Neural efficiency hypothesis

The neural efficiency hypothesis is a theory in cognitive psychology that suggests that the brain uses less neural resources to perform a task when it is highly automatized or well-learned. This theory suggests that as a task becomes more familiar and automatic, the brain relies less on conscious effort and attention to perform it, and instead relies on previously established neural pathways and connections. This can result in increased efficiency and faster processing times. The neural efficiency hypothesis has been used to explain a variety of cognitive phenomena, such as the expertise effect, where experts in a particular field are able to perform tasks related to their field more efficiently than novices.