The Vital Half-Second
When we think about our brains work, most of us imagine logical and immediate information processing similar to a computer. In reality, our brains process new information and experiences through the lens of past experience. The internal mechanisms which shape our understanding of the external world are first processed within multiple tracks of unconscious networks before being accessible to conscious awareness. This unconscious processing relies on a set of early evolving networks involving sensory, motor, and somatic processes which we share with other animals. These primitive systems, which are nonverbal and inaccessible to conscious reflection, are referred to as implicit memory, the unconscious, the fast systems, or somatic memory. These are the memories that we do not consciously remember but guide our conscious experience. These systems are likely the only ones that our primitive ancestors and many other species possess.
The later-evolving systems involved in conscious awareness, also called the slow systems, eventually gave rise to narratives, imagination, and abstract thought. This slow system, which came to be as a result of complex social interactions and the larger brains they require, have also given rise to self-awareness and self-reflection. The difference in processing speed between the fast and slow systems is approximately one half-second.
A half-second may not seem like much, but it is a long time for the brain. While it takes half a second for brain activity to register in conscious awareness, sensory, motor, and emotional information is processed in 10-50 milliseconds. This is largely because conscious processing requires the participation of so many more neurons and neural systems. In addition, our minds construct the illusion that we are experiencing the “present moment” which makes it difficult for us to grasp the facts that we are influenced by implicit processes as well as living half a second behind the moment. Despite the fact that it is difficult to comprehend, evidence of the fast systems is all around us. We have all experienced moments where our bodies react faster than conscious awareness, like if we touch a hot stove or are cut off while driving. These are both examples of the fast systems taking control in dangerous situations. These same circuits are also involved in the prejudice and implicit bias which plague human societies.
During this vital half-second, our brains work like search engines, unconsciously scanning our memories, bodies, and emotions for relevant information. In fact, the vast majority of the input to the cortex comes from internal neural processing, not from the outside world. This half-second gives our brains the opportunity to construct present experience based on a template from the past that our minds view as objective reality. Although we feel like we are living in the present moment, we live in a reality largely of our own creation. The processing gap between the two systems is especially relevant to psychotherapy as it can help us understand why so many of us continue in old, ineffective patterns of behavior despite repeated failures.
By the time we become consciously aware of an experience, it has already been processed unconsciously, activated memories, and initiated complex patterns of behavior. Examples of this process are attachment schema and transference, where the brain uses past relationships to shape our perceptions of the thoughts, feelings, and intentions of others. If these models of past experiences are negative, this projective process can create distortions that affect our relationships without us ever being aware it is taking place. The reality is, the way our brains process information makes us vulnerable to misperceptions and misinformation that our minds assume to be true. The good news is that we also possess the capability to address negative processing biases created by the half-second gap. When we make the unconscious conscious, we can examine our internal models of understanding. This provides an opportunity to rebuild and inhibit unwanted implicit biases through reflective processing, self-awareness, and psychotherapy.
This is an excerpt from Dr. Cozolino’s book Why Therapy Works.