Glutamate buildup may be key factor in mental exhaustion

ashwal

Their measurements (Figure 4) directly contradict this so they add another variable to their model ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Task performance & subjective rating don't change between the two groups.

The measurements are crude.

There's a lot of degrees of freedom in this study. Useful for others in the field, but a popular writeup deserves to go in the bin

leobg

Well, it once was also said that serotonin levels were the key factor in depression.

I think it was B.F. Skinner who wrote that it’s a fool’s errand to try to pin behavior down in some physical or chemical matter in the brain. But I can’t seem to remember the quote... must be the glutamate.

hnbad

Can't wait for people to run with this headline and write articles about how avoiding MSG makes you smarter or something.

Snark aside, I think while it's important to understand the chemical foundation for how certain brain processes or phenomena manifest, simplifying research results to news pieces like "chemical X is why you feel bad" is very evocative of the pre-modern "humors" approach to human health. Blood pressure too high? Just drain some blood.

refurb

N = 24 and the subheader is "Toxicity of excess glutamate may contribute to cognitive fatigue, but some experts are skeptical"

Color me skeptical.

cung

So what are the ways to lower glumate buildup?

hoppyhoppy2

Also being discussed at https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32430395

zmmmmm

> demanding computational tasks such as face recognition that require megawatts of energy for computers to perform

I'm not sure what computer this is but I'm pretty sure it's not using megawatts just to do some facial recognition (maybe she was fatigued by the time she got to the end of writing the article?).

dsr_

N=39. Half as a semi-control group.

8%, 10% differences.

Replicate this with N=1000, it might be worth talking about.

thriftwy

I wonder if that would also make your brain extra tasty for zombies.

Normille

Hold the front page! --Researchers discover that, when you're tired, you find it harder to think straight.

oofbey

Anybody know if consuming MSG is related to glutamate levels in the brain? I know MSG is a subject of long and mostly pointless debate but curious what the actual science is here.