What were they thinking? How the brain is wired for Limbic RiskTM

2019 ◽  
Vol 59 (2) ◽  
pp. 749
Author(s):  
Robert Wentzel ◽  
Nada Wentzel
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Limbic System ◽  
Human Error ◽  
Safety Management ◽  
Additional Risk ◽  
Rhetorical Question ◽  
Common Response ◽  
Organisational Factors ◽  
The Brain ◽  
Insight Into

A common response following an incident is, ‘What were they thinking?’. This rhetorical question implies blame. While all incidents can be linked to human error, a more insightful and expansive question would be ‘Were they thinking?’. This question leads to identifying broader organisational factors that contributed to the error in decision making. Understanding thinking is critical in taking the next step to prevent harm. Neuroscience provides us with insight into how we think; how the brain makes decisions and introduces additional risk we refer to as Limbic RiskTM. The majority of our thinking is in fact unconscious, automatic and reactive and stems from the oldest part of our brain called the limbic system. The minority of decisions are conscious, logical and responsive and use a newer part of our brain called the pre-frontal cortex (PFC). The ability to use our PFC is significantly impacted by stress. There are five significant stressors; pressure, fatigue, irritation, distraction and complacency which impact our ability to use our PFC and add Limbic RiskTM to the environment. Traditional safety management focuses on managing external, observable including physical and behavioural risk. Preventing harm requires an expanded perspective to understand, interrupt and prevent Limbic RiskTM, and importantly equip leaders with the capability to create a LimbicSafe® environment given their influence on others is a significant 70%.

scholarly journals The Anatomical and Functional Heterogeneity of the Mediodorsal Thalamus

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (9) ◽  
pp. 624 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ioana Antoaneta Georgescu ◽  
Daniela Popa ◽  
Leon Zagrean
Keyword(s):  
Limbic System ◽  
Functional Relationship ◽  
Thalamic Nucleus ◽  
Anatomical Structures ◽  
Anatomical Studies ◽  
Affective Behaviors ◽  
The Neural Networks ◽  
And Control ◽  
The Brain ◽  
Insight Into

The mediodorsal nucleus (MD) represents just one piece of a complex relay structure situated within the brain, called the thalamus. MD is characterized by its robust interconnections with other brain areas, especially with limbic-related structures. Given the close anatomo-functional relationship between the MD and the limbic system, this particular thalamic nucleus can directly influence various affective behaviors and participate in cognition. In this work, we review data collected from multiple anatomical studies conducted in rodent, human, and non-human primates, highlighting the complexity of this structure and of the neural networks in which it takes part. We provide proof that the MD is involved in the unification of several anatomical structures, being able to process the information and influence the activity in numerous cortical and subcortical neural circuits. Moreover, we uncover intrinsic and extrinsic mechanisms that offer MD the possibility to execute and control specific high functions of the nervous system. The collected data indicate the great importance of the MD in the limbic system and offer relevant insight into the organization of thalamic circuits that support MD functions.

scholarly journals Linear reinforcement learning in planning, grid fields, and cognitive control

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Payam Piray ◽  
Nathaniel D. Daw
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Reinforcement Learning ◽  
Cognitive Control ◽  
Linear Approximation ◽  
Nonlinear Model ◽  
Long Distance ◽  
Control Engineering ◽  
Future Events ◽  
The Brain ◽  
Insight Into

AbstractIt is thought that the brain’s judicious reuse of previous computation underlies our ability to plan flexibly, but also that inappropriate reuse gives rise to inflexibilities like habits and compulsion. Yet we lack a complete, realistic account of either. Building on control engineering, here we introduce a model for decision making in the brain that reuses a temporally abstracted map of future events to enable biologically-realistic, flexible choice at the expense of specific, quantifiable biases. It replaces the classic nonlinear, model-based optimization with a linear approximation that softly maximizes around (and is weakly biased toward) a default policy. This solution demonstrates connections between seemingly disparate phenomena across behavioral neuroscience, notably flexible replanning with biases and cognitive control. It also provides insight into how the brain can represent maps of long-distance contingencies stably and componentially, as in entorhinal response fields, and exploit them to guide choice even under changing goals.

scholarly journals Influence of Cognitive Engagement on Temptation and Decision Making

2018 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 94-96
Author(s):  
Bailey Ryen Hull
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Executive Control ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Mental Strain ◽  
Task Control ◽  
The Moment ◽  
And Control ◽  
The Brain ◽  
Experimental Group ◽  
Insight Into

The purpose of this study is to determine students’ heightened susceptibility to temptation when cognitively engaged. Cognitively straining tasks require considerable focus, which inhibits the brain from the ability to effectively multi-task (Molfese et al., 2006). This may reduce the capacity for executive control during such engagement. This hypothesis was evaluated by offering participants an unhealthy (chocolate) or healthy (celery) food option during a memorization task (experimental group) or following a memorization task (control group). In the experimental group, students are cognitively engaged at the moment of the choice. This allows for the study to compare decision-making between the experimental and control group. Participants required to make a decision while actively participating in the memorization task chose the chocolate option significantly more often than participants who were offered the food after they had disengaged from the cognitive strain. This study could provide insight into how susceptible to temptation students are while under mental strain. It was hypothesized that as students are participating in a cognitively engaging task similar to studying, they will be more susceptible to choosing an unhealthy sugary snack rather than a healthier option. The data supported the idea that students who are cognitively engaged will be more susceptible to this temptation.

