How Years of Gaming Weakens Brain's Ability to Problem Solve | Executive Dysfunction

Summary

The video script delves into executive dysfunction, a condition that hampers the ability to initiate and execute tasks, often exacerbated by mental health issues. Dr. K explains that executive function, linked to the brain's frontal lobes, matures around ages 30-32. To combat dysfunction, one must operationalize problems by breaking them into manageable tasks. The script also addresses the emotional impact and offers strategies like meditation to strengthen the medial prefrontal cortex, crucial for operationalizing tasks. It distinguishes executive dysfunction from motivational issues, emphasizing the importance of addressing the root cause rather than symptoms.

Takeaways

• 🧠 Executive dysfunction is a condition where the frontal lobes of the brain, responsible for planning and executing tasks, do not function optimally.
• 🔍 It can be challenging for those without executive dysfunction to understand the struggle of those who have it, as it feels like an inability to force oneself to take action.
• 📈 Executive function improves with age, typically reaching its peak between 30 and 32 years old, due to the development of the frontal lobes.
• 🎮 Playing video games can negatively impact executive function because they often provide the steps to complete tasks, reducing the need for the brain to plan and execute.
• 🤔 Individuals with executive dysfunction experience paralysis around goals, understanding what needs to be done but struggling to break tasks into manageable steps.
• 🔄 Operationalizing problems is a key strategy to overcome executive dysfunction, which involves breaking down abstract goals into concrete, actionable steps.
• 💢 Frustration and negative emotions often accompany executive dysfunction and can hinder progress; addressing these emotions is crucial for improvement.
• 🧘‍♂️ Meditation can help strengthen the medial prefrontal cortex, which is associated with operationalizing problems and can improve executive function over time.
• 🚫 Be cautious of thoughts that prevent you from starting tasks, such as perfectionism or fear of failure, as they can exacerbate executive dysfunction.
• ❌ Motivation is not the same as executive function; motivational issues can stem from various underlying problems, including executive dysfunction, and should be addressed specifically.

Q & A

What is executive dysfunction?

Executive dysfunction refers to difficulties with the cognitive processes that underlie planning, organizing, and executing tasks. It is often linked to issues with the frontal lobes of the brain, which are responsible for these functions.

How does executive dysfunction affect an individual's ability to perform tasks?

Individuals with executive dysfunction may struggle to break down tasks into manageable steps, leading to a feeling of paralysis and an inability to initiate or complete tasks, even those they find enjoyable.

At what age does executive function typically reach its full potential?

Executive function generally reaches its full potential between the ages of 30 and 32, which is related to the development of the frontal lobes.

How can playing video games impact executive function?

Playing video games can negatively impact executive function because they often provide step-by-step instructions, doing the planning for the player and potentially reducing the need for their own executive function skills.

What is the process of 'operationalizing problems' and how does it help with executive dysfunction?

Operationalizing problems involves breaking down abstract goals into concrete, manageable tasks. This process can help individuals with executive dysfunction by providing a clear, step-by-step guide to achieving their goals.

Why is it challenging for individuals with executive dysfunction to find purpose or work on other aspects of their life?

Finding purpose or working on other life aspects requires the ability to set and pursue goals, which can be difficult for those with executive dysfunction due to their struggle with planning and executing tasks.

How can meditation potentially improve executive function?

Meditation can strengthen the medial prefrontal cortex, a part of the brain associated with executive function, potentially improving one's ability to operationalize problems and manage tasks.

What role do emotions play in executive dysfunction, and how can they be managed?

Emotions, particularly frustration and feelings of incompetence, can exacerbate executive dysfunction by creating a barrier to action. Therapy and emotional processing can help manage these emotions and improve executive function.

How does executive dysfunction differ from motivational issues?

Executive dysfunction is a specific cognitive issue related to planning and executing tasks, whereas motivation is a broader concept that can involve various psychological and neuroscientific factors. Executive dysfunction can present as a lack of motivation, but the underlying issue is the difficulty in task management, not a lack of desire to act.

What strategies can be used to overcome the paralysis caused by executive dysfunction?

