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"Thinking is the hardest and most demanding of all labor," noted American novelist Wallace D. Wattles in the 19th century.

                          image: credit to Thirdman


On the surface, that might seem like a contentious comparison, but according to a recent study, thinking too hard or for too long can actually exhaust your brain, just like working out can.


Hard physical work is undoubtedly exhausting, but a person's perspiration or trembling muscles reveal nothing about how hard they may be thinking

We just have to take people at their word when they claim they're mentally worn out.

As a result, researchers are still puzzled as to why sustained thought leads to cognitive fatigue. It isn't really a feeling of being sleepy; rather, it is the impression that tasks are becoming more difficult to finish or to concentrate on.


The brain's most prevalent excitatory neurotransmitter, according to some studies, may be to responsible for this lack of mental stamina.

Even though glutamate is a component of more than 90% of neuron-to-neuron transmissions in the human brain, it wasn't properly understood until the 1950s.

This underappreciated molecule has kept scientists on their toes for decades. For instance, it has been discovered that neurons regulate the quantity of glutamate they release to other neurons in order to modulate the strength of their messages in the brain.

With as many as 8,000 glutamate molecules packed into a single pouch at the synapse, the point where two neurons converge, glutamate can even stimulate neurons to death

Glutamate overproduction is unquestionably a concern, which is one of the reasons it has been connected to brain drain.


Researchers detected an increase in glutamate in the lateral prefrontal cortex of 24 participants after they underwent demanding computer-based sorting activities for more than six hours. Short-term memory and higher-order cognitive abilities like decision-making are related with this region of the brain.

Comparatively, 16 more people who were given simpler tasks to complete that day didn't exhibit any symptoms of glutamate buildup in this region of the brain.

Therefore, the scientists think that one of the things limiting human mental endurance may be an increase in extracellular glutamate.

Naturally, the brain consumes a lot of glucose while it is functioning. Other ideas speculate that this energy supply may also be a constraint, but it is yet unclear how a reduction in glucose affects the biochemistry of thinking.

According to some experts, a drop in glucose causes the brain to lose dopamine, which makes people lose interest in some cognitive tasks more quickly


Clinical psychologist Mathias Pessiglione of Pitié-Salpêtrière University in Paris, France, says "influential ideas suggest that exhaustion is a type of illusion built up by the brain to make us stop whatever we are doing and move to a more rewarding activity."


Fatigue would be a signal that makes us stop working, but for a different reason: to maintain the integrity of brain functioning. However, our data reveal that cognitive work leads in a true functional modification - the buildup of noxious compounds.

Additionally, according to Pessiglione, there is solid proof that glutamate is excreted from synapses while you sleep.

That might contribute in part to the ability to feel mentally rejuvenated the following day after getting a good night's sleep.


A 2016 functional MRI (fMRI) brain imaging study discovered the lateral prefrontal cortex (lPFC) was engaged in high cognitive exertion that gradually decreased its excitability.

It would take considerably more work to activate this region at the conclusion of a long, arduous day. Thus, the impression of a brain drain

Pessiglione and colleagues conclude that these findings, when combined with earlier fMRI data, lend support to a neuro-metabolic theory in which glutamate accumulation sets off a regulation mechanism that increases the cost of lPFC activation, explaining why cognitive control is more difficult to mobilize following a demanding workday.

An exceptionally quick-acting neurotransmitter is glutamate. It contributes to the strength of this amino acid. However, it also makes it challenging to measure the chemical.

Studies like the one being conducted right now are utilizing new technology to investigate the rapid role glutamate plays in our brains in greater detail.


The authors are currently looking into why the prefrontal cortex accumulates glutamate more than other regions of the brain.

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