MYTH: The brain`s hardwiring cannot be changed

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1 MYTH: The brain`s hardwiring cannot be changed Michaela de Gier INTRODUCTION When the brain is injured due to trauma like a car accident or stroke, nerve cells and their connections are lost. For a long time it was believed that a victim of a brain injury would only be able to use whatever brain function they were left with. But over the past two decades many studies have confirmed that when neurons and synapses are lost due to injury, the neighbouring neurons compensate for the loss and try to re-establish missing connections, which effectively rebuilds the damaged neural network (Tanzi, 2012). Up until the 1960`s, researchers believed that changes in the brain could only take place during infancy and early childhood. By early adulthood, it was believed that the brain's physical structure was permanent. Psychologist William James suggested that the brain was perhaps not as unchanging as previously believed way back in In his book The Principles of Psychology, he wrote, "Organic matter, especially nervous tissue, seems endowed with a very extraordinary degree of plasticity." However, this idea went largely ignored for many years. In the 1920s, researcher Karl Lashley provided evidence of changes in the neural pathways of rhesus monkeys. By the 1960s, researchers began to explore cases in which older adults who had suffered massive strokes were able to regain functioning, demonstrating that the brain was much more malleable than previously believed. Modern research has demonstrated that the brain continues to create new neural pathways and alter existing ones in order to adapt to new experiences, learn new information and create new memories. Learning, as defined by Tortora and Grabowski (1996), is the ability to acquire new knowledge or skills through instruction or experience. Memory is the process by which that knowledge is retained over time. The capacity of the brain to change with learning is called plasticity. 1

2 WHAT IS BRAIN PLASTICITY? Also known as neuroplasticity, it describes how experiences reorganize neural pathways in the brain. Neuro comes from neuron, while plasticity refers to being malleable. Long lasting functional changes in the brain occur when we learn new things or memorize new information (Tanzi, 2012). To illustrate plasticity, imagine making an impression of a hand in some clay. In order for the impression of the hand to appear in the clay, changes must occur in the clay the shape of the clay changes as the hand is pressed into it. Similarly, the neural circuitry in the brain must reorganize in response to experience or sensory stimulation. According to the website Neuroscience for kids, Neuroplasticity occurs in the brain under two primary conditions: During normal brain development when the immature brain first begins to process sensory information through adulthood (developmental plasticity and plasticity of learning and memory) As an adaptive mechanism to compensate for lost function and/or to maximize remaining functions in the event of brain trauma. In a more recent example of neural rewiring, neuroscientist Michael Merzenich showed on scans that the experience of learning a new skill had altered monkey`s brains. Merzenich argued that as brain regions begin to newly interact, rewiring creates a new circuit. In this form of neuroplasticity, neurons that fire together, wire together (Tanzi, 2012). A physical workout builds muscle; a mental workout creates new synapses to strengthen the neural network. A nerve cell is made up of: Cell body where the stimulus originates or is received An Axon transmits stimulus from the body of a nerve cell to another Dendrites receive the message via a synapse from the axon of another cell 2

3 The process of myelination occurs as the nervous system receives and transmits stimuli. The Schwann cells wrap around the axon to form a fatty layer called myelin. This ensures a strengthening of the nerve pathways in order to increase the speed and efficiency at which the stimuli are transmitted. Nerve cells that are not stimulated will remain fragile and transmit messages at a slow response time of around 0.5 meters per second, while Omega oils, repetitive movement and high intensity of experience promote myelination, allowing for a fast transmitting time of 125 metres per second (De Jager, 2012). Gopnick et. al. (1999) describes neurons as growing telephone wires that communicate with one another. The connective wiring consists of neurological pathways that are part of the CNS. They carry sensory information to the brain where it can be processed. The nerve cells have to make connections with one another, transmitting the impulses to the brain. Like the basic telephone trunk lines strung between cities, genes instruct the pathway to the correct area of the brain from a particular nerve cell. For example eyes send impulses to the occipital lobe of the brain and not to the language production area in the temporal lobe. The basic trunk lines have been established, but the specific connections from one house to another require additional signals. Over the first few years of life, the brain grows rapidly. As each neuron matures, it increases the number of synaptic contacts and lays specific connections from house to house, or from neuron to neuron. 3