Strategies include learning to operationalize problems, managing negative emotions through therapy, practicing meditation to strengthen relevant brain areas, and addressing specific cognitive challenges that prevent task initiation.

Outlines

00:00

🧠 Understanding Executive Dysfunction

The paragraph discusses the impact of executive dysfunction on daily life and the difficulty in finding solutions or even discussing the issue. It explains that executive dysfunction is related to the frontal lobes of the brain, which are responsible for planning and executing tasks. The analogy of a five-year-old versus a three-year-old's ability to clean a room is used to illustrate the concept. The speaker notes that executive function improves with age, reaching its peak between 30 and 32 years old, and suggests that video games may negatively impact this function by doing the planning for the player. The paragraph concludes by emphasizing the challenge of breaking down tasks into manageable steps, which is a key issue for individuals with executive dysfunction.

05:01

🤔 The Frustration of Executive Dysfunction

This section delves into the frustration experienced by individuals with executive dysfunction, who have an understanding of their disorder but are unable to overcome it. The inability to break down tasks is likened to a three-year-old's struggle to clean a room without guidance. The paragraph highlights the importance of operationalizing problems, or converting abstract goals into concrete, manageable steps. The speaker shares an exercise from Dr. K's guide, suggesting that individuals pretend to have a servant who will carry out exact instructions, thereby learning to break tasks into smaller, executable parts. The paragraph also touches on the emotional toll of executive dysfunction, including feelings of incompetence and frustration, and the need for therapy to address these emotions.

10:03

🛠️ Overcoming Executive Dysfunction

The paragraph focuses on strategies to overcome executive dysfunction, starting with the process of operationalizing problems. It suggests an exercise where individuals imagine giving detailed instructions to a hypothetical servant to complete a task, which can help in breaking down tasks into actionable steps. The discussion then moves to the emotional aspect, emphasizing the need to manage negative emotions that hinder action. The speaker mentions the role of meditation in strengthening the medial prefrontal cortex, which can aid in operationalizing problems. The paragraph concludes with advice on being mindful of thoughts that prevent starting tasks and the idea that executive dysfunction can improve over time with practice and specific cognitive skills.

15:03

📉 Executive Dysfunction vs. Motivation

In this paragraph, the speaker differentiates executive dysfunction from motivational issues, arguing that motivation is a broad term that encompasses various processes. The paragraph critiques the oversimplification of motivation and the ineffectiveness of generic motivational advice. It suggests that what appears to be a lack of motivation could actually be executive dysfunction or other underlying issues. The speaker advocates for a more nuanced approach to understanding and addressing motivational problems, emphasizing the importance of identifying the specific root causes rather than applying a one-size-fits-all solution.

Keywords

💡Executive Dysfunction

Executive dysfunction refers to difficulties in cognitive processes that are controlled by the executive functions of the brain, particularly the frontal lobes. These functions include planning, organizing, strategizing, paying attention to and completing tasks, and controlling impulses. In the video, executive dysfunction is described as a crippling effect caused by mental illness, making it hard for individuals to take action or manage tasks, even simple or fun ones.

💡Frontal Lobes

The frontal lobes are the front parts of the brain's cerebral cortex, responsible for high-level cognitive functions, including decision-making, planning, social conduct, and the expression of personality. In the script, it's mentioned that executive function, which is impaired in executive dysfunction, is associated with the development of the frontal lobes, which typically reaches full potential between the ages of 30 and 32.

💡Operationalizing Problems

Operationalizing problems is a process of breaking down complex or abstract goals into smaller, manageable, and concrete tasks. This concept is used in the video to suggest a strategy for individuals with executive dysfunction to tackle tasks by turning them into a series of simple steps that can be more easily executed. For instance, instead of thinking about 'cleaning a room,' one might break it down into 'putting books away,' 'putting toys away,' etc.

💡Video Games

Video games are mentioned in the context of how they can negatively impact executive function. The video suggests that video games can 'do the executive function for you,' meaning they provide the steps and structure for the player, which can reduce the need for the player to engage their own executive functions. This could potentially lead to difficulties in planning and executing tasks in real life.

