The reptilian brain is surrounded by a very complex limbic system, called the “mammalian brain.”

This area of ​​the brain is located significantly higher on the evolutionary ladder than the reptilian brain and is present in all mammals. Its functions are emotional and cognitive. This part of the brain is responsible for sensations, experiences, memory and learning; controls biorhythms, manifestation of hunger, controls blood pressure, sleep, metabolism, heart rate, state of the immune system.

The reptilian brain plays an important role in maintaining the vital functions of the body: it is with this brain that the influence of emotions on health is associated. The limbic system perceives signals coming from the senses (hearing, vision, touch) and transmits the received information to the thinking part of the brain - the neocortex.

People with a dominant limbic brain are emotional and touchy. Or they go to the other extreme: they immerse themselves in study, work, business, and take on a lot of other people’s worries and responsibilities, which are burdensome and often do not bring any benefit to anyone.

Since the limbic system is directly connected to the neocortex, its dominance wastes the mental energy of the neocortex on solving problems and tasks of the limbic system, simply burns it with emotions, instead of using it to solve specific practical matters with tangible results!

3. Thinking brain (neocortex)

The neocortex is located above and to the sides of the limbic system.

Its mass constitutes eighty percent of the total mass of the brain matter, and it is unique to humans. This is the center of higher mental activity - the focus of True Intelligence.

The neocortex perceives, analyzes, and sorts messages received from the senses. It is characterized by such functions as reasoning, thinking, decision-making, the realization of a person’s creative abilities, the implementation of expedient control of motor reactions, speech, and the realization of Man in general.

The neocortex is the sixth (mental, intuitive) sense organ. Its development activates the so-called mental sense, which allows you to sense the subtlest vibrations of the Universe, DNA molecules, the thoughts of other people - to perceive all unconscious processes, to be aware of them, and, consequently, to control them.

It is in the neocortex that there are limitless possibilities for the process of cognition and their implementation in life. This area of ​​the brain controls telepathic, linguistic, and extrasensory abilities. Only through the development of the neocortex can a person creatively realize himself and make a breakthrough into Evolution. Science has no idea what it is yet.

The highest form of manifestation of thought is intuition. It is intuition - a person’s ability to read information from the external World (not only three-dimensional, but also multidimensional) - that allows one to expand the range of His knowledge.

This work consists of constant learning, development of knowledge, critical self-awareness and creative application of knowledge in practice. Studying means only one thing: every person should know and understand himself and his body. Don't forget: "What gets measured gets done."

Our comments:

This social scientific research, apparently built on the theory of evolution..... immediately leads to a number of interesting ideas, which are fully confirmed by the Esoteric Agreement:

1. Firstly, the Esoteric model says that any physical organ (brain) has its own subtle bodies and serves to perform various functions.

The brain is a receiver-transmitter of a control signal coming through the sahasrara chakra of a person and controlling all our behavior, actions and motivation for them... from the Egregors.

If you look at this diagram of the triune brain - from this point of view of the Esoteric model, then we can assume that:

- reptilian brain = equal to body consciousness.

Limbic brain (emotional) = equal to animal mental consciousness.

Well, the visual brain (neocortex) = equal to our human mind.
And apparently it is the active work of the left hemisphere, logical and rational “thinking”

From these premises is born and follows next idea- activity of various parts of the brain and caste (level of human consciousness):

If it were possible to conduct a study, there would certainly be a connection between a person’s caste and the part of the brain that is most active:

- caste 1 will likely have a predominant reptilian brain (body instincts)
- in caste 2 - limbic-mammalian (emotions, animal mentality)
- in caste 3 - visual - necortes (mind)

It is clear that in every living person, all parts of the three-united brain will be active and involved in varying degrees to one degree or another, but their predominance, judging by the facts, will vary from caste to caste.

At the same time, in the social Model of the above study, the concept of “Consciousness” is completely absent, although scientists are already operating with the word itself.

This further confirms the Esoteric model.
The level of people of caste 3+ and especially 4 - independent thinking, active Consciousness (not mind) - does not exist at all in such a model.

2.Secondly, and what is even more interesting...this information indirectly confirms how the egregorial management of a Human by Social Egregors occurs.

All these three different physical parts of the brain are receivers-antennas for receiving various commands for execution carried out by social person mechanically, automatically.