4 At birth, the brain already has about all of the neurons it will ever have. Each neuron in the cerebral cortex has approximately 2500 synapses. It doubles in size in the first year, and by age three it has reached 80 percent of its adult volume (Gilmore, 2000). As we age and gain new experiences, old connections are deleted through a process called synaptic pruning (Gopnick, 1999). Neurons that are used frequently develop stronger connections and those that are rarely or never used eventually die. Ineffective or weak connections are `pruned in much the same way as a gardener would shape a topiary plant. By developing new connections and pruning away weak ones, the brain is able to adapt to the changing environment. LEARNING AND DOMINANCE Learning and thinking consist of the flow of information from input, through processing, to output. Input: Senses that search for information Brain: Processes information, storage and retrieval of memories Output: Muscle contractions through thought, word or deed Learning involves the building of skills, and skills are built through the movement of muscles (De Jager, 2012). The telephone wires that carry messages from the senses to the brain and to the muscles are called sensory motor pathways. These pathways enable electrical impulses to travel from the eyes looking at the board and the ears listening to the teacher to the brain. The brain then attempts to simultaneously make sense of the sum on the board and instructions from the teacher, while telling the hand to pick up the pen and write (De Jager, 2009). Learning, according to Honey and Mumford has occurred when a person: Knows something that he did not know earlier and demonstrates a change in behaviour A person can do something that he was incapable of before (De Jager, 2012). A breakdown anywhere in the three step learning process will hinder the flow of information and prevent effective learning from taking place. The sensory-motor system specialises by establishing dominant patterns of learning where each of the three learning phases is represented by a dominant sense, dominant side of the brain and dominant hand and foot. According to de Jager, in nature, when there are two, one will be the leader. For survival reasons (speed, efficiency and uniqueness), the developed pathways specialise to allow one part of a paired structure to become more dominant (De Jager, 2012). 4

5 These dominant patterns are unique as a result of the interplay between genetics, neurochemical wiring and life experiences. Consequently we all have genetically hard-wired patterns which determine how we think, feel and act as a result of how we take in, process and respond to sensory information (De Jager, 2012). Every dominant pattern allows us to excel in certain areas. We may for instance have an aptitude for language, logic and maths which serves well in the traditional academic environment (De Jager, 2012), while a dominant pattern that favours non-verbal communication, pictures and hands on learning can leave a person feeling less than adequate and prevent them from realizing their full potential. We do not have to be held to ransom by our dominant patterns because sensory stimulation and movement expands the wiring beyond our hard wired patterns allowing us to function in the whole-brain state (De Jager, 2012). Now the dominant pattern that was previously developed can become truly useful in the co-operative integrated state and you no longer need to rely on coping strategies, but are able to access your full range of abilities and learn with more proficiency. CONTROLLED MOVEMENT Developer of Mind Moves, Dr Melodie De Jager explains that Mind Moves are easy, simple movements that can effectively be used to rewire the brain to enable us to learn and perform with greater ease (De Jager, 1999). These basic movements mimic the movements of a developing baby and can be used to: Develop a specific part of the senses, brain and muscles so that we can be still and concentrate. Integrate the dominant and non-dominant parts of brain and body to ensure whole brain learning. Complete (inhibit) each primitive reflex (in the correct order) so that the learner can develop physically, emotionally, socially and cognitively. Mind Moves can be used to warm up the brain for learning and/or academic skills. These include writing and public speaking, reading and spelling, creative problem solving and maths as well as memory and confident test writing. Professor of Neurology at Harvard University, Dr Rudolph E. Tanzi, writes: The brain has circuitry but no wires; the circuits are made of living tissue. Most important, they are reshaped by thoughts, memories, desires, and experience - the bottom line is that we are not hardwired. Our brains are incredibly resilient; the marvellous process of neuroplasticity gives you the capability, in your thoughts, feelings, and actions, to develop in any direction you choose 5

6 CONCLUSION Deepak Chopra says that the road to brain wellness begins with awareness. In the brain, energy flows where awareness goes (Chopra, 2012). In our everyday lives, if we intentionally set out to learn new things, we effectively rewire our brains and improve them. Movement moulds the brain. Repetition makes it effective (De Jager, 2009B). Once integrated for whole brain and body thinking and learning, we may experience a dramatic shift in our functional learning style and our ability to adjust to people and situations (De Jager, 2012). Move with purpose, move with Mind Moves! Clifford, E. Neural Plasticity. Merzenich, Taub and Greenough. Available on Internet: Accessed 10 January De Jager, M Mind Moves: Moves that mend the mind. Johannesburg: The Mind Moves Institute. De Jager, M. 2009B. Article: Movement, midlines, muscle tone and balance. Available from the Internet at: Accessed 20 January De Jager, M Advanced Mind Moves Instructor Course. Johannesburg: Mind Moves Institute Drubach, D. (2000). The brain explained. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc. Gilmore JH, Lin W, Prasatwa MW, et al. Regional gray matter growth, sexual dimorphism, and cerebral asymmetry in the neonatal brain. Journal of Neuroscience. 2007; 27(6): Gopnick, A., Meltzoff, A, Kuhl, P. (1999). The Scientist in the Crib: What early learning tells us about the mind. New York, NY: Harper Collins Publishers. Neuroscience for kids. (n.d) Brain plasticity: what is it? Available on internet: Accessed 10 January Tanzi, Rudolph E, Chopra, Deepak. (2012). Super Brain. Rider, Random House Group Tortora, G and Grabowski, S. (1996). Principles of Anatomy and Physiology. (8 th ed.). New York: HarperCollins College Publishers. 6