scholarly journals Linear reinforcement learning: Flexible reuse of computation in planning, grid fields, and cognitive control

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Payam Piray ◽  
Nathaniel D. Daw
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Reinforcement Learning ◽  
Cognitive Control ◽  
Nonlinear Model ◽  
Long Distance ◽  
Control Engineering ◽  
Future Events ◽  
The Brain ◽  
Insight Into ◽  
Do So

AbstractIt is thought that the brain’s judicious allocation and reuse of computation underlies our ability to plan flexibly, but also failures to do so as in habits and compulsion. Yet we lack a complete, realistic account of either. Building on control engineering, we introduce a new model for decision making in the brain that reuses a temporally abstracted map of future events to enable biologically-realistic, flexible choice at the expense of specific, quantifiable biases. It replaces the classic nonlinear, model-based optimization with a linear approximation that softly maximizes around (and is weakly biased toward) a learned default policy. This solution exposes connections between seemingly disparate phenomena across behavioral neuroscience, notably flexible replanning with biases and cognitive control. It also gives new insight into how the brain can represent maps of long-distance contingencies stably and componentially, as in entorhinal response fields, and exploit them to guide choice even under changing goals.

scholarly journals Signatures of processing complexity during global cognitive states in ventromedial prefrontal cortex

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Priyanka S. Mehta ◽  
Seng Bum Michael Yoo ◽  
Benjamin Y. Hayden
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Prefrontal Cortex ◽  
Search Strategy ◽  
Search Task ◽  
Ventromedial Prefrontal Cortex ◽  
Reward Rate ◽  
Cognitive States ◽  
Inter Trial Interval ◽  
The Brain ◽  
Insight Into

ABSTRACTBehavioral neuroscience almost exclusively studies behavior during tasks and ignores the unstructured inter-trial interval (ITI). However, it is unlikely that the ITI is simply an idling or paused mode; instead, it is a likely time for globally focused cognition, in which attention is disengaged from the task at hand and oriented more broadly. To gain insight into the computational underpinnings of globally focused cognition, we recorded from neurons in a core decision-making region, area 14 of ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC), as macaques performed a foraging search task with long inter-trial intervals (ITIs). We find that during the ITI, ensemble firing is associated with increased discriminability of a key mnemonic variable, recent reward rate, which in turn predicts upcoming search strategy. ITI activity is also associated with increased ensemble dimensionality and faster subspace reorganization, presumed markers of processing complexity. These results demonstrate the flexible nature of mnemonic processing and support the idea that the brain makes use of ostensible downtime to engage in complex processing.

Are your leaders brain-savvy, and why should you care?

2013 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 11-15
Author(s):  
Jan Hills
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Personal Connection ◽  
Effective Decision ◽  
Effective Decision Making ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Industry Sectors ◽  
The Brain ◽  
Insight Into

Purpose – This paper discusses the findings of a survey carried out to understand how employees perceived their leaders. The author was particularly interested in how brain-savvy leaders were – by this, is meant are leaders working in a way that is consistent with how the brain works? The author was interested in the question because she believes that working in a way that is consistent with how the brain works creates efficiency, productivity and engagement as well as improves the chances that change will be successful. Design/methodology/approach – We surveyed 2,000 people by telephone. Respondents were based in the UK and consisted of public sector and private sector employees spanning across all industry sectors. Findings – Our findings suggest leaders are failing to act in a way that is consistent with how the brain works. Less than 5 percent of UK employees said that their leaders were working in a brain-savvy manner and 24 percent said the leader in their organization was brain-fried, that is over stressed, a poor communicator and lacking personal connection. Originality/value – Neuroscience, the science of how the brain works offers insight into the implications for HR in organizations. The science is pointing to a number of ways the brain responds, for example, perceiving threat over reward leading to avoidance and reductions in creativity and effective decision making, and the importance of relationships as a motivator and creating engagement. The science also points to ways HR can help create more brain-savvy leaders and businesses.

A Bird in the Hand Isn’t Good for Long

2018 ◽  
Vol 65 (1) ◽  
pp. 23-31 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stefan Scherbaum ◽  
Simon Frisch ◽  
Maja Dshemuchadse
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Cognitive Control ◽  
The Other ◽  
Decision Task ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Additional Time ◽  
Control Processes ◽  
Folk Wisdom ◽  
Study Participants ◽  
Insight Into

Abstract. Folk wisdom tells us that additional time to make a decision helps us to refrain from the first impulse to take the bird in the hand. However, the question why the time to decide plays an important role is still unanswered. Here we distinguish two explanations, one based on a bias in value accumulation that has to be overcome with time, the other based on cognitive control processes that need time to set in. In an intertemporal decision task, we use mouse tracking to study participants’ responses to options’ values and delays which were presented sequentially. We find that the information about options’ delays does indeed lead to an immediate bias that is controlled afterwards, matching the prediction of control processes needed to counter initial impulses. Hence, by using a dynamic measure, we provide insight into the processes underlying short-term oriented choices in intertemporal decision making.