A person is controlled by the reactions of his body (receiver of the reptilian brain), or by his emotions (receiver of the limbic brain), or by his mind (receiver of the visual brain).

That is, these are 3 receivers for different parts signal, but the goal of all these programs is absolutely identical - A person lives at the level of body-emotions-mind, being simply a mechanical biorobot with a sleeping consciousness.
What is actually observed...

There is no chance in Society to awaken Consciousness by disconnecting from these programs.

All these nuances absolutely coincide with what is written in the manual “Esoteric Model of the World of Action”.

Through such social discoveries, the diagram presented in the manual shows how the “Gods” created artificial egregors to control humans - clearly shows how they also configured the human biorobot in such a way that it “lived in peace” and did not interfere where it should not ....

Everything is very “harmoniously arranged...”

3. Thirdly, the Esoteric model is confirmed by another idea that slips behind this entire social model of a three-single brain.....

A prerequisite for the possible growth of a person, for the awakening and activation of consciousness, will be the maximum activity of the third brain... the Neocortes.
Why?

Essentially this is level 3 caste. But this is not enough. What is missing? What is so stubbornly overlooked in the Social Model? And what is objectified in our Manual...

I will assume that, apparently, when this particular “third brain, rational thinking” is active, a breakthrough is possible only if the receiver of the “right hemisphere” is also involved to some extent.

A person has the slightest chance for some truly independent thinking.

In part, the scientists themselves already talk about “intuition” in their articles - but they do not explain these mechanisms in any way in their three-united model of the physical brain, which in principle is understandable; the basis of their research is the social model - Matter is primary.

If you look at the geniuses and great scientists of all times...
All of them possessed just such a tandem: along with active analytical and rational thinking, the vast majority have various states inclusion of other mechanisms: insight, intuition, receiving information in a dream, etc.

Social science itself, being limited only to “physical organs” and objects, does not allow us to take another step forward....and find what is missing in this model...

This transition, the next step, will be associated with the activation of the work of the right hemisphere - and the synchronization of the work of both receivers...

This section contains a very simple description of some of the functions of the brain and shows how various processes arise that can influence the brain's response to the process of awakening Kundalini. It is interesting to speculate what relationship exists between the natural and "normal" functioning of the brain and the radical changes that can occur with the awakening of Kundalini. There are three different levels, three evolutionary parts of the brain, informally called the amphibian (a repository of unconditional, predetermined patterns of behavior, deeply buried below the surface), the ancient mammal, or paleo-mammal (the limbic system, the center for controlling emotions, issues of survival and conservation of the species, pleasure and pain) and the neo-mammalian or neocortical ( associated with the newly developed abilities of civilized man - ingenuity, abstract thinking and insight). Paul McLean, the originator of this triune brain theory, states that this trinity operates as "three interconnected biological computers, (each) with its own intelligence, its own subjectivity, its own sense of time and space, and its own memory." CEREBRAL CORTEX The cerebral cortex has seven layers and contains 70% of the nerve cells of the central nervous system and creates our abilities to speak, see and feel. Each layer has its own types and number of cells. The transmission of impulses between nerve cells forms chains in the brain called cellular complexes or nerve networks, which interact and expand in response to sensory stimuli. The cells that have the greatest number in the brain are called “glial” (that is, “gluing”). Scientist and physician Richard Restak ("Brain: The Last Frontier") points out that they have a nutritional function and are related to beginnings and endings. epileptic seizures. There is evidence that they have their own communication network. Dr. Marion Diamond, a scientist and lecturer at the University of California at Berkeley, found that when placed in a favorable environment, rats exhibited changes in brain chemistry, causing their cerebral cortex to become approximately 7% thicker. Their nerve cells became larger, the number of glial cells increased, chemical connections between cells improved, dendrites lengthened and became more branched. She discovered the brain's ability to change and grow, which was a revolutionary idea in the 60s. BRAINSTEM This is the main link through which sensory and motor impulses are transmitted from the spinal cord to the brain and back. It maintains the conscious state of a person by controlling the mechanisms of breathing, heartbeat, sleep and wakefulness. It consists of the activating reticular system, which keeps the brain awake even when a person is sleeping and distributes excitation throughout the brain in response to stimuli; as well as the pons, responsible for sleep and wakefulness. Just above the brain stem is diencephalon, in which the thalamus (visual thalamus) has a predominant influence. All impulses coming from the eyes, ears and other sense organs pass through this organ on their way to the cerebral cortex. Next to it is the hypothalamus, which controls the release of hormones by the endocrine glands and with which all parts of the limb system are connected by bilateral connections. Hormones regulate blood pressure, body temperature and the activity of appetite control centers. Damage to various parts of the hypothalamus in animals led to them stopping eating or, conversely, dying from overeating. Irritation by electrical impulses of certain areas of the hypothalamus generates panic, rage or fear. Therefore, irregularities in diet, heat and cold waves, high blood pressure and unexplained emotional states that occur during Kundalini awakening can be caused by reactions of the hypothalamus to changes in brain chemistry or energy. CEREBELLUM The cerebellum, adjacent to the brain stem at the back of the skull, receives signals from muscles, joints and ligaments and controls posture, balance and movement of the musculoskeletal system. He is responsible for the accuracy of movements, for example, for ensuring that during any type of activity the hands do not dangle randomly, but perform clear movements. It is probably the reaction of the cerebellum that leads to spontaneous movements of the arms and legs during the awakening process. The ancient part of the cerebellum controls proprioception - our sense of the body, which affects balance and the ability to perform movements. It occupies a specific place in a giant feedback loop running through the septum, hippocampus and amygdala, which carries electrical signals from muscles, joints and ligaments. Feelings of being out of weight, being out of body, feeling like you occupy more space than your body, or the inability to control the body and depersonalization (total or partial disidentification with the body or some part of it, loss of sense of self) are associated with inadequate functioning of the cerebellum or nervous system. connections between the cerebellum and the limbic system. Researcher and psychologist James Prescott says: "To experience deep states of consciousness, you must have the appropriate neural equipment. Sensory experience must be integrated into higher centers brain, and this requires communication between the cerebellum, the limbic system and the neocortex." He says that many people in our culture cannot make this connection because our culture has a syndrome of anhedonia (joylessness)

