Discussion: Oxygen for the brain

Speaking of scientific studies...

I met a girl last week who is about to compare/contrast oxygen usage among people undergoing mild mental stimuli and people thinking hard. Apparently there is a widely assumed, but hitherto unproven, correlation...

I tried telling her that the main interest in this would be from orienteers, and all the more so if the 'guinea pigs' were tested at different levels of physical activity. She didn't seem convinced...

Anyone out there know anything about this subject? What is the optimal pace to run at on a technical map?

I have found that my optimal Heart Rate in an Orienteering race (in more technical terrain) is between 75% and 80%. When I start to push it over that I have trouble concentrating.

From my experience and observing others on a track at 88% of max HR, it is tough to concentrate with a"normal" map. What subjects would this researcher use?

Someone suggested putting statisticians doing stats and mathematicians doing maths on exercise bikes and seeing what turns up. Opinion is divided as to whether statisticians' brains would use any oxygen at all, raising metaphysical existence questions, or whether they would use lots despite the trivial nature of their problems.

Incidentally, I ran two fast (top 7 or 8) splits in Passo Coe last week, much faster than the others, and my two biggest errors occured on the following legs... doh.

It seems possible to concentrate for short periods even at a very hard pace. Is it "purely" a question of will-power and mental training to do so for longer periods while orienteering? Or is it really necessary to slow down occasionally to get blood flowing to the brain again?