Indeed, researchers interested in assessing how fast information travels through the nervous system have used reaction time since the mid-1800s. Many scientists consider the best proxy measure of the speed or efficiency of thought processes to be reaction time – the time from the onset of a specific signal to the moment an action is initiated. We’re still a long way from reliably relating these signals to the mental events they represent, though. Researchers can use imaging techniques, such as functional magnetic resonance imaging and electroencephalography, to see what areas of the nervous system are active during different thought processes, and how information flows through the nervous system. It relies on interactions across complex networks of neurons distributed throughout the peripheral and central nervous systems. Thought is ultimately an internal and very individualized process that’s not readily observable. Duke University Photography Jim Wallace, CC BY-NC-ND Thoughts are invisible, so what should we measure? Even looking inside the brain, we can’t see thoughts.
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