Why does working on an intellectual simulator based on Schulte tables give such amazing results?

The mechanism of action of this intellectual simulator on the brain can be compared with nanotechnology. You influence the subtlest processes occurring in your brain, including those reserves that most people do not use in everyday life.

According to the latest scientific research, in order to use our brain one hundred percent to solve a problem and achieve maximum success in solving any issue, it is necessary to:

1. Increase blood flow in certain areas of the brain (frontal lobes). This will ensure maximum performance of all intellectual processes that occur in the cerebral cortex during the decision-making process.

2. Mobilize memory so that all information related to the issue at hand comes out of the long-term memory storage into the working memory. That is, literally awaken associative connections that relate to the question. This will allow you not to waste precious seconds on remembering, since all the necessary information will “lie on the surface.”

3. Correctly focus on the task at hand. One task requires concentration to literally see and hear nothing but it. Another is switching attention, the third is simultaneous access to several information fields. In other words, each task requires activation of a certain aspect of attention in order to optimally connect the necessary intellectual resources to effectively solve the task we need.

How does an intelligent simulator based on Schulte Tables “in one fell swoop” solve all these issues? Below we will answer all these questions. But first, let's look at some very important points that relate to the structure and functioning of our brain.

Wake up your brain!

It is well known that people actively use only ten percent of their brain resources in the course of their life. The remaining 90% seem to be dozing.

Therefore, the average representatives of human society, as they say, “don’t grab stars from the sky,” do not shine with special talents, live “like everyone else,” without scope.

Of course, someone might say that such a quiet and peaceful life has its advantages. However, they cannot be compared with the prospects that the activation of the resources of his brain opens up for a person - life success and self-confidence, awareness of one’s real opportunities and the ability to use them.

Typically, in order to take the step and use your brain 100%, a person lacks knowledge of how exactly he can do this. For many years, scientists have been trying to develop a system that could help many people use all the intellectual potential inherent in a person from birth, but for the time being their attempts were not successful.

What's in our heads?

Let's see how the human brain works.

In Fig. 1 you see what is usually hidden from our view by the cranium - the brain. This unique organ includes several departments, each of which has certain functions that ensure the vital functions of our body.