💡Paralysis

Paralysis in this context refers to the feeling of being unable to start or complete tasks due to executive dysfunction. It is used in the video to describe the overwhelming sense of inaction that individuals with executive dysfunction can experience when faced with complex tasks. The video explains that this paralysis is not due to a lack of motivation but rather an inability to break down tasks into actionable steps.

💡Emotions and Frustration

Emotions and frustration are discussed in relation to how they can exacerbate executive dysfunction. The video highlights that the negative emotions and frustration individuals feel about their inability to complete tasks can create a barrier to action. The video suggests that addressing these emotions through therapy and other means is an important part of managing executive dysfunction.

💡Meditation

Meditation is suggested in the video as a tool for strengthening the medial prefrontal cortex, a part of the brain associated with executive function. By practicing meditation, individuals can potentially improve their ability to operationalize problems and manage the emotional aspects of executive dysfunction.

💡ADHD

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is mentioned as a condition that often co-occurs with executive dysfunction. The video explains that individuals with ADHD may struggle with executive functions, making it difficult for them to plan, organize, and complete tasks. This connection is used to illustrate the complexity of executive dysfunction and the importance of addressing underlying conditions.

💡Motivation

Motivation is discussed in the video as a misunderstood term that encompasses various psychological and neuroscientific issues. The video argues that a lack of motivation is often misdiagnosed and can be a symptom of executive dysfunction, rather than the root cause. Understanding the actual problem, such as executive dysfunction, is crucial for finding effective solutions.

💡Cognitive Skills

Cognitive skills refer to the mental abilities that individuals use to process information, including memory, perception, thinking, and problem-solving. In the video, cognitive skills are mentioned as tools that can be developed to help manage executive dysfunction, such as learning how to operationalize problems and manage negative thoughts that prevent starting tasks.

Highlights

Executive dysfunction is a significant challenge for individuals with mental illnesses, often leading to a feeling of being unable to initiate actions.

The frontal lobes of the brain are responsible for planning and executing tasks, which are essential for executive function.

Executive function improves with age, reaching full potential around 30 to 32 years old due to frontal lobe development.

Playing video games can negatively impact executive function as they often provide the steps for the player, reducing the need for planning.

Individuals with executive dysfunction experience paralysis around goals due to an inability to break down tasks into manageable steps.

The importance of operationalizing problems, or breaking down abstract goals into discrete, actionable steps, for those with executive dysfunction.

A practical exercise for operationalizing involves imagining giving step-by-step instructions to a servant for completing a task.

Frustration and negative emotions often accompany executive dysfunction and can hinder progress.

Therapies can help process negative emotions and improve executive function over time.

Meditation can strengthen the medial prefrontal cortex, aiding in operationalizing problems and improving executive function.

Executive dysfunction is not the same as motivational issues, as motivation is a term that encompasses various psychological processes.

Executive function does not typically degrade after the age of 32, unlike some other cognitive functions.

The differentiation between executive dysfunction and motivational issues is crucial for proper diagnosis and treatment.

Strategies for dealing with executive dysfunction include addressing negative emotions, learning to operationalize problems, and being mindful of thoughts that prevent starting tasks.

Perfectionism can be a barrier to action for individuals with executive dysfunction, as it may lead to paralysis due to unrealistic expectations.

Cognitive skills training can help individuals with executive dysfunction overcome the challenges of initiating and completing tasks.

The discussion highlights the importance of understanding and addressing executive dysfunction as a distinct issue from general motivational problems.

