Lecture No. 4. General recommendations for writing a business plan

1. Brief methodology for writing a business plan

Before you start creating a business plan, you need to get the whole range of necessary information. In this regard, the following business planning stages.

1. Determining sources of necessary information. They can be textbooks on business planning, government agencies (including those dealing with small business issues), management consulting firms and other side organizations, industry publications, courses on writing business plans, audit firms, acquaintances, colleagues, friends.

2. Determining the goals of its development. Goals are determined by the list of problems that the business plan is designed to solve. It is very important to understand that the internal and external goals of the organization can only be achieved if a truly sound and high-quality plan is created.

Determining the internal and external problems of business planning, it is worth thinking about the possibility of their interpenetration. For example, external goals (attracting investors) can be better achieved if, say, commercial banks are invited to become not only creditors, but also full participants in an entrepreneurial project. First, it will draw additional attention to the project. Studies have shown that for Russian commercial banks, it is more attractive not to simply allocate loans for a business plan, but to combine a loan with direct participation in its implementation: joint activities, equity participation, profit distribution, operations, etc. If the data points will be highlighted in the business plan, this will make it easier to obtain the necessary financial resources. Secondly, specialists from commercial banks and other financial companies, as a rule, have the necessary skills in evaluating investment projects. In their investment departments, commercial banks, taking into account the lack of necessary experience and knowledge of Russian entrepreneurs, create special divisions whose experts help to understand the complex problems of assessing the future prospects of a business. Thus, entrepreneurs can count on serious assistance in solving the internal problems of a new business at the level of modern scientific methods using a complex economic and mathematical apparatus.

3. Defining your target readers: whether it will be only internal members of the organization (which is unlikely) or also external persons whom the organization would like to see as its investors, future shareholders, commercial banks, venture capitalists.

Venture or risk capitalists are commercial organizations that specialize in the financing of entrepreneurial projects at various stages of their implementation (both at the stage of formation and at the stages of expansion and modernization), as well as in the financing of individual risk units - types of businesses included in into a large business organization. Venture capitalists participate in the financing of a business through the IOU system, the purchase of shares and other securities of the firm in need of financing. The purpose of venture capital is to invest in risky ventures for high profits.

4. Establishing the general structure of the document being created.

5. Collection of information for the preparation of each of the intended sections of the business plan. At this stage, it is necessary to enlist the support of those people who have the necessary experience and knowledge to draw up a business plan. These can be internal participants - employees of the organization with experience and good knowledge of the internal environment. It is also desirable to involve external consultants, especially for their use in the field of financial forecasting and market research. In addition to financiers, accountants, marketers, general economists (including those specializing in macroeconomic problems), management consultants may be involved in the work on a business plan.

Before gathering information, it is helpful to create a questionnaire that includes substantive questions for each section of the business plan.

6. Writing a business plan. An important rule here: an entrepreneur must write a business plan on his own, even if it requires a lot of time and the entrepreneur does not have the skills for this type of work. The assistance of consultants to an entrepreneur ends at the previous stage, when internal and external consultants help collect the necessary information and carry out its initial processing. At the final stage, consultants can assist the entrepreneur.

If an entrepreneur delegates the writing of a business plan to someone else, then the reasons for this are:

1) incomplete and unsystematic knowledge by the entrepreneur of the strengths and weaknesses of his organization, the main directions of its activities, a possible future planned project;

2) the absence of a training period for planning activities, which will negatively affect the future actions of the organization (after all, planning is an integral component of management activities);

3) the inability of the entrepreneur to clearly and deeply demonstrate the benefits of his project to future investors. And no less important, an entrepreneur can lose investor confidence: an imperfect, not entirely successful, but self-made business plan can be corrected, but lost trust is much more difficult to restore.

The sixth step generally completes the business planning process, however, to improve the plan, it is useful to take one more step, the seventh step. It consists in the fact that the entrepreneur offers a ready-made business plan for reading to some authoritative but uninterested person who is able to evaluate his work on the basis of constructive criticism.

Making a business plan begins with the preparation of the title page. It should immediately provide information about where, when and by whom this document was compiled. The name of the project is also indicated here, which should briefly and clearly formulate the idea embodied in the business plan.

