We've all experienced the exhaustion of mental fatigue. If you work long enough and hard enough on a cognitively demanding task, you'll eventually lose motivation and focus. Worse yet, burnout is right around the corner. This video is a deep dive into the neuroscience of mental fatigue and how to stay motivated.
If you value my work, please support it by going to https://www.patreon.com/senseofmind
(If you do, you'll also get exclusive videos, livestreams, and blog posts!)
--
Sources:
- Kok, A. (2022). Cognitive control, motivation and fatigue: A cognitive neuroscience perspective. Brain and Cognition, 160, 105880.
- Qi, P., Ru, H., Gao, L., Zhang, X., Zhou, T., Tian, Y., ... & Sun, Y. (2019). Neural mechanisms of mental fatigue revisited: New insights from the brain connectome. Engineering, 5(2), 276-286.
- Monosov, I. E., Haber, S. N., Leuthardt, E. C., & Jezzini, A. (2020). Anterior cingulate cortex and the control of dynamic behavior in primates. Current Biology, 30(23), R1442-R1454.
- Klein-Flügge, M. C., Bongioanni, A., & Rushworth, M. F. (2022). Medial and orbital frontal cortex in decision-making and flexible behavior. Neuron.
- Boksem, M. A., & Tops, M. (2008). Mental fatigue: costs and benefits. Brain research reviews, 59(1), 125-139.
--
Timestamps:
00:00 What is mental fatigue?
00:50 How mental fatigue affects brain networks
04:05 What causes mental fatigue?
05:20 The role of dopamine in mental fatigue
07:12 The potential role of serotonin
08:23 Hunger and mental fatigue
10:30 Neuroeconomics, decision making, & mental fatigue
10:48 The vmPFC and ventral striatum in valuation, pleasure, and learning
12:01 The role of the anterior insula, amygdala, and periaqueductal grey
13:50 The ACC integrates potential costs and benefits
16:45 How does the brain's cost/benefit analysis feed into behavior?
18:52 Step 1: Good Nutrition and Sleep
20:52 Step 2: Take Breaks
21:15 Step 3: Consider Costs and Benefits
22:38 Step 4: Stress Management Techniques
24:16 Mental fatigue is unavoidable but...
--
All graphics and images obtained from scientific articles have been credited in the video and/or in the above list of references.
Wikipedia images: All wikipedia images have been credited in the video and all are licensed under either CC BY 3.0
(https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/deed.en_US) or CC BY 4.0
(https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/deed.en_US)
All B-roll comes from either https://www.storyblocks.com/ (using the appropriate purchased license) or from https://www.pexels.com/
All other images are property of Andrew Cooper-Sansone
