1he 8raln 1haL Changes lLself

(norman uoldge)
SLages of learnlng are followed by perlods of
consolldauon
1he loss of drllls such as roLe memorlzauon and
handwrlung has been cosLly, Lhey may have been
Lhe only opporLunlLy LhaL many sLudenLs had Lo
sysLemlcally exerclse Lhe braln funcuon LhaL glves
us uency and grace wlLh symbols
1he early years ls when neuroplasuclLy ls greaLesL
MenLal Lralnlng or llfe ln enrlched envlronmenLs
lncreases braln welghL by 3 ln Lhe cerebral corLex
of anlmals
1ralned or sumulaLed neurons develop 23 more
branches and lncrease Lhelr slze, Lhe number of
connecuons per neuron, and Lhelr blood supply
1he compeuuve naLure of plasuclLy aecLs us all. lf
we sLop exerclslng our menLal skllls, we do noL [usL
forgeL Lhem, Lhe braln map space for Lhose skllls ls
Lurned over Lo Lhe skllls we pracuse lnsLead.
Second languages learned aer Lhe crlucal 0 Lo 8
perlod are noL processed ln Lhe same parL of Lhe
braln as ls Lhe nauve Longue
1he compeuuve naLure of plasuclLy aecLs us all.
lf we sLop exerclslng our menLal skllls, we do noL
[usL forgeL Lhem, Lhe braln map space for Lhose
skllls ls Lurned over Lo Lhe skllls we pracuse
lnsLead.
osLmorLem examlnauons have shown LhaL
educauon lncreases Lhe number of branches
among neurons. An lncreased number of branches
drlves Lhe neurons furLher aparL, leadlng Lo an
lncrease ln Lhe volume and Lhe Lhlckness of Lhe
braln.
1he ldea LhaL Lhe braln ls llke a muscle LhaL grows
wlLh exerclse ls noL [usL a meLaphor
1he braln ls noL an lnanlmaLe vessel LhaL we ll,
raLher lL ls more llke a llvlng creaLure wlLh an
appeuLe, one LhaL can grow and change wlLh
proper nourlshmenL and exerclse
A powerful slgnal has greaLer lmpacL on Lhe braln.
When we wanL Lo remember s'Lhlng we have heard
we musL hear lL clearly, because a memory can be
only as clear as lLs orlglnal slgnal
We oen pralse Lhe ablllLy Lo muluLask. ?eL whlle
you can learn when you dlvlde your auenuon,
dlvlded auenuon doesn'L lead Lo abldlng change ln
your braln maps
1he nucleus can only be acuvaLed when someLhlng
lmporLanL, surprlslng or novel occurs, and lf we
make Lhe eorL Lo pay close auenuon
'8ewards' (eg a funny face on a screen) can be a
cruclal feaLure of learnlng. Lach ume a chlld ls
'rewarded', hls/her braln secreLes
neuroLransmluers such as dopamlne and
aceLylchollne, whlch help consolldaLe Lhe map
changes [usL made.
uopamlne relnforces Lhe reward, and aceLychollne
helps Lhe braln 'Lune ln' and sharpen memorles
Masslve prunlng back ln adolescence has lLs merlLs.
Cemng rld of exLras keeps Lhe braln more focused
and emclenL
ln mlddle age, we sull regard ourselves as acuve,
buL we have a Lendency Lo decelve ourselves lnLo
Lhlnklng LhaL we are learnlng as we were before
We rarely engage ln Lasks ln whlch we musL focus
our auenuon as closely as we dld when we were
younger eg Lrylng Lo learn a new vocabulary or
masLer new skllls
Such acuvlues as readlng Lhe newspaper, pracuslng
a professlon of many years, or speaklng our own
language are mosLly Lhe replay of masLered skllls,
noL learnlng
1o keep Lhe mlnd allve requlres learnlng someLhlng
Lruly nLW wlLh lnLense focus
Powever, you can'L lmprove a fadlng memory by
asklng people Lo do whaL Lhey can'L. lnsLead,
sumulaLe Lhru hearlng / slghL / Lraclng exerclses
ulerenL chemlsLrles are lnvolved ln learnlng Lhan
ln unlearnlng. Lvldence suggesLs LhaL unlearnlng
exlsung memorles ls necessary Lo make room for
new memorles ln our neLworks.
Masslve neuronal reorganlzauon occurs aL Lwo llfe
sLages: When we fall ln love, and when we begln
parenung
8raln scans show LhaL ln acuon and lmaglnauon,
many of Lhe same parLs of Lhe braln are acuvaLed.
1haL ls why vlsuallzlng can lmprove performance
ln some cases, Lhe fasLer you can lmaglne
someLhlng, Lhe fasLer you can do lL.
1he sysLem ls plasuc, noL elasuc. Llasuc bands
reverL Lo Lhelr former sLrucLure aer belng
sLreLched. 1he braln doesn'L reverL.
LxperLs don'L sLore Lhe answers, buL Lhey do sLore
key facLs and sLraLegles LhaL help Lhem geL
answers, and Lhey have lmmedlaLe access Lo Lhem,
as Lhough Lhey were ln shorL-Lerm memory
1hls use of long-Lerm memory for problem-solvlng
ls Lyplcal of experLs ln mosL elds.
8ecomlng an experL ln mosL elds usually Lakes
abouL a decade of concenLraLed eorL
Larly chlldhood Lrauma causes masslve plasuc
change ln Lhe hlppocampus
1he longer people are depressed, Lhe smaller Lhelr
hlppocampus geLs
uon'L geL worked up abouL llule Lhlngs - sLress
releases glucocorucolds, whlch can klll cells ln Lhe
hlppocampus
Acuvlues LhaL lnvolve genulne concenLrauon are
assoclaLed wlLh a lower rlsk of demenua
Age-relaLed memory loss seems almosL cerLalnly
reverslble wlLh Lhe rlghL menLal exerclses
hyslcal exerclse ls lmporLanL, because Lhe braln
needs oxygen
When we learn a sklll durlng Lhe day, we wlll be
beuer aL lL Lhe nexL day lf we have a good nlghL's
sleep.