Transcripts

really like to talk to dr k about

executive dysfunction and how to conquer

it

as it has been the most crippling effect

caused by my mental illness and has

essentially made life

progress progress near impossible in

many respects

and yet this is a topic that seems to go

often untalked about in any sort

of detail especially in any sort of

solutionary

respect i've even struggled to get my

therapist to talk about it with me

perhaps that is because i have also

found that those who don't

deal with this issue have an especially

difficult time understanding it as well

it is hard for them to grasp the idea of

feeling

like you are literally unable to force

yourself to take an action

and i get it because i deal with it

every day and i still

find it hard to understand how it can be

this way i too often wonder why can't i

just do it like everybody else from my

point of view it is a bad enough

having to battle my mind but it is

torturous not being able to hardly ever

just get myself to do some sort of work

or even a fun hobby

to help myself through it on top of that

and it is very hard for me to find

purpose in myself

or work on other parts of my life and

mental health

as well when i can't actually manage

to hardly get myself to do simple or

even fun tasks

let alone those more important

purposeful ones

so basically it feels like i'm

constantly stuck in a solitary prison

and given nothing to do other than sit

and look out through the bars to see all

the things that i enjoy and want

need to take part in but can't okay this

is a great question

so the first question is what is

executive dysfunction

we have a part of our brain called the

frontal lobes

which plan and execute tasks okay

so what this means is that the example

that we're going to use to

explain executive dysfunction is i have

a three-year-old and i have a

five-year-old

if i tell my five-year-old to clean up

the room she can do it

if i tell my three-year-old to clean up

the room

she's gonna feel like she just can't do

it right so then what i have to do is i

have to tell my three-year-old okay

let's put the books away and the

three-year-old can do that i can tell

let's put the toys away but she can do

that let's put the stuffed animals away

she can do that she can put the ipad

away she can put the controller away she

can put her bowl away

but she needs me to structure those

tasks together to take like to reach an

abstract goal okay so executive function

is the ability to plan and execute tasks

so if i think about something like

finding a job

that requires a lot of executive

function right

so it requires me to think about okay

like what are the steps involved and

execute on those tasks

so the first thing to understand about

executive function is that

it improves with age and your executive

function kind of

uh you know reaches its full potential

it's somewhere between

the age ages of 30 and 32 and this has

to do with frontal lobe development

so the first issue for this person is

depending on how old you are

things may get better for you as you get

older

i'm not saying that it's sufficient now

like you can't really bank on that right

like you can't like

if you're a high school student with

poor executive function

you can't wait until you're 30 to do

high school

so that's the first thing just to

reassure you guys that you will get

better at this

over time until the age of 30 to 32. the

second thing that i found is that

executive function tends to get

negatively impacted by playing video

games

i know it sounds kind of weird but if

you spend a lot of time playing video

games

what video games essentially do is like

do the executive function for you okay i

know it sounds weird but like think

about this so i've been playing genji

impact recently right so like i don't

have

the the game sort of tells me what i

need to do like if you play world of

warcraft or genji

impact or whatever i don't have to plan

out i mean sort of people do in genshin

impact but

you know if you play a particular video

game the game tells you okay the next

step you need to do is this the next

step you need to do is this the next

step you need to do is this

like if i if i take ff7 for example like

ff7 doesn't start off in the first 10

minutes and say

hey beat sephiroth and then you have to

construct

how to get from where you are to like

beat sephiroth at the end

sure you know he's the bad guy and you

know he's the end goal but

gideo video games give you the steps

okay

so the problem that people with

executive function have or dysfunction

have

is that they don't they're not their

brains are not able to

plan out and execute each step of the

task

so if we think about like you know

planning and execution

what someone with a good executive

function can do is like plan out the

steps they understand that okay if i

need to clean my room

these are the six things that need to

happen so what people

with executive function experience is

paralysis

around goals so what that means is like

they know

like the three-year-old theoretically

knows

what a clean room looks like and if i

ask her like what in the room looks

dirty she can tell me that

so what's really frustrating about

people with executive dysfunction

is that they're they have insight

into um

their dysfunction but what's incredibly

frustrating about this is that despite

the insight

it doesn't actually change your brain

and allow your brain to actually do it

so you like the three-year-old can

