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Surprisingly complex waves reveal the brain's inner workings

253 points · 98 comments · ibobev

  1. ghm2180 · · focus · HN ↗
    > If you’re paying attention to what you are looking at, signals are traveling backward from receptors in your eyes to the visual cortex, and then forward into the rest of the brain via the wave to form a memory.

    has someone used muse2 to measure there brain waves are indeed some how different on days/hours when tehy are focused?

    Let me explain. I have ADHD, I am on medication. I read an alternate hypothesis to stimulant based treatment of how attention networks don't necessarily change with intake of traditional stimulants[1]; this is also something i have experienced.

    Personally, medication helps me keep certain negative thoughts and resistance to doing things, but it does not help with longer arc change in executive functioning like planning or strategy. It just removes some barriers to focus on _a_ task, whatever is in front of me and I can do it. The only thing that really worked for executive function improvemement is meditation for 45 mins a day. I believe that also puts the brain waves in a different state. Which is why I've been interested in brain activity tracking and why this article is interesting too.

    [1] <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.nytimes.com&#x2F;2026&#x2F;09&#x2F;29&#x2F;science&#x2F;adhd-attention-motivation.html" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.nytimes.com&#x2F;2026&#x2F;09&#x2F;29&#x2F;science&#x2F;adhd-attention-mo...

    1. bcjdjsndon · · focus · HN ↗
      &gt; Personally, medication helps me keep certain negative thoughts and resistance to doing things, but it does not help with longer arc change in executive functioning like planning or strategy. It just removes some barriers to focus on _a_ task, whatever is in front of me and I can do it. The only thing that really worked for executive function improvemement is meditation for 45 mins a day. I believe that also puts the brain waves in a different state. Which is why I&#x27;ve been interested in brain activity tracking and why this article is interesting too.

      What are your actual disabilities from ADHD? You mentioned focus, but I was confused by the executive function part

      1. ghm2180 · · focus · HN ↗
        Executive functioning has to do with making decisions that requires planning on long range tasks and sticking to the plan and then carrying the tasks of it out.

        There are certain things with ADHD that mess with executive functioning for me e.g. focusing on short term rewards rather than longer term outcomes, more active DMN(default mode network) i.e. the part that makes you worry about past or the future, memory encoding problems(i.e. how things go from short term memory to long term memory) etc.

        Technically speaking, executive functions are roughly divide as: - nonverbal working memory. - internalization of speech (verbal working memory). - self-regulation of affect&#x2F;motivation&#x2F;arousal. - reconstitution (planning and generativity).

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