The second page of the plan contains a table of contents, which should reflect its structure. This is the nomenclature of sections or paragraphs. In any case, the content must be clearly digitized in Arabic numerals. Then comes the introduction, which indicates the task of compiling a business plan and the circle of people to whom it is addressed. It is also advisable to note why there was a need to create this project or investment idea.

The resume should not exceed a few pages. This section indicates all the main things that should be understood and appreciated by a potential investor, i.e. information that gives an idea about the firm and provides all the necessary data characterizing its commercial activities. In priority order, the directions of the company's activities are indicated, for each direction, target markets and responsible persons are determined. Planners should succinctly and clearly state the main objectives of the project, as well as its specific objectives.

Thus, the section should highlight the main goals of the company, its strategy, specific activities developed to achieve it.

It is advisable to present these data in the form of a table containing a description of the business practices that the company is going to use, and the corresponding measures aimed at solving specific problems within the framework of the chosen strategy.

It is also advisable to determine in the table the circle of persons responsible for the implementation of various activities. Indicating the exact implementation dates there is important both for the planner and for the potential investor. The definition of a time frame in the business plan shows that the plan is developed in detail and in good faith.

The products and services section describes all of the firm's products and services that are offered to customers on the market. The preparation of a section is preceded by significant preliminary work on the selection of a product or service that should become the basis of the firm's business. Within this section, it is necessary to describe in detail the offered goods and services, indicate their main advantages in the eyes of the consumer, as well as existing shortcomings and measures to overcome them. Of particular note is the difference between what is currently on the market and what the company is going to offer in the future, since market entry and sales growth directly depend on the unique properties of the product presented in the business plan.

The purpose of the market analysis and sales section is to provide the investor with sufficient factual material to convince him of the competitiveness of the project under consideration, as well as to help the entrepreneur determine who will buy his product and where his market niche is. This section is one of the most difficult and important, as it is based on market valuations, which have a direct impact on the financial and production plans of the company. In this section, the entrepreneur should cover the following questions:

1) the types of markets in which the firm operates;

2) the main market segments for each type of goods or services;

3) factors affecting demand in each of the market segments;

4) prospects for changing customer needs and the company's possible response to these changes;

5) the actual state and forecasts for the development of the capacity of the used market segments in the near future and in the longer term;

6) market reaction to new products.

In some business plans, an assessment of competition in the sales markets is allocated in a separate section. This section is devoted to the analysis of market conditions, the characteristics of competitors, their strategies and tactics. When evaluating the activities of competitors, it is necessary to answer the following questions:

1) how much the area of ​​activity of the company is subject to change;

2) whether the number of firms offering similar goods and services is large;

3) what part of the market is controlled by competing firms;

4) how are competing firms doing with revenue, new technology, advertising and after-sales service;

5) what is the subject of the most intense competition in this field of activity (price, quality, after-sales service, etc.).

The marketing section of the business plan highlights how to achieve sales targets and bring products to the consumer. The plan should include the firm's overall marketing strategy, pricing and sales scheme, and methods to stimulate sales growth. The organization of after-sales customer service, advertising of manufactured goods and the formation of public opinion about the goods and the company that produces them are also of great importance.

The "Production Plan" section is included in the business plan only by those entrepreneurs who are going to be engaged in the production of goods. The main task here is to convince potential partners that the company will be able to produce the required quantity of goods of the required quality at the right time.

Typically, a production plan includes the following structural elements:

1) characteristics of the production cycle;

2) analysis of the location of the enterprise in terms of factors such as proximity to sales markets, suppliers, the availability of qualified labor resources, transportation costs, the level of infrastructure development;

3) assessment of the necessary factors of production and the dynamics of their change;

4) assessment of suppliers of raw materials and materials in terms of their reliability, cooperation experience, etc.;

5) regulations relating to production, as well as affecting the nature and timing of the opening and operation of the enterprise;

6) production costs and the dynamics of their change.

The section on risk highlights the problems a firm may face during the implementation of a project and the main methods to protect against potential difficulties. This section contains the following components:

1) a list of possible risks indicating the likelihood of their occurrence and the expected damage from this;

2) organizational measures to prevent and neutralize risks;

3) risk insurance program.