understand what a clean room looks like

can understand that her room is dirty

but that

abstract level understanding is not the

same

as the frontal lobes being able to chunk

down that task

so really what executive function is is

the ability to take one task and like

chunk it into pieces right so when i

plan and execute like here's find a job

or clean a room and it's it's being able

like this process

is what's messed up with executive

dysfunction

okay and understanding it insight into

it

is not the same it's the ability to like

think through what

what to do so another example is like

you know sometimes we'll have like let's

say like you're having you're hosting a

party

so people who have like people who are

event planners

have really good executive dis uh

function so like

they like plan out this big task let's

throw a wedding this has to get done

this has to get done this has to get

done this has to get done so they're

very good

like very organized so the problem with

executive dysfunction is that we

aren't able to like figure out how to

chunk up a task and execute on it

and it feels incredibly paralyzing

because our brain is

literally not able to do this so if we

think about how you know how do you

start on a task that's too big

you can't so this is why people feel

paralyzed because if the task is too big

you literally cannot do it

like i can't like if i were to tell you

you know

win a nobel prize like

how do you even start with that like

that's crazy like you may be able to

theoretically map out what needs to be

done but you can't actually break it

apart

into like it's subsequent pieces and

actually execute on it

so then the question is what to do about

executive function

about executive dysfunction actually and

this is where there are a couple of

things to recognize

so when people um

have paralysis and executive dysfunction

there are a couple of different

components

so when you're paralyzed towards a

behavior there are

three things that i'd like to talk about

the first is operationalize

so what this means is like there's

actually a formal process that you can

get

trained in to do this

so this is what we call operationalizing

problems

um in in gamer terminology so like back

when we did

a lot of work with gamers i know we

still do a lot of work with gamers but i

used to

do a lot of work specifically around

video game addiction and what i would

teach people is how to

change an open-ended problem so this is

something like win nobel prize or find a

job

into a close-ended problem so what that

means is to essentially

go through the process of converting an

abstract thing

into like a discrete quest goal so like

forget about the quest

chain we're gonna like because we can't

map out the quest chain so or

actually what we're gonna do is we're

gonna take a goal and we're gonna map it

on to what we call a quest

chain and then the quest chain will have

discrete pieces

so this is called operationalizing

problems which gamers

are bad at the really interesting thing

is that gamers are actually better than

the average population

at this piece so if you give a gamer a

very discreet task

and you give them an end goal and you

give them all the pieces

they will actually outperform regular

people when it comes to doing that task

so this is a real scenario okay i was

taking a class at harvard business

school

and in the in the class at harvard

business school we were given a case and

we were told to solve this problem

about how to optimize flow through a

urology clinic

literally i was swamped at the time so i

logged onto discord and i was like hey

do you guys want to help me with this

and i just uploaded this

harvard business school case to group of

my degenerate gamer friends

and the next day they like came up with

like four or five solutions i went into

class two days later

i had the solutions for my gamer buddies

and they're like how what do you do and

i was like hey this is what i'm going to

do and the professor is like that's

brilliant no understanding of medicine

no understanding of mba stuff no

understanding of any of that crap

if you give them a close-ended task and

give them the parameters

gamers are good at this gamers are bad

at this so if you have a problem with

executive dysfunction the first thing

that you need to do

is learn how to turn this into this so

that's called

operationalizing problems there's a

there's a actually an exercise that we

share in dr k's guide so we talk a lot

about this in dr k's guide but i'll

share the exercise with you now so this

is what i tell people who have

um executive dysfunction like as a

therapist

what i'll say is pretend you are

paralyzed from the the neck down

and pretend you have a servant who will

do exactly what you tell them to do

what would you how would you tell them

to like accomplish this task

so in the terms of like finding a job

it's like you're paralyzed you like

literally have to tell them

go to my computer log in open a web

browser

do a google search for jobs available

in you know washington dc

what do you see there okay then do this

then do this then do this

and what i find with with people who

have executive dysfunction is that when

you really like work them through that

process

they will actually be able to like

execute on tasks so the first thing is

operationalizing problems

second problem with executive

dysfunction is frustration

and emotions a lot of people with

executive dysfunction

also have adhd or the other way around

