Laptop monitor randomly shuts down and continually tries to reset itself to no end.

Lenovo Thinkpad T410, about 3 years old. Windows Vista.

This problem is frustrating beyond words and occurs at completely random times (sometimes doesn't happen for weeks on end, sometimes happens 3 times in a span of 20 minutes). Has happened in a variety of situations, such as when I'm working on a paper with no other programs open, or watching a movie with the internet open.

The screen will initially become all black, as if the computer is shutting down. All functions will end (like if there is audio it will be delayed for a second or two, then cut off). Then, after the screen is black, it seems as if the monitor is trying to reset/reimage itself. The computer is still powered on. Blocks of the screen will appear, lack the task bar or sticky notes, but the majority of the screen is completely black. Then the whole screen will go black again and repeat, sometimes with different spaces resetting. It really never gets any better.

This will literally keep repeating to no end unless I manually hold down the start button on the keyboard. For example, I left it alone for a night and in the morning it was still trying to reset itself.

I'd be happy to clarify anything or provide more information. Any help is greatly appreciated. The sporadic and debilitating nature of this issue is extremely frustrating, and I have lost coursework on multiple occasions.