The section of the business plan concerning the financial plan should be devoted to assessing the potential of the company and planning its financial activities in order to achieve the viability of the company and the effective use of available funds. This section contains the following planning and reporting documents:

1) operational plan;

2) plan of income and expenses;

3) cash flow plan;

4) balance sheet.

These documents are of a planning and reporting nature. Planning is carried out on the basis of a forecast of the future activities of the company within a certain period of time. The report is compiled for the past period of time. The data provided in these documents is used further to analyze the financial condition of the company.

The section on finance sets out a plan to start a new firm or expand an existing one. When compiling this part of the business plan, the entrepreneur must consider the following questions:

1) the funds necessary for the implementation of the proposed project;

2) source of investment;

3) payback periods and expected income from project implementation.

In addition to these sections of the business plan, it is also advisable to include an organizational plan containing a brief description of the organizational structure of the company, information about personnel, information about the legal support of the company.

At the end of the business plan, factual information is provided, namely the full name of the enterprise or firm, legal address, contact telephone numbers, telex, fax, as well as the names of organizations and telephone numbers by which the reader of the plan can obtain additional information if necessary.

Recommendations for drawing up a business plan:

1) the design of the business plan should correspond to the image of a successful company, it should be attractive, but discreet;

2) the degree of detail should correspond to the goals of the plan, but not include anything superfluous: a clear structure and its clarity, brevity. Foreign practice shows that the optimal volume of a business plan is 40 pages;

3) the business plan should not include secondary and background information. It is better to put it in applications. The scope of applications is not limited;

4) the presentation style should be simple and free of language and terminological barriers. The business plan should be understandable to a wide range of people, not just specialists;

5) the information of the business plan should be capacious, clear and at the same time concise (tables, graphs, etc.);

6) proposals and forecasts of the business plan must be substantiated and supported by references to sources of information;

7) the accuracy of financial calculations is a necessary condition;

8) the risks of the company should be discussed;

9) the business plan must be prepared taking into account the requirements and standards of organizations and individuals to whom this document is supposed to be presented.

2. Recommendations for the use of computer technology in business planning

In the process of business planning, a significant place is occupied by the calculations of time series of a fairly wide range of indicators.

The calculations are carried out taking into account the elements of forecasting, involving expert assessments of the future state of a particular financial and production-economic process, not only at the final moment of the project, but also in the form of a quarterly (monthly) description of the situation.

The most complete account of the dynamics of the project in the preparation and analysis of the business plan is possible with the use of specialized computer systems for economic and financial modeling, adapted to solve such problems. This is of particular importance for taking into account the inflation factor and bringing the costs at different times, as well as for analyzing the sensitivity of the project to changes in the external environment. The right choice and effective use of computer software products can significantly improve the quality of business plans.

Currently, there is a very wide range of specialized software products. The most frequently used application packages in Russia are COMFAR (Computer model for reporting) and PROPSPIN (Project profile screening and preappraisal information system), created by UNIDO - the United Nations Industrial Development Commission; the "Alt-Invest" package from the "Alt" company (St. Petersburg) and the "Project Expert" package from the "Pro-Invest Consulting" company. Systems such as "Microsoft project", "Timt line" and "Primavera" are intended only for the development of a work schedule and a network project, including the duration and costs of its stages, and are used mainly as project management systems.

The COMFAR application package exists in various versions, largely adapted to the economies of specific countries, and has been translated into Russian.

The "Alt-Invest" package is implemented as a spreadsheet calculator and has all the advantages and disadvantages of this approach.

The "Project Expert" package is somewhat different from the above products. Consistency in solving many problems, taking into account the specifics of national conditions, a powerful advertising campaign make it possible to make a weighty claim for the leadership of this software product in this area. The package is advertised as a means of preparing international business plans and, to a certain extent, meets the declared goal.

The COMFAR and Alt-Invest packages are based on the UNIDO methodology for the preparation of feasibility studies.

The data structure of the COMFAR package is represented by such main blocks as: general capital investments - construction, general capital investments - production, working capital requirements, sources of financing, cash flow tables, net income statements, project balance sheets.