BIM-Based Quality Control for Safety Issues in the Design and Construction Phases

2015 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 111 ◽  
Author(s):  
Seunghwa Park ◽  
Inhan Kim
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Traditional Method ◽  
Building Information Modeling ◽  
Safety Management ◽  
Information Modeling ◽  
Use Case ◽  
Safety Issues ◽  
Building Information ◽  
Building Safety

Today’s buildings are getting larger and more complex. As a result, the traditional method of manually checking the design of a building is no longer efficient since such a process is time-consuming and laborious. It is becoming increasingly important to establish and automate processes for checking the quality of buildings. By automatically checking whether buildings satisfy requirements, Building Information Modeling (BIM) allows for rapid decision-making and evaluation. In this context, the work presented here focuses on resolving building safety issues via a proposed BIM-based quality checking process. Through the use case studies, the efficiency and usability of the devised strategy is evaluated. This research can be beneficial in promoting the efficient use of BIM-based communication and collaboration among the project party concerned for improving safety management. In addition, the work presented here has the potential to expand research efforts in BIM-based quality checking processes.

BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE AND POWER OF KNOWLEDGE

2018 ◽  
Vol 28 (5) ◽  
pp. 1489-1496
Author(s):  
Branislav Stanisavljević
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Financial Performance ◽  
Competitive Advantage ◽  
Business Intelligence ◽  
National Economy ◽  
Business Performance ◽  
Medium Size ◽  
Business Decision ◽  
Economic Point ◽  
Insight Into

Research carried out in the last few years as the example of companies belonging to the category of medium-size enterprises has shown that, for example, typical enterprises, of the total number of data processed in information of importance for its business, seriously takes into consideration and process only 10% of the observed firms. It is justifiable to ask whether these 10% of the processed and analyzed business information can have an adequate potential or motive power to direct the organization to success that is measured by competitive advantages and on a sustainable basis? Or, the question can be formulated: what happens to the rest, mostly 90% of the information that the enterprise does not transform into a form suitable for business analysis and decision-making. It is precisely the task of business intelligence to find a way to utilize all the data collected and processed in the business decision-making process. In this regard, we can conclude that Business Intelligence is, in fact, the framework title for all tools and / or applications that will enable the collection, processing, analysis, distribution to decision-making bodies in the business system in order to derivate from this information valid business decisions - as the most important and / or most important task of the manager. Of course, from an economic point of view, the best decisions are management decisions that provide a lasting competitive advantage and achieve maximum financial performance. This means that business intelligence actually allows a more complete and / or comprehensive view of the overall business performance of all its parts and subsystems. But the system functions can be measured essential and positive economic and financial performance, as well as the position in the branch of the business to which it belongs, and wider, within the national economy. (Of course, today the boundaries of the national economy have become too crowded for many companies, bearing in mind globalization and competitiveness in the light of organization of work and business function). The advantage of business intelligence as a model, if accepted at the organization level, ensures that each subsystem in the organization receives precisely the information needed to make development decisions, but also decisions regarding operational activities. So, it should be born in mind that business intelligence does not imply that information is shared on some key words, on the contrary, the goal is to look at the context of the business, or in general, and that anyone in the further decision hierarchy can manage exactly the same information that is necessary for achieving excellent business performance. Because, if the insight into the information is not complete, the analysis is based on the description of individual parts, i.e. proving partial performance in the realization of individual information, which can certainly create a space for the loss of the expensive time and energy. Illustratively, if the view, or insight into the information, is not 100%, then all business decision-making is like the song of J.J. Zmaj "Elephant", about an elephant and a blindmen, where everyone feels and act only on the base of the experienced work, and brings judgment on what is what or what can be. As in this song for children, everyone thinks that he touches different animals and when they make claims about what they feel, everyone describes a completely different life. Therefore, business intelligence implies that information is fully considered and it is basically the basis or knowledge base, and therefore the basis of business excellence. In doing so, the main problem is how information is transformed into knowledge and based on it in business decision making. It is precisely in this segment that the main advantage of business intelligence is its contribution to the knowledge and business of the company based on power of knowledge. Therefore, for modern business conditions, it is characteristic that the management of the company is realized on the basis of partial knowledge about stakeholders (buyers, suppliers, competitors, shareholders, governments, institutional framework, legislation), and only a complete overview of managers at the highest level in all these partial interest groups allows managers to have a “boat” called the organization of labor leading a safe hand through the storm, Scile and Haribde threatens to endanger business, towards a calm sea and a safe harbor - called a sustainable competitive advantage based on power and knowledge.

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