ZME Science
No Result
View All Result
ZME Science
No Result
View All Result
ZME Science

Home → Health → Mind & Brain

Study shows what happens in the brain when you bungee jump — and what this means for free will

A story of bungee jumping, electrical currents, and free will.

Mihai AndreibyMihai Andrei
February 6, 2018
in Mind & Brain, News
A A
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterSubmit to Reddit

For the first time, researchers have managed to measure the so-called readiness potential outside of a lab setting and in its extreme. To do so, they picked one of the most heart-pumping settings you can imagine: a 192-meter bungee jump.

Credits: Tambako_The_Jaguar.

The readiness potential, also called Bereitschaftspotential (or BP, for short), has given researchers a lot of headaches. It’s essentially a minute electrical voltage shift in the brain that indicates an upcoming willful act. Basically, when you decide that you will do something, even before that decision becomes conscious, your brain sends out an electrical signal. This activity was first reported in 1964 after careful experiments carried out by German researchers.

Since then, numerous trials have studied the effect but, so far, none of them successfully ventured outside the lab, and for good reason: the electrical signal is extremely small.

The BP is ten to one hundred times smaller than the α-rhythm, the neural oscillations detected by an EEG. It measures only a few millionths of a volt, which means makes it extremely difficult to measure.

However, Surjo R. Soekadar, psychiatrist and neuroscientist at the University of Tübingen, and his doctoral candidate Marius Nann were able to pull it off.

They convinced two semi-professional cliff divers to have their brain waves recorded before jumping from the second highest bungee jumping platform in Europe.

After only a few calibration jumps, they were able to identify the readiness potential beyond the shadow of a doubt. In other words, they were able to see when the subjects decided to jump.

RelatedPosts

Relying too much on the Internet for fact finding could hurt your brain
Scientists grow brain-like tissue in petri dish
Researchers call for ban on a widely-used pesticide: it impairs brain development
Learning a complex skill bypasses the brain’s division of labour and supercharges it

“Once again, the current experiment shows that the boundaries of the possible are shifting and that neurotechnology might soon be part of our everyday life,” Soekadar says. “The small number of jumps necessary for the experiment shows that the readiness potential prior to a bungee jump is very well expressed”, Nann explains.

This is, for starters, a technological breakthrough. It shows that at least under some conditions, BP can also be measured outside of a lab setting, which lays a foundation for future studies to build upon. But it could have a deeper meaning.

BP has been studied in relation to our free will. A series of experiments in the 1980s found that BP happened about 0.35 seconds before subjects consciously decided to do something. Benjamin Libet, who carried out those studies, concluded that we have no free will in the initiation of our movements, only an ability to veto these movements (a “free won’t”). Now, more and more evidence is building up against that particular interpretation.

The modern understanding is that while we don’t have absolute freedom, we have some degrees of freedom, even though we might not be aware of that. This study and future work based on it might finally settle that debate.

Journal Reference: Marius Nann, Leonardo G. Cohen, Lüder Deecke, Surjo R. Soekadar. To jump or not to jump: The Bereitschaftspotential required to jump into 192-meter abyss. doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/255083

Tags: brainBungee

Share43TweetShare
Mihai Andrei

Mihai Andrei

Dr. Andrei Mihai is a geophysicist and founder of ZME Science. He has a Ph.D. in geophysics and archaeology and has completed courses from prestigious universities (with programs ranging from climate and astronomy to chemistry and geology). He is passionate about making research more accessible to everyone and communicating news and features to a broad audience.

Related Posts

Home science

What side do cats prefer to sleep on? The left side, and there’s a good reason for that

byMihai Andrei
2 days ago
Close-up photo of a tiny wasp.
Animals

Wasp Mums Keep Remarkable Mental To-Do List For Multiple Nests Despite Tiny Brain

byRupendra Brahambhatt
4 days ago
Mind & Brain

Your Brain Uses Only 5% More Energy Whether You’re Actively Thinking or Not. So, What Causes Mental Fatigue?

byTibi Puiu
3 weeks ago
Future

Can you upload a human mind into a computer? Here’s what a neuroscientist has to say about it

byDobromir Rahnev
1 month ago

Recent news

What’s Seasonal Body Image Dissatisfaction and How Not to Fall into Its Trap

June 28, 2025

Why a 20-Minute Nap Could Be Key to Unlocking ‘Eureka!’ Moments Like Salvador Dalí

June 28, 2025

The world’s oldest boomerang is even older than we thought, but it’s not Australian

June 27, 2025
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Editorial Policy
  • Privacy Policy and Terms of Use
  • How we review products
  • Contact

© 2007-2025 ZME Science - Not exactly rocket science. All Rights Reserved.

No Result
View All Result
  • Science News
  • Environment
  • Health
  • Space
  • Future
  • Features
    • Natural Sciences
    • Physics
      • Matter and Energy
      • Quantum Mechanics
      • Thermodynamics
    • Chemistry
      • Periodic Table
      • Applied Chemistry
      • Materials
      • Physical Chemistry
    • Biology
      • Anatomy
      • Biochemistry
      • Ecology
      • Genetics
      • Microbiology
      • Plants and Fungi
    • Geology and Paleontology
      • Planet Earth
      • Earth Dynamics
      • Rocks and Minerals
      • Volcanoes
      • Dinosaurs
      • Fossils
    • Animals
      • Mammals
      • Birds
      • Fish
      • Amphibians
      • Reptiles
      • Invertebrates
      • Pets
      • Conservation
      • Animal facts
    • Climate and Weather
      • Climate change
      • Weather and atmosphere
    • Health
      • Drugs
      • Diseases and Conditions
      • Human Body
      • Mind and Brain
      • Food and Nutrition
      • Wellness
    • History and Humanities
      • Anthropology
      • Archaeology
      • History
      • Economics
      • People
      • Sociology
    • Space & Astronomy
      • The Solar System
      • Sun
      • The Moon
      • Planets
      • Asteroids, meteors & comets
      • Astronomy
      • Astrophysics
      • Cosmology
      • Exoplanets & Alien Life
      • Spaceflight and Exploration
    • Technology
      • Computer Science & IT
      • Engineering
      • Inventions
      • Sustainability
      • Renewable Energy
      • Green Living
    • Culture
    • Resources
  • Videos
  • Reviews
  • About Us
    • About
    • The Team
    • Advertise
    • Contribute
    • Editorial policy
    • Privacy Policy
    • Contact

© 2007-2025 ZME Science - Not exactly rocket science. All Rights Reserved.