Rice. 1. Structure of the human brain

You and I will be interested in the cerebral cortex. This part of the brain contains areas that are responsible for processing visual, auditory, tactile and other sensations. The cortex is considered the most developed part of the human brain, and it is it that provides normal development and the functioning of speech, perception and thinking. The entire cortex is divided into regions, each of which has its own strictly defined function. So, there are areas responsible for hearing, speech, vision, touch, smell, movement, thinking, etc.

The cortex occupies a significant part of the brain - approximately 2/3 of its total volume, and is divided into two hemispheres - left and right. Their functions and interactions are quite complex, but in general we can say that right hemisphere is more responsible for the intuitive, emotional, imaginative perception of the surrounding reality, and the left provides logical thinking. At the same time anatomical structure the right and left hemispheres are identical.

In Fig. Figure 2 shows into which parts – the so-called “lobes” – the cerebral cortex is divided by neurophysiologists.

Rice. 2. Lobes of the cerebral cortex

The frontal lobe provides the motor functions of our body and partially speech, is responsible for making decisions and making plans, as well as for any purposeful actions. The temporal lobe includes the centers of hearing, speech and smell. The parietal lobe is responsible for processing information received from the body through tactile sensations. Occipital lobe ensures the functioning of visual centers.

The frontal lobes of the cortex can probably be called the most mysterious area of ​​the brain. It is here that the zone called the prefrontal cortex or the cortex of the prefrontal region of the cerebral hemispheres is located, all the mysteries and possibilities of which have not yet been studied by scientists. This area contains areas responsible for memory, a person’s ability to learn and communicate, as well as creativity and thinking.

In the course of various experiments, it was discovered that stimulation of this area of ​​​​the human brain gives him a powerful boost in terms of “personal growth”.

In the part where the border of the frontal and parietal parts of the cortex passes, there are sensory and motor stripes, which, as their names suggest, are responsible for the functions of movement and perception.

In the lower part of the frontal lobe of the left hemisphere is Broca's area, named after the famous French surgeon and anatomist Paul Broca. Thanks to the work of this part of the brain, we have the ability to pronounce words and write.

IN temporal lobe In the left hemisphere, in the place where it meets the parietal lobe, the German psychiatrist Karl Wernicke discovered another center responsible for human speech. This zone, named after the scientist, plays a large role in our ability to perceive semantic information. It is thanks to her that we can read and understand what we read (see Fig. 3).

In Fig. 4 you see what functions are provided different zones human cerebral cortex.

Rice. 3. Areas of the cerebral cortex:

1 – temporal lobe; 2 – Wernicke’s zone; 3 – frontal lobe; 4 – prefrontal cortex; 5 – Broca’s area; 6 – motor area of ​​the frontal lobe; 7 – sensory zone of the parietal lobe; 8 – parietal lobe; 9 – occipital lobe

Rice. 4. Functions of the lobes of the cerebral cortex

The frontal lobes are the “conductor” of our brain and the center of intelligence

Since the intellectual simulator based on Schulte tables is aimed specifically at activating the frontal lobes of the cerebral cortex, let's talk about them in a little more detail.

This section of the cerebral hemispheres was formed quite late in the process of evolution. And if in predators it was barely outlined, then in primates it has already received quite noticeable development. U modern man frontal lobes occupy about 25% total area cerebral hemispheres.

Neuroscientists tend to say that now this part of our brain is at the peak of its development. But even at the beginning of the 20th century, researchers often called these zones inactive, since they could not understand what their function was.

At that moment, there was no way to connect the activity of this part of the brain with any external manifestations.

But now the frontal lobes of the human cerebral cortex have been called “conductor”, “coordinator” - scientists have indisputably proven that they have a huge influence on the coordination of many neural structures in the human brain and are responsible for ensuring that all the “instruments” in this “ orchestra" sounded harmonious.

It is especially important that it is in the frontal lobes that the center is located that serves as a regulator of complex forms of human behavior.

In other words, this part of the brain is responsible for how well we are able to organize our thoughts and actions in accordance with the goals that we have in mind. Also, the full functioning of the frontal lobes gives each of us the opportunity to compare our actions with the intentions for which we perform them, identify inconsistencies and correct mistakes.

These areas of the brain are considered to be the seat of processes underlying voluntary attention.