Calculations can be made in any currency by choosing its ratio with the ruble. The package allows you to track separately foreign and domestic investments, makes it possible to calculate diversified production. It is possible to apply both the straight-line depreciation method and the accelerated one. When calculating production costs, the user sets the annual inflation rate. Thus, all changes in annual cash flows are tracked, taking into account the payment of taxes, payment of dividends and interest on loans. The "Alt-Invest" package has a similar structure. Both packages calculate cash flows and have a similar list of calculated financial indicators, such as net present value, return on equity, internal rate of return.

The COMFAR package is implemented in the form of three software blocks: data entry, calculations, and output of results. In addition to these blocks, the package contains two additional blocks: graphical display of information, economic analysis "costs - benefits".

The graphic block makes it possible, using business graphics tools, to build diagrams that allow you to make organizational and financial decisions.

The advantages of the COMFAR package in terms of the control function include closedness. It is impossible to interfere with the work of the package, which guarantees that the results obtained correspond to the original data in terms of the conscientiousness of their processing.

The main disadvantage of the COMFAR package is the impossibility by the means existing in the system to adequately describe the conditions for the implementation of the project for a country with a transitional economy.

This system does not have a flexible mechanism for setting the inflationary impact on costs and currency ratios; it does not provide for such realities inherent in the Russian economy as delays in payments.

It should also be noted that the tax block does not fully comply with Russian legislation: COMFAR allows you to directly take into account only those taxes that are taken and calculated from profit; the calculation of the system is focused only on a fixed (one-year) planning period (during the construction period, perhaps half a year); there are no sufficiently developed tools for describing the network diagram of the project, which leads to the need to additionally use Microsoft project, Nime Line and others; low level of service for the user.

The "Alt-Invest" package is implemented using Microsoft works or EXCEL spreadsheets and can work in the environment of other common spreadsheet processors (SuperCalc4, Lotus 1-2-3, QUATTRO Pro). This leaves an imprint on all further work with him. The advantage of the package is that all information is presented on the entire screen. By changing the value of the indicators, the user instantly receives a reaction to his actions.

"Alt-Invest" is implemented in Russian and English versions, provides for the possibility of settlements in two currencies. In "Alt-Invest" the user has direct access to the formulas by which the calculations are made. The disadvantages of such an organization include the following: the inconvenience of communicating with tables in search of the necessary indicators - the user must each time examine the entire spreadsheet or remember its coordinates; the complexity of changing formulas, which requires the user not only to have a deep understanding of their meaning, but also the ability to correctly program formulas in the language of this spreadsheet; the user must make considerable effort to correct the tables; the availability of free access to formulas makes it difficult to verify the reliability of the calculations; the package does not contain advanced tools for building a network diagram, and the processes of printing results or plotting require special training from the user.

The PROPSPIN package is an information system for the preliminary evaluation of projects. It was developed by the UNIDO office in Vienna for the preparation, research and analysis of industrial investment projects. Like COMFAR, PROPSPIN is licensed software.

PROSPIN is intended for:

1) formulating the positions of the investment project;

2) studies of the consequences of changes in the selected parameters;

3) preparation of possible scenarios based on various assumptions regarding the prospects of the project.

A distinctive feature of PROPSPIN is its integration.

The user simultaneously sees both the input data and the financial result on the screen. The resulting report is a variant of the financial plan of the project, taking into account the given restrictions. However, the package is not a tool for a complete financial analysis, but serves to quickly identify options suitable for further consideration. The tables generated by the system show the main physical and financial data in terms of indicators such as rate of return, payback period, break-even point. If weaknesses in the financial structure of the project are found through analysis, the user has the opportunity to change the values ​​of the input data until such a set of parameters is found that will make the project acceptable.

PROPSPIN consists of two parts: a data entry block and a report generator. The first one sets the initial investment, data on raw materials, the cost of labor, components, etc. Some parameters can be taken by default.

PROPSPIN is a standard package that allows you to conduct a preliminary financial analysis of investment growth. The system can be used in the preparation of a business plan only as an aid.

Due to its implementation in a spreadsheet environment, the package has all the advantages and disadvantages of this method.

