Why is Mdsynch using so much CPU on Monterey
I have a late 2015 iMac Retina w/64GB memory and recently upgraded to Monterey. When I boot up, everything is working fine for a few hours, then suddenly normal functions like clicking on a webpage or opening an app simply don't work. If I open up Activity monitor, it shows that Mdsynch is consuming anywhere from 85%-99% of the cpu. Then, if I reboot, everything is fine again... until a little bit later that same thing occurs. What should I do to eliminate this annoying pattern? It's driving me crazy.
ps. I have already reinstalled the latest version of Monterey from the web; have confirmed that the firmware is up to date; and reset the NVRAM.
iMac 27″, macOS 12.2