This is confirmed by doctors who are involved in the rehabilitation of patients with brain damage. Disruption of the activity of these cortical zones subordinates a person's actions to random impulses or stereotypes. At the same time, noticeable changes affect the patient’s personality itself, and his mental abilities inevitably decrease. Such injuries have a particularly difficult impact on individuals whose life is based on creativity; they are no longer able to create something new.

When the method of positron emission tomography began to be used in scientific research, John Duncan (a neuropsychologist from the Department of Brain Sciences in Cambridge, England) discovered the so-called “nerve center of intelligence” in the frontal lobes.

In order to imagine where exactly it is located in your brain, sit with your elbow on the table and lean your temple against your palm - this is how you sit if you are dreaming or thinking about something. It is in the place where your palm touches your head - near the tips of the eyebrows - that the centers of our rational thought are concentrated. It is the lateral areas of the frontal lobes of the brain that are the part of it that is responsible for intellectual processes.

“It appears that these areas are the headquarters for all the intellectual work of the brain,” Duncan says. “Reports from other brain zones flow there, the information received is processed there, problems are analyzed and their solutions are found.”

But in order for these cortical areas to cope with the tasks that confront them, they need to be developed and regularly trained. Neurophysiologists confirm with their research that a noticeable activation of these areas is consistently observed when solving intellectual problems.

An excellent tool for this is training on an intellectual simulator based on Schulte tables.

An intellectual simulator based on Schulte tables increases blood flow in the frontal lobes of the cerebral cortex and reveals intellectual potential

The effect of using Schulte tables in any area is truly magical.

But in fact, there is no smell of magic here - scientists are ready to explain the secret of their effect on the human brain.

In research experiments conducted by scientists working in the field of functional neuroimaging, special devices recorded the intensity of cerebral blood flow in different areas of the cerebral cortex while people solved certain intellectual problems (arithmetic problems, crosswords, Schulte tables, etc. ).

As a result, two conclusions were drawn.

1. Each new task presented to the subject caused a noticeable rush of blood to the frontal lobes of the cerebral cortex. When the same task was presented again, the intensity of blood flow decreased significantly.

2. The intensity of blood flow depended not only on the novelty, but also on the nature of the tasks presented. The highest intensity was recorded when working with Schulte tables.

In other words, if we offer our brain new problems to solve as often as possible (in our case, work with various Schulte tables), this will stimulate blood flow in the frontal lobes of the brain. And this will significantly improve the activity of our brain, increase memory capacity and enhance concentration.

But why is working with Schulte tables the most effective? How does it differ from solving other intellectual tasks - performing arithmetic operations, solving crosswords, remembering and memorizing poems, which also stimulate the brain? What is their advantage? Why exactly do they give such a colossal result, because theoretically, any intellectual load on the brain will be good training for it.

The thing is that when working with Schulte tables, virtually the entire volume of blood flow goes precisely to those areas of the frontal lobes that are responsible for activating the entire intellect and the decision-making process. At the same time, the brain does not seem to be distracted by other things, does not waste its energy on additional expenses, as happens when solving arithmetic problems, solving crossword puzzles and memorizing poems.

By solving arithmetic problems, in addition to our general intellectual potential, we also activate our mathematical abilities and use memory (remembering processes). These abilities “lie” in other areas of the frontal lobes and the cerebral cortex as a whole.

This means that part of the total volume of blood entering the brain in this case will flow into these sections. Consequently, the intensity of blood flow in the frontal lobes will be lower than in the case of working with Schulte tables.

When solving crosswords, we again “turn on” additional zones in the cerebral cortex responsible for associative thinking, remembering, etc. And as a result, we again lose part of the total intensity of blood flow.

It's the same with poetry. By remembering or learning them, we activate our memory, initiate those areas of the cerebral cortex that are responsible for remembering, memorizing, storing information, etc. And as a result, we again get a general decrease in the intensity of blood flow.

When we work with Schulte tables, we don’t remember anything, we don’t add, subtract, multiply anything, we don’t turn to associations, we don’t compare information with existing information, etc., etc. In other words, we don’t apply any additional intellectual effort. And it is precisely due to this that we are able to direct all the blood flow to the center of intelligence in the frontal lobes, which reveals our full intellectual potential.

* * *

So, day after day, regularly loading the frontal lobes of your brain with work, you will get an amazing result - a noticeable increase in concentration, a developed ability to instantly read and retain a huge amount of information in your memory.