The "Project Expert" package is an automated system for planning and analyzing the effectiveness of investment projects based on a cash flow simulation model.

The developer of the package, Pro-Invest Consulting, has been a participant in the market of software projects in the field of economics and finance for a long time. It started its activity in 1989 as an investment center at the Academy of Sciences of the USSR and today has more than 1500 users of "Project Expert" in Russia and abroad.

The success of the Russian software product is explained by the fact that it fully, primarily methodically, meets international standards.

The methods used in the system comply with the Guidelines for assessing the effectiveness of investment projects and selecting them for financing, approved by the State Construction Committee of Russia, the Ministry of Economy of Russia, the Ministry of Finance of Russia and the State Committee for Industry of Russia on March 31, 1994, and the calculation of indicators of investment efficiency and financial results is also carried out in accordance with the requirements UNIDO methodology.

Currently, the package is distributed in two versions: Project Expert for Windows 4.1 (Business plan guide), designed for planning and analyzing the effectiveness of investments; Project Expert for Windows (Biz planner 4.2) is a special version for small and medium businesses.

In addition to this package, an "Entrepreneur's Workbook for Business Plan Development" has been published. Thanks to this notebook, any entrepreneur, even without all the necessary information, can either independently or with the help of specialists prepare a business plan, since all tables are simultaneously input data for the "Project Expert" system.

As in other calculation systems, this package provides for combining input data by semantic blocks. The tax block is sufficiently detailed.

"Project Expert" has the means to conduct a detailed analysis of the project, taking into account the impact on it of general economic factors that characterize the socio-economic environment, inflation trends, the ratio of exchange rates, the dynamics of the scale and structure of production costs, including raw materials, materials and components, wages salaries of managers and production personnel, the cost of fixed assets, features of the order and timing of payments for sold products, the general investment climate, conditions for attracting capital, possible changes in the tax system. Factors that determine the market and production strategy of the project and affect the efficiency of capital use are also taken into account: export opportunities; terms of payment for the supply of raw materials, materials and components used in production; the required volumes of stocks of finished products in the warehouse, depending on fluctuations in market demand; stocks of raw materials, materials and components, depending on the constancy and reliability of supplies.

"Project Expert" calculates financial performance indicators of investments that meet international standards. The "Business plan guide" version also calculates indicators of financial condition (profitability, liquidity, solvency).

The package provides the presentation of the results of financial analysis in the form of tables, charts and graphs that can be printed. The user can make an integral assessment of the project according to many criteria. Evaluating the software implementation, we note that the package is made using a modern multi-window interface. An extended hint system, convenient presentation of information on the screen, the ability to communicate with information and ease of printing allow us to state that the package meets the requirements for software products of this class. At the same time, improvements in customer service and graphical implementation of financial variables are possible.

This system allows you to automatically analyze the sensitivity of an investment project by varying various parameters (sales volume, sales price of products (works, services), direct production costs, fixed costs, discount rates).

For better preparation of the business plan of the project, in addition to the main package, the user can purchase the package developed by Pro-Invest Consulting, which contains the modules "Project Risk" and "Project Questionnaire".

Being independent software products, the modules complement "Project Expert for Windows" to a system that provides full organizational and technological support for the investment process.

The "Project Risk" module provides tools that allow experts to interactively analyze the risk of a project, highlight the factors of greatest risk and comment on the causes of their occurrence. With the help of special tools of the module, the necessary list of risk factors is created, taking into account the specific conditions for the implementation of the project.

"Project Risk" contains three sections covering all periods of project implementation: preparatory period, production period, sales period. During the analysis, the expert determines the level of risk for all factors of the questionnaire. The program allows you to output analysis results and questionnaires to a printer or generate a file for printing in MS Winword.

"Project Questionnaire" allows you to make a qualitative examination of the investment project, calculate the integral indicator of the level of efficiency.

Pro-Invest Consulting is developing the Project Expert system in two directions: for small and medium-sized businesses (available to any enterprise), as well as in the form of a special version of an individual delivery for large corporations.

