Everyday experience makes it obvious – sometimes frustratingly so – that our working memory capacity is limited. We can only keep so many things consciously in mind at once. The results of a new study may explain why: They suggest that the “coupling”, or synchrony, of brain waves among three key regions breaks down in specific ways when visual working memory load becomes too much to handle.

“When you reach capacity, there is a loss of feedback coupling”, said senior author Earl Miller, Picower Professor of Neuroscience at MIT’s Picower Institute for Learning and Memory. That loss of synchrony means the regions can no longer communicate with each other to sustain working memory.

Maximum working memory capacity – for instance the total number of images a person can hold in working memory at the same time – varies by individual but averages about four, Miller said. Researchers have correlated working memory capacity with intelligence. (1)

The more we listen, the more we get closer to stop hearing.

The more we see, the more we get closer to stop seeing.

The more we know the more we get close to knowing nothing.

The more we understand, the more we see there is nothing to understand.

The more we try to reach God, the further away we are drawn by Him.

The more I write the more…

Well.

I will just stop here.

If you are here, you know why.

And you will never need to come back again…