In addition, an intellectual simulator based on Schulte tables gives you a unique opportunity to mobilize your intellectual potential and all memory resources to solve the desired problem literally in a matter of seconds!

For example, before an important meeting, an interview, an exam, a date, taking a driver's license, competitions, performing any physical or mental exercise - in any situation when you need extreme concentration and your career, health and success depend on your internal organization, you won’t panic or, on the contrary, tell yourself that everything will work out for you (although this is also not bad). You will open this book, work for five minutes on our intellectual simulator and, confident and prepared for anything, take a step towards success.

An intelligent simulator based on Schulte tables mobilizes memory, and all the necessary information is at our fingertips at the right time.

Our memory is a complex process that consists of perception, memorization, storage of information and acquired experience, restoration and use of them when necessary, as well as forgetting unnecessary things.

It is memory that stores not only experience this person, but also the path that was traversed by previous generations, and this allows a person to feel not like a separate unit, but part of a huge community.

Often, the success of his activities depends on the volume of a person’s memory and the speed with which he can use the information stored in it.

Memory and attention are two processes that are inextricably linked with each other.

Focused, sustained attention is the key to strong memorization. Each stage of memory requires good attention, but this is especially important for initial stage– perception.

Regular training with Schulte tables will provide you with not only a noticeable increase in memory capacity, but will also significantly increase the speed with which the information stored in it is processed.

Imagine that your memory is a huge book depository, like in a library. Like books on shelves, the “cells” of your memory store all your life experiences - both what you remembered involuntarily, of course, and what you had to work on. Everything from your first childhood memories to the math formulas you memorized in high school.

But, you ask, if all this is there, then why can’t I extract from it at any time what I need at the moment?

To find the book you need in the library, you need to know which shelf of which cabinet and in which row it is located. For this purpose, there is a directory in which all information about books is stored.

Previously, in order to find the number of a specific book, you had to find one among a bunch of boxes in a huge hall and sort through a lot of cards in it. And only after that the librarian went to the storage room in search of the book you needed.

Can you imagine how long this could take?

Now you open the electronic catalog program on your computer and simply enter any word from the title of the book. In a matter of seconds, the electronic brain gives you everything possible options, from which you choose the one you need.

By gaining speed, you save your time.

The situation is exactly the same with your memory - developing attention and speeding up your thought processes By working on an intellectual simulator based on Schulte tables, you replace the “card index” in your head with an “electronic catalogue”.

Now your memory gives you information tens of times faster than before, while offering many options in case the first one does not suit you. You significantly reduce the time you spent on remembering before, which means you significantly increase your performance.

Absorption rate new information and its distribution across memory “cells” increases by an order of magnitude, you literally swallow new information and are ready at any moment to retrieve it and apply it for its intended purpose.

However, there are also unique people whose ability to remember is truly phenomenal.

So, for example, Alexander the Great could name all the soldiers of his army.

Even as a child, Mozart could, having once heard piece of music, write it down with notes and perform it from memory.

Winston Churchill amazed his contemporaries with his knowledge of almost all of Shakespeare's works by heart.

And in our times, the famous Bill Gates stores in his memory all the codes of the programming language he created - and there are hundreds of them.

Attention

Attention is the ability of consciousness to organize the information that comes from the outside and distribute it according to importance and significance, depending on the tasks that a person sets for himself at the moment.

Attention is exceptional mental process. It allows us to choose from the entire diversity of the surrounding reality what will become the content of our psyche, allows us to focus on the selected object and keep it in the mental field.

We are born with a set of unconditioned reflexes, some of which ensure the functioning of the so-called involuntary attention. This type of attention predominates in children under 7 years of age. Involuntary attention selects everything new, bright, unusual, sudden, moving, in addition, it forces you to respond to everything that corresponds to an urgent need (need).

Although involuntary attention is of reflex origin, it can and should be developed. In addition, it is on the basis of involuntary, uncontrolled attention that mature attention, voluntary attention regulated by the person himself, arises. Voluntary attention gives a person an exceptional opportunity to choose the objects of his own attention, control the activities associated with them and the time of keeping them in his mental space. That is, by gaining the opportunity to control his attention, a person becomes the master of his psyche; he can let in what is important and meaningful to him, or not let in what is unnecessary.