The main task of the second version of the system, implemented on the basis of version 5.0 "Project Expert" (project planning and management system), is to model and evaluate the actions of a diversified enterprise operating in several markets with a wide range of products. Under certain conditions, this system can also be used by regional authorities to solve multifunctional tasks of the socio-economic development of the region, city.

"Project Expert" occupies an intermediate position on the market between project management software ("Microsoft Project", "Time line", etc.) and powerful corporate planning and management systems (SAP, BAAN, etc.). The latter are usually installed on workstations and cost tens of thousands of dollars. Some of them (SAP) have already penetrated the Russian market and are spreading quite actively there.

In the practice of business planning, Internet resources and tools can also be widely used at all stages of preparing a business plan, such as:

1) formation of a business idea;

2) research of commodity markets;

3) research of firm structure of the market;

4) study of consumers;

5) formation of product policy, development of the concept of new products;

6) after-sales service;

7) formation of a flexible pricing strategy;

8) sale of goods via the Internet;

9) use of Internet payment systems;

10) advertising;

11) public relations;

12) improvement of internal and external communication systems;

13) advertisement of the business plan;

14) presentation of the business plan;

15) negotiating with partners and investors.

Recently, due to high market needs and constant updating of hardware and software, more advanced versions of existing software products and fundamentally new products have appeared.

Author: Beketova O.N.

<< Back: Structure and content of business plan sections (General structure of a business plan. Title page, table of contents, confidentiality memorandum, summary of the business plan. History of the organization’s business (description of the industry). Characteristics of the organization’s business object. Analysis of the organization’s business environment. Marketing plan. Production plan. Organizational plan. Financial plan . Risk assessment and insurance)

>> Forward: Particular recommendations for the methodology for drawing up individual sections of a business plan (Recommendations for drawing up a summary of a business plan. History of the organization’s business (current situation and brief information about the enterprise). Description of the nature of the business. Market research and analysis (analysis of the organization’s business environment). Development of a marketing plan. Drawing up a production plan. Drawing up organizational plan. Drawing up a financial plan)

We recommend interesting articles Section Lecture notes, cheat sheets:

▪ Medical statistics. Lecture notes

▪ Theory of Government and Rights. Lecture notes

▪ Age anatomy and physiology. Crib

See other articles Section Lecture notes, cheat sheets.

Read and write useful comments on this article.

<< Back

Latest news of science and technology, new electronics:

The existence of an entropy rule for quantum entanglement has been proven 09.05.2024

Quantum mechanics continues to amaze us with its mysterious phenomena and unexpected discoveries. Recently, Bartosz Regula from the RIKEN Center for Quantum Computing and Ludovico Lamy from the University of Amsterdam presented a new discovery that concerns quantum entanglement and its relation to entropy. Quantum entanglement plays an important role in modern quantum information science and technology. However, the complexity of its structure makes understanding and managing it challenging. Regulus and Lamy's discovery shows that quantum entanglement follows an entropy rule similar to that for classical systems. This discovery opens new perspectives in the field of quantum information science and technology, deepening our understanding of quantum entanglement and its connection to thermodynamics. The results of the study indicate the possibility of reversibility of entanglement transformations, which could greatly simplify their use in various quantum technologies. Opening a new rule ... >>

Mini air conditioner Sony Reon Pocket 5 09.05.2024

Summer is a time for relaxation and travel, but often the heat can turn this time into an unbearable torment. Meet a new product from Sony - the Reon Pocket 5 mini-air conditioner, which promises to make summer more comfortable for its users. Sony has introduced a unique device - the Reon Pocket 5 mini-conditioner, which provides body cooling on hot days. With it, users can enjoy coolness anytime, anywhere by simply wearing it around their neck. This mini air conditioner is equipped with automatic adjustment of operating modes, as well as temperature and humidity sensors. Thanks to innovative technologies, Reon Pocket 5 adjusts its operation depending on the user's activity and environmental conditions. Users can easily adjust the temperature using a dedicated mobile app connected via Bluetooth. Additionally, specially designed T-shirts and shorts are available for convenience, to which a mini air conditioner can be attached. The device can oh ... >>

