Errors can be predicted

People who perform monotonous and repetitive tasks show abnormal brain activity before making a mistake , according to a study by the University of Bergen, in Norway, which is published today in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). ).

With the help of magnetic resonance imaging , the Norwegian Tom Eichele and his team have found that brain activity in regions associated with maintaining effort while performing a task decreases thirty seconds before we make a mistake . Knowing this pattern, a portable warning system could be designed to alert people that they are about to fail, so that in this way they are more careful, says Eichele. With this technology, safety in the workplace would be significantly improved, as well as the performance of key tasks, for example air traffic control at airports.