Many psychologists highly value the contribution of attention to general intellectual abilities. It is a generally accepted and scientifically proven fact that attention deficits prevent otherwise fully capable children from being intellectually successful.

When we talk about the effectiveness of attention, we mean its intensity and concentration, its volume, as well as switching speed and stability. All these characteristics exist in inextricable connection with each other, therefore, by strengthening one of them, we can influence the entire process of attention as a whole.

Training with Schulte tables will help you, first of all, significantly increase the speed of switching attention and increase its volume - the number of objects that a person can store in short-term memory.

CHARACTERISTICS OF ATTENTION

Attention intensity- the ability of a person to voluntarily maintain attention on a particular object for a long time.

Attention span- the number of objects that a person can grasp with sufficient clarity at the same time.

Concentration (focus)– a person’s conscious selection of a specific object and direction of attention to it.

Distribution of attention– a person’s ability to perform several types of activities simultaneously.

Switching attention– the ability of attention to quickly “turn off” from some settings and turn on new ones that correspond to changed conditions.

Sustainability of attention- the length of time during which a person can maintain his attention on an object.

Distractibility– involuntary movement of attention from one object to another.

But that's not all. Once in France they conducted an experiment: one group of volunteers was asked to depict different emotions - joy, sadness; They let me smell something unpleasant, and disgust showed on my face. People were photographed. And then they showed the images to another group of subjects and recorded their reactions. What do you think? When they saw the corresponding emotions in the photographs, the volunteers activated the same neurons in their brains as if they themselves, for example, smelled rotten eggs, heard good news, or were sad about something.

This experience is one of the confirmations that, in addition to “action” mirror neurons - they are called motor neurons, there are also emotional mirror neurons. They are the ones who help us subconsciously, without any mental analysis, but by seeing only facial expressions and gestures, to understand the emotions of another person. This happens because Thanks to the “reflection” in the brain, we ourselves begin to experience the same sensations.

Do indifferent people lack neurons?

- But all people are different: some are very responsive, sensitive. And there are callous and indifferent people who, it seems, cannot be reached by anything. Perhaps nature deprived them of emotional mirror neurons?

Hardly. The brain is not that simple. In addition to mirror neurons, of course, our consciousness and will work - with their help we can partially extinguish those feelings and emotions that appear due to the action of mirror neurons.

And they play an even bigger role social norms accepted in society. If society supports the ideology of selfishness, individualism: take care first of all about yourself, your own health, material wealth, then you have to be selfish, because it is believed that this is what will lead to success. In this case, the role of your mirror neuron system is reduced by volitional effort, education, and habitual behavior.

Motivation is very important. By the way, in many religions there is a principle: love others as you love yourself. You should not think that such a principle came from God - in fact, it is a natural rule that reflects the biological structure of a person and is based on the work of mirror neurons. If you don't like people, then living in society will be very difficult. Meanwhile, in Western societies, especially in recent centuries, there was a period of strictly individualistic approach. Now, for example, Italy, France, Germany are returning to the understanding that social life no less important than personal.

"Don't be offended by men"

If we still talk about differences in the structure of the brain, it is noted that Women have more mirror neurons in their emotional system than men , continues the professor. - This explains women's higher capacity for understanding and empathy. There were experiments when volunteers of both sexes were shown someone in a state of pain, suffering - the female brain reacted much stronger than the male one. This happened as a result of evolution: it is important for nature that it is the mother who spends the most time with the child who is emotionally open, empathetic, happy, and thereby, in a mirror-like manner, helps develop the baby’s emotions.

- It turns out that it is pointless to accuse men of being insensitive and to be offended by them?

- Yes, there is no need to be offended by us (laughs). This is nature. By the way, there is another interesting experiment showing the difference between men and women. A game is organized: let’s say I’m playing with you against someone else, and then you start deliberately playing against me, being cunning. In this case, I, a man, will begin to get terribly angry, while a woman considers such behavior an innocent joke. That is, a woman is more inclined to forgive, and ultimately relates to many things more easily. And a man takes the same betrayal, let’s say, much more seriously and is less responsive.

How thought puts the sick on their feet

- You discovered mirror neurons more than 20 years ago - surely since then, in addition to scientific research, there have been attempts to use your discovery in medicine?