Energy from space for Starship 08.05.2024

Producing solar energy in space is becoming more feasible with the advent of new technologies and the development of space programs. The head of the startup Virtus Solis shared his vision of using SpaceX's Starship to create orbital power plants capable of powering the Earth. Startup Virtus Solis has unveiled an ambitious project to create orbital power plants using SpaceX's Starship. This idea could significantly change the field of solar energy production, making it more accessible and cheaper. The core of the startup's plan is to reduce the cost of launching satellites into space using Starship. This technological breakthrough is expected to make solar energy production in space more competitive with traditional energy sources. Virtual Solis plans to build large photovoltaic panels in orbit, using Starship to deliver the necessary equipment. However, one of the key challenges ... >>

Random news from the Archive Habits change the brain 03.02.2016 A habit is a deeply rooted type of behavior that works independently of our consciousness. We automatically find the way to the kitchen in the morning, automatically find, for example, a kettle, automatically enter the transport (or get into the car), and do not really think about what we are doing. It is believed that habitual actions help unload the brain from routine, allowing it to do something more important. That is, from the point of view of neurophysiology, the resources of the prefrontal cortex, our main analytical center responsible for, let's say, conscious life, are unloaded. The habit itself goes into subcortical structures called the basal ganglia, or basal ganglia. (Let's clarify that now we are talking about harmless behavioral rituals, and not about addictions to alcohol, nicotine, etc.) ganglia, and the formation of a habit is accompanied by changes in electrical rhythms: gamma waves that occur during the development of new information are replaced by beta waves when the material is consolidated. But what happens in the brain, in its basal ganglia, after the habit has already been formed? Neuroscientists from Duke University tried to answer this question: laboratory mice were taught that if they press the lever of a device, they will get something sweet; as a result, some animals continued to press the lever even after the treat was removed from the device. Further, the work of the brain of mice with the habit of pressing the lever was compared with the work of the brain of mice, which understood that there was nothing to wait for and ceased to be interested in the lever. The basal ganglia control motor activity and literally control our desires, addictions, etc., that is, if we smelled a cake from somewhere that we are crazy about, then it is the basal ganglia that will command us to go where it smells and try do whatever it takes to get food. However, the ganglia generate not only stimulating impulses, but also suppressing, prohibiting ones; that is, the fulfillment of desire ultimately depends on the balance between opposing signals in the basal ganglia. For example, if it’s too dangerous ahead, then, no matter how delicious it smells, you shouldn’t go there, and the neural stop signal is just right here. So, in mice with a habit of pressing the lever, both signals of the basal ganglia, both inciting and forbidding, increased, however, compared with normal mice, in these mice, the inducing signal became the first by default. That is, if in ordinary animals the basal ganglia “understood” that there was nothing to wait for in this situation and brought to the fore the suppressive impulse that forced them to ignore the lever on the distribution of treats, then in mice with the habit, the stimulating signal in the subcortical structures continued to stimulate attempts to receive treats. . Changes in brain function persisted for quite a long time, and it was possible simply by the behavior of neurons to predict what this or that mouse would do. The researchers also specifically note that such a rearrangement of signals in places did not occur in any particular group of neurons, but throughout all the basal ganglia (this probably explains why craving for one thing is the reason for a whole bunch of not always healthy habits).

Other interesting news:

▪ D-Link NetDefend UTM DFL-870 Firewall

▪ OLED displays will become more durable

▪ The first polymer solar power plant

▪ Huawei's first commercial 5G 3GPP chipset

▪ Quantum communication system based on drones

News feed of science and technology, new electronics

Interesting materials of the Free Technical Library:

▪ section of the site Biographies of great scientists. Article selection

▪ article One in four carriages. Popular expression

▪ article Who wears high heels that don't have those heels? Detailed answer

▪ article Worker packing transport packages. Standard instruction on labor protection

▪ article Installation of acoustic systems. Encyclopedia of radio electronics and electrical engineering

▪ article Self-untying rope. Focus secret

Leave your comment on this article:

All languages ​​of this page

Arabic	Hebrew	Polish
Bengali	Hindi	Portuguese
Chinese	Italian	Spanish
English	Japanese	Turkish
French	Korean	Ukrainian
German	Malay	Vietnamese

Home page | Library | Articles | Website map | Site Reviews

www.diagram.com.ua
2000-2024