Amishi Jha: How to tame your wandering mind
艾米許吉哈: 如何馴服神遊的大腦
As a neuroscientist specializing in the brain mechanisms of attention, Amishi Jha researches mindfulness techniques to optimize focus, even under high stress. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
of their brain capacity.
delivered this line
that makes him a great actor,
演員的那份認真嚴肅,
of their brain capacity.
energy-demanding organ
且非常需要能量的器官,
at full capacity being used,
of information overload.
than it can fully process.
大腦無法全部處理。
the brain's computational resources
並引導大腦的運算資源,
as the leader of the brain.
想成是大腦的領導人。
the rest of the brain follows.
大腦的其他部分就會跟隨。
the human brain's attention system.
I've been very interested in one question.
我一直對一個問題非常感興趣,
that our attention is the brain's boss,
的確是大腦的老闆,
I wanted to know three things.
我想要知道三件事。
control our perception?
foggy and distracted?
about this fogginess,
to pay better attention?
in the work that we do in our lives.
能有更強、更穩的注意力。
ends up getting utilized.
of somebody that I know quite well.
group of people that we work with,
一個大團體中的一員,
is a matter of life and death.
Captain Jeff Davis.
傑夫戴維斯的故事。
with you, as you can see,
at the scenery around him,
driving off that bridge.
蓄意開車衝下那座橋。
all of everything he had not to do so.
他得使盡全力才能不這麼做,
was thousands of miles away.
都還在數千英哩外。
and, really, dread for his future.
對未來感到恐懼。
that he didn't take his life.
knew that he wasn't the only one
他知道他並不是唯一
伙伴們可能也是如此。
probably were, too.
進行一個前所未有的計畫,
in the first-of-its-kind project
something called mindfulness training
what mindfulness training is,
how attention works in the brain.
在大腦中的注意力是怎麼運作的。
involve brain-wave recordings.
都有用到腦波記錄。
people wear funny-looking caps
受試者要戴很可笑的頭罩,
that have electrodes embedded in them.
the ongoing brain electrical activity.
正在發生中的腦電活動。
temporal precision.
voltage fluctuations over time.
電壓波動隨著時間變化。
plot the timing of the brain's activity.
畫出腦活動的時間圖。
a face on the screen,
detectable brain signature.
且可偵測到的大腦特徵。
that are involved in face processing.
and so on cue,
this brain-wave component a name.
取了一個名字,
in many of our studies.
that attention may have on our perception.
對我們的感知造成什麼影響。
of the kind of experiments
images like this one.
overlaid on each other.
以及一個景重疊在一起。
of these types of overlaid images,
to pay attention to the face.
把注意力放在臉孔上。
by pressing a button,
was it indoor or outdoor?
是在室內,還是室外?
we can manipulate attention
were actually doing what we said.
真的照我們說的去做。
were as follows:
and affecting perception,
它的本分並影響到感知,
attention to the face,
the face becomes barely perceptible
面孔就幾乎不會被感知到了,
of face detection, the N170,
腦波要素,N170,
were paying attention --
attention to the face,
as you can see in red, it was smaller.
是圖上紅色的部分,比較小。
between the blue and red lines
thing that changed,
were identical in both cases --
看的影像都是同一張──
of actually seeing a face.
we wanted to see what would happen,
我們想探究會發生什麼狀況、
or diminish this effect.
in a very stressful environment,
放到一個很有壓力的環境中,
negative images,
負面的影像來讓他們分心,
on the news, unfortunately --
會看到的那些──
actually affect their attention.
while they're doing this experiment,
我們展示很有壓力的影像,
its power diminishes.
它的力量會減少。
that stress does this to the brain --
這種影響,不是好消息──
has this powerful influence on attention
外在的分心來對注意力
external distraction,
with an experiment
generate their own mind-wandering.
產生出他們自己的神遊。
in an ongoing task of some sort.
is that essentially, you bore people.
其實就是要讓他們很無聊。
of mind-wandering happening right now.
沒有很多人正在神遊。
of internal content to occupy themselves.
各種內容來讓自己忙著想。
most boring experiments.
were a series of faces on the screen,
螢幕上看一系列的臉孔,
every time they saw the face.
the face would be upside down,
just to withhold the response.
they were successfully mind-wandering,
他們是否成功在神遊了,
when that face was upside down.
他們也會按下按鈕。
that it was upside down.
人在神遊時會發生什麼事。
when people have mind-wandering.
in the environment,
our own mind wandering,
is very powerful
it's also fragile and vulnerable.
and mind-wandering diminish its power.
都能減少它的力量。
very controlled laboratory settings.
受控制的實驗室環境中。
about your attention
for four out of the next eight minutes.