so people with adhd have trouble like

with executive

function okay so this is the really

interesting thing is that i find that

when you're

paralyzed towards behavior there's like

a practical component to it

but there's also this component of like

feeling so

damn dumb and feeling so damn

incompetent and frustrated with yourself

that it actually negatively impacts your

behavior because if we think about like

what

promotes behavior right so like it's not

frustration and negative emotion

it's like inspiration and confidence so

what people with executive dysfunction

literally have to do in order to improve

their dysfunction

is digest these emotions so we'll do

therapy around this

because any time you're thinking about

taking a behavior right like so

if i have an idea and then i want to

take an action

what goes in here what is this composed

of it's composed of

operationalizing and then there's going

to be like

there's going to be good emotions and

there's going to be

bad emotions right so there's like a war

between my good emotions and my bad

emotions

in terms of whether i take the action or

not if i think i'm going to fail if like

you know if i think i'm good at it like

if i feel confident then i'll take the

action

so that those are a couple of pieces

that go into it okay

so we're paralyzed towards the behavior

we have to learn how to operationalize

we have to learn how to like deal with

our negative

emotions and frustration i think

generally speaking i just do two things

with them so we tend to get to

processing their negative emotions and

then we operationalize problems

and we use that exercise and that tends

to be actually like the way that you

deal with executive

dysfunction and the third thing to to

remember is that over time

you will actually improve okay

yeah so people are talking about

meditation absolutely so you can also do

meditation

right so the uh it's that's good thank

you chat

see chad is learning so if we talk about

strengthening your frontal lobes

meditation actually strength

strengthens your mpfc your medial

prefrontal cortex

which is going to be like a big part of

what we want to talk about when it comes

to

operationalizing problems i think

another thing that we want to

talk a little bit about is you have to

be careful about

the thoughts that keep you from starting

so this is also like another cognitive

skill that you can learn so anytime

someone has this is related to the

emotions but like

if you think about problems with

operationalizing like this is where the

what-ifs happen right we were talking

about the what-ifs earlier

what if you know

so a lot of thoughts that keep you from

starting this kind of has to do a little

bit with like procrastination so

sometimes like

you know perfection can actually keep

you paralyzed as well like you want to

do it perfect

you don't want to like get a b so you're

not even gonna try for

until you're sure you can get an a

you're not even gonna you'd rather have

an

f than a 10 or 90 chance for an a

right you want a 100 chance of an a or

an f

so this is where there are particular

like psychological complexes or

cognitive things which you can actually

work on

these are almost like some scars so we

talk about a couple of these in dr k's

guides

i'll try to you know map more stuff out

but when it comes to

solving executive dysfunction it gets

better with time you have to learn how

to operationalize

which you can practically do deal with

the negative emotions that keep you from

acting

you can absolutely meditate and then the

fourth thing is that

you know there are particular thoughts

there are particular other

challenges that arise which have

specific solutions to them

questions about executive function does

it degrade after the age of 32 not

really

is it different from motivational issues

no so so here's the problem there's no

sanskrit word for motivation

so motivation i think is one of the

worst words in the english language

because

it lumps together all of these

disparate processes under like one term

it's like and so the problem like if you

look at like solutions to motivation

like if you do

a google search for like solutions to

motivation you will find

a million websites with a bunch of

people who will

sell you their product for like how to

get more motivated and we're guilty of

that too

the problem is like if they're all these

solutions to motivation like

why isn't everyone super motivated none

of them work why don't they work because

it's a problem of misdiagnosis

motivational problems could be adhd it

could be executive

dysfunction it could be trauma it could

be like a lack of clarity of goal it

could be that

you're not motivated because it's

something you should do instead of

something that you care about

there are all kinds of like nuances to

motivation it's actually a

a bunch of different neuroscientific

psychological

and spiritual problems and the way that

i help motivate people is because like i

don't call it motivation it's like

what's your actual problem

so you could look at someone with

executive dysfunction you could say this

problem has a problem this person has a

problem with motivation

but they're absolutely they can't act

when they want to act right that's what

motivation is

but if you look at it like their actual

problem is not

a lack of motivation that's a symptom

their problem

is is executive dysfunction and so in

that way

a lack of motivation has a differential

diagnosis

that includes a lot of different things

you