Overview
- Researchers at the Paris Brain Institute recorded high-density EEG in 62 adults as they performed prolonged attention tasks and reported their moment-to-moment experience.
- During self-reported blanks, large-scale brain communication fell and the 250–300 ms late visual response linked to conscious perception was largely absent.
- The observed neural profile differed from both on-task focus and mind wandering, marking mind blanking as a distinct state.
- Behaviorally, these episodes coincided with mild drowsiness, slower responses, and more errors.
- The authors estimate such lapses may occupy about 5%–20% of waking life and propose brief sleep-like local states, with possible clinical links to anxiety and ADHD flagged as tentative.