What happens when we space our during a menial task and by the time we “snap back” the task is completed?

Question

E.g: Copying some text, space out, think about something random, snap back, done copying text.
I hope it makes sense.

In: Biology

Answer 1

This is called dissociation. Although often described as a serious psychiatric symptom, dissociation also occurs in normal, everyday life. In the brain, when engaged with a menial task, we can rely on procedural memory deeper within the brain such as the basal ganglia. This allows the outer layers of the brain to disengage from “outward activity”, and brain activity will spread to a large network of brain regions called the default mode network.