你都不會意識到我在說什麼。
so pay attention, please.
that you're going to remain seated
接下來都會一直坐著,
your eyes on me as I speak.
that we mind-wander,
from the task at hand,
有 50% 的時間都是如此。
little trips that we take away,
any dire consequences
在軍事簡報時錯過了四分鐘,
four minutes of a military briefing,
four minutes of testimony.
missing any time.
錯過任何時間。
in those cases could be dire.
is an exquisite time-traveling master.
是個靈敏的時間旅行大師。
of the music player, we see this.
播放器,我們會看到這個。
that have already happened, right?
for the next thing that we want to do.
去計畫我們接下來要做什麼。
time-travel mode of the past or the future
without our awareness,
you were trying to read a book,
with no idea what the words were saying.
那些字在說什麼。
without an awareness that we're doing it,
on the past when we rewind,
我們不僅是在想著過去,
ruminating, reliving or regretting
反覆思考、重新經歷,或後悔
我們會讓大腦快轉。
thinking to yourself, OK,
and more often.
we can possibly do about this?
and wandering mind is a mindful one.
相反的,就是正念的大腦。
with paying attention
with awareness.
reactivity of what's happening.
that button right on play
unfolding of our lives.
mode of being to have any benefits.
才能得到益處。
we're offering people programs
是在提供方案給大家,
a suite of exercises
of mindfulness in their life.
that we work with, high-stress groups,
受到高度壓力的團體,
medical professionals --
mind-wandering can be really dire.
可能會有可怕的後果。
we offer them very accessible,
給他們非常容易取得、
to optimize the training,
is track to see what happens,
circumstances that they may have.
情況下會發生什麼事。
to students right around finals season.
提供這類的訓練給學生。
to accountants during tax season.
while they're deploying.
士兵或海軍陸戰隊。
is most likely to be vulnerable,
to be in peak shape
是在最佳狀態,
a series of attention tests.
一系列的注意力測驗。
of some kind of high-stress interval,
追蹤他們的注意力,
we track them again,
if there's a difference.
mindfulness training?
the lapses in attention
if we don't do anything at all,
若我們袖手旁觀,
of this high-stress interval than before.
狀況比以前更糟。
we can protect against this.
我們能改善這點。
just like the other groups,
在經歷高度壓力,
take our training programs
to doing the daily mindfulness exercises
how to be in the present moment,
even though they're in high stress.
即使在高度壓力下也一樣。
is actually important to realize,
are very much like physical exercise:
in mindfulness practice,
to Captain Jeff Davis.
in the very first project
offering mindfulness training.
which was very heartening.
模式,很振奮人心。
the mindfulness training
Captain Davis shared with us
戴維斯隊長和我們分享了
was the benefit of this program.
they were much more present.
他們更能處在當下。
they were really more compassionate
engaging with and each other.
training program we offered
post-traumatic stress disorder
不會罹患創傷後壓力症,
into post-traumatic growth.
that Captain Davis and I --
a decade ago, in 2008 --
to continue practicing mindfulness
from the Marine Corps.
to get remarried,
and transitions and joys of his life,
挑戰、轉變,以及喜悅中,
just a few months ago,
heart attack, at the age of 46.
心臟病發作,他 46 歲。
a few weeks ago.
to tell you something.
who worked on me, they saved my heart,
救了我的心臟,
to stop the ambulance
攔下了救護車,
to the hospital," -- himself,
到醫院。」──他自己,
when there was fear and anxiety happening
清楚的大腦能保持注意力,
were the gifts of mindfulness."
這些是正念帶來的禮物。」
to hear that he was OK.
that he had transformed his own attention.
注意力,讓我感到很振奮。
that nearly drove him off a bridge --
注意力系統──
leader and guide,
my call to action to all of you.
我對各位的行動呼籲。
as part of your daily wellness toolkit,
健康工具包當中,
to be a trusted guide in your own life.
值得信任的指導者。
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Amishi Jha - NeuroscientistAs a neuroscientist specializing in the brain mechanisms of attention, Amishi Jha researches mindfulness techniques to optimize focus, even under high stress.
Why you should listen
Neuroscientist Amishi Jha studies how to keep the brain’s attention systems in peak shape over high-pressure intervals. In her laboratory at the University of Miami, she uses functional MRI, electrophysiological recordings and behavioral analysis techniques to understand why our attention sometimes fails us, and if it can be trained for greater focus and less distractibility.
In 2008, Jha launched the first-ever study to offer mindfulness training tools to active duty military service members as they prepared for deployment. What she has discovered over the past 10 years of research on this topic is that without intervention, soldiers’ attention and working memory are compromised, and their attentional lapses increase. She has found similar patterns in students and athletes, too. The good news is that engaging in mindfulness training to cultivate greater present moment awareness protects against these effects. Her research is continuing to explore how attention can be trained for optimal performance and well-being. In her TED Talk, Jha unpacks how attention becomes vulnerable under stress and the mechanisms that allow it to be strengthened with mindfulness training.
Amishi Jha | Speaker | TED.com