Yes we are working on it practical application discoveries, including in medicine. It is known that motor mirror neurons cause us to mentally reproduce the same action that we see - if it is performed by another person, including on a TV or computer screen. For example, it has been observed that when people watch a boxing match, their muscles tense and their fists may even clench. This is a typical neuroeffect, and is based on it new technology recovery from stroke, Alzheimer's disease and other diseases in which a person forgets movements. We are currently conducting experiments in Italy and Germany.

The point is this: if the patient’s neurons are not completely “broken”, but their work is disrupted, then using a visual push - showing necessary action under certain conditions - can be activated nerve cells, make them “reflect” the movements and start working as needed again. This method is called “action-observation therapy,” and in experiments it provides significant improvement in the rehabilitation of patients after a stroke.

But the most surprising result was discovered when they tried to use this therapy to restore people after serious injuries, car accidents - when a person is put in a cast, and then he actually needs to learn to walk again. Usually in such cases, a painful gait persists for a long time, the patient limps, etc. If traditionally taught and trained, this takes a lot of time. At the same time, if you show a specially created film with appropriate movements, the necessary motor neurons are activated in the brains of the victims, and people begin to walk normally in just a few days . Even for us scientists, this looks like a miracle.

"Broken Mirrors"

- Professor, what happens if a person’s mirror neurons themselves are damaged? What diseases does this happen in?

- In fact, it is not so easy to damage these neurons en masse; they are distributed throughout the cerebral cortex. If a person has a stroke, only a portion of these neurons are damaged. For example, it is known that when the left side of the brain is damaged, a person sometimes cannot understand the actions of other people.

The most serious damage to mirror neurons is associated with genetic disorders. This most often occurs in autism. Since the brain of such patients has a broken mechanism for “reflecting” the actions and emotions of others, autistic people simply cannot understand what other people are doing. They are unable to sympathize because they do not experience similar emotions when they see joy or worry . All this is unfamiliar to them, it can frighten them, and therefore patients with autism try to hide and avoid communication.

- If we managed to find out the cause of the disease, are scientists closer to discovering a cure?

- We think that it is possible to restore autistic children as fully as possible if this is done at a very young age. At a very early stage, you need to show very strong sensitivity, even sentimentality with such children: the mother, the specialist must talk a lot with the child, touch him - in order to develop both motor and emotional skills. It is very important to play with your child, but not in competitive games, but in games where success comes only through joint actions: for example, a child pulls a rope - nothing happens, a mother pulls - nothing, and if they pull together, they get some kind of prize . This is how the child understands: you and I together are important, not scary, but useful.

On topic.

Who among our smaller brothers will understand us?

- Most of us have pets, which for many become real family members. We really want to understand their mood and communicate with them in a more meaningful way. How is this possible thanks to mirror neurons? Do cats and dogs have them?

- As for cats, it is very difficult to find out. We would have to implant electrodes into their heads, and conducting experiments on such animals is prohibited in our country. It’s easier with monkeys and dogs: they are more “conscious”. If a monkey knows that it will get a banana for a certain behavior, it will do what scientists are interested in. This can also be achieved with a dog, although it is more difficult. And the cat, as you know, walks on its own and does what it wants,” the professor smiles. “When a dog eats, it does it the way we do.” We understand this because we ourselves have the same action. But when a dog barks, our brain is not able to understand what it means. But we have a lot in common with a monkey, and they understand us very well thanks to mirror neurons.

There have also been experiments showing that some songbirds have mirror neurons. They found cells in the motor cortex of their brains that were responsible for certain notes. If a person plays these notes, then the corresponding neurons are activated in the birds' brains.

This will come in handy.

How to cheer yourself and others up

- Professor, if we subconsciously perceive the emotions of other people, then it turns out that when watching horror films or tragic reports on TV, we automatically receive the same emotions? Let's say we get upset, and the stress hormone cortisol begins to be produced, which disrupts our sleep, memory, and work. thyroid gland etc?

- Yes, this happens automatically. Even if you try to calm down and control yourself, this can only slightly weaken the reaction, but will not get rid of it.

- But, on the other hand, perhaps you can use the same principle of mirror neurons to lift your mood?

- You're right. If you communicate with a positive, cheerful person or watch a movie with such a character, then the same emotions arise in your brain . And if you yourself want to cheer up someone, then you have a higher chance of doing it not with a tragically sympathetic expression on your face, but with a benevolent light smile.