ABSTRACT
Neuroscientist Riitta Hari, a pioneer in neuromagnetic brain research (Hari and Lounasmaa, 1989), said in her inauguration lecture as the new Academician of Science of Finland that, at birth, we are all children of the world. The environment in which we live shapes our brain, how we speak, think, interact, behave. Life is all about learning. Even without always being consciously aware of it, we acquire habits, both good and bad, master new skills, gain theoretical and practical knowledge, adapt and adjust. Our brain is pre-wired for lifelong learning. Information processing of the brain underlies thinking, learning, planning, making everyday decisions. Behaviour is the outcome of our cognitive and mental processes. Through thinking we give meaning to what we have seen, heard and felt. Neural structures of our long-term memory are constantly being upgraded. Due to our unique palettes
of intelligence, talents, temperaments, handling of emotions, education, learning through work and hobbies, goals in life, health issues and our life history, each of us has a unique collection of knowledge – theoretical and practical – stored within our brain. In order to be able to use this, our most valuable asset, to the full, our brain should be fit. Promoting brain well-being should be of the highest priority for each of us and its relevance should also be acknowledged in society. The fatigued, overloaded, sleep-deprived brain of a stressed individual does not care, forgets and stops learning. The internet, World Wide Web, cloud computing, represent various applications of information hand-
ling made possible with the emergence of high-capacity information networks and data mining. In ten years a tight and complex network of information highways has been woven around the globe. News, facts, fiction, rumours, opinions, debates, you name it, taking place around the world are forwarded in real time, simultaneously, to people with different societal, cultural and religious backgrounds, educational levels and cognitive aptitudes. Both everyday living and work life are often perceived as complex and cognitively, mentally and phy-
siologically demanding. In a recent EU survey corporate leaders and human resources directors have expressed their concern on overall brain well-being of the working force (Müller, 2011). In the Work and Health Survey 2009 of the Finnish workforce (Kauppinen et al., 2010), 48% of workers in all sectors reported that their job content and/or job description had totally changed within the last three years. Thus, the ability to constantly learn at work can be seen as an essential work skill. We also need to take a good look at work processes and environments: do they promote learning? In this chapter we will focus on the advances in research within neuroergonomics, a research field that
studies the working brain by linking neurocognitive, behavioural and human factors research together
(Parasuraman and Rizzo, 2007). Through this multidisciplinary approach it is also possible to develop new methodological approaches for studying the learning and working brain in naturalistic environments, outside research laboratories. Cognitive neurophysiology provides a holistic approach for linking together cognitive and mental per-
formance with the state of the cardiovascular system and brain neurophysiology of an individual carrying out a certain task. This enables us to study the effects of a changing external mental workload on human neurophysiology and cognitive performance. Also, the effects of individual factors on cognition, such as overall vigilance, alertness, fatigue, sleep pressure and hyperactivity due to stress can be evaluated. Age is also an important factor, but this paper will not specifically address this aspect. A book printed on paper is still considered by many as one of the best user interfaces for information. Most
of us feel comfortable with learning based on social interaction: communication and dialogue face-to-face, watching and mentoring. The constant emergence of new information technologies making e-learning, virtual classes and other
social media applications available also within learning challenge the human mind both intellectually and mentally. In these chains of information human and artificial intelligence meet at (information technology application) interfaces. The thought processes of the human brain play the key role in the process where data (know nothing) is first converted to information (know something), then to knowledge (evaluate and understand the meaning of information) and, ultimately, hopefully, also to wisdom (how to best use knowledge). High-power computers can crunch large chunks of data into elementary information, but human brain power is needed to further cultivate it. Research in cognitive neurophysiology aids in the optimization of our living (everyday learning) envir-
onments in such a way that the mental challenges presented to the brain and mind do not exceed their capacity and available resources. In order to achieve this, we also need to understand human-related factors affecting the performance of the human brain.
