What Are We Thinking When We (Try to) Solve Problems?

Summary:
Researchers have begun making discoveries on what happens in the brain as it solves a problem, specifically when a "eureka moment" occurs. They did this by scanning the brains of people with an EEG as they solved problems presented to them by the research team. They found that the parietal cortex regions of test subjects who got stumped tended to have stronger gamma rhythms, which are tied to a high degree of focused attention. When the subjects did find solutions, if they consciously changed their thought process, they received a weaker eureka feeling (in general) than those who happened upon the solution spontaneously. In these latter cases the subjects displayed strong alpha rhythms that are present in a "relaxed and open" mind.
In addition to this discovery it has been found that the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) not only guides the mind toward the right answer, but it also tells the brain to stop looking when it has found the key to the answer. This is based on an experiment in which monkeys attempted to figure out which symbols on a screen would give them treats. While discovering the key the monkeys' ACCs were active, but after catching on to the trick activity there went down. Moreover, disfunctionality in this area has led to "maladaptvie social behavior and disrupted cognotive abilities," in addition to being part of the cause for drug addiction.

Response:
This research is important in understanding problems with drug addiction and behavioral issues. If this is explored further it could possibly help people suffering from such problems as those that result from an abnormally funtioning ACC. This would help these people to live closer-to-normal lives, if not curing them altogether. Besides this, if scentists and doctors find a way to manipulate the brains rhythms, this could allow people who normally have trouble solving problems to understand more abstract concepts and enable them to rescructure their thinking, an exciting prospect. Both of these discoveries could benefit students who may have trouble learning due either to inflexible thinking represented by high gamma rhythms or to problems caused by functional issues in the ACC. After all, the purpose of discovery is its application, and the purpose of the application is to help mankind.

http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=what-are-we-thinking-when