A child’s brain is a dry sponge, thirsty enough to absorb new things and blend into his learning and personality. Slurping up words, learning to read, distinguishing faces and determining likes and dislikes. All this happens as the soft brain forge new connections, sprout branches and develop new cell bodies to send messages. However, the adult brain is petrified and shackled where new connection cannot merely form or maybe are hard to emerge. This rigid state of adult brain draws extensions to some physical strains that pin nerve cells. Breakthroughs of research have found ways to recapture the lost magic of young brain. This could be done by dissolving structures that locks nerve cells and connections in place. The question arises that do we really hold a potential to interfere with natural placements in a secure way?
The adult’s brain is a workplace of efficiency and perfection whereas a child’s brain yearns to learn, fixing mistakes and defining perfection to the task. So what is the reason that limits brain capacity to form new synapses and nerve cells in adults? Answer lies in structural elements of brain.
1. A tight meshwork of perineuronal nets which show up later in life to stabilize brain cells. Interfering with this neuronal net might be a way to return the youthful glory to adult mind.
2. Myelin- a fatty substance that envelops the nerve cell axons also serve to fix brain cells in a position, limiting them to grow. Myelin also attempts to increase the speed of signals by providing insulation as the messages race through axons. With this speedy system of myelination, comes great flexibility.
3. Myelin also releases substances like ephrin B3 and Nogo which hold axons in place and prevent growth of new connections respectively.
4. Another substance, lynxl- a protein, is found abundantly in adult brain and lacks in young brain. This substance keeps the adult brain in an excitatory –inhibitory balance however its absence may turn the brain to unimaginable level of excitability.
Experimentation in mice at Boston Children’s Hospital has shown promising results like plasticity, prime growth activity and enlargement of axons.
Despite these invasive strategies to bring malleability to an adult brain, non-invasive strategies also exist. Researchers in Institute of Neuroscience CNR in Italy have figured through a series of experimentation on rats that exercise, living in stimulating environment and starvation, improves nerve cell activity to greater degree. This marks recovery of an exuberant brain!
How this may help humans?
Many disorders of brain like Alzheimer’s and Down syndrome show reduced brain activity. The patient’s life can improve if we evolve some training techniques to re-sculpt the brain into a childlike sponge one.
Lumosity boosts your memory, speed, flexibility,attention and problem solving capacity through exercises and games.
We all are familiar to the experiences of learning and how that shapes our brain. Instead of waiting for a wonder drug to make our brain more youthful, we should take control of our brains, exposing it to various mental exercises like Lumosity, Sudoku, crosswords, video games like Call on Duty, cycling, playing piano, swimming etcetera. Exposing brain to such activities will surely shape our brain smart and make it quick-witted.
Video games
Computers in human behaviour reported that after logging hours at games, people responded better at multitasking and quickly determined if a number is odd or even.
Data from Scientific Reports show that a certain kind of vision practice can help adults to see well. These challenging trainings helped poor vision people to discern sharp images, contrasts and tiny letters. Their eyes were same, sending blurry signals to brain but the brain had learned to deal with relevant details, omitting blurry distractions.
Invasive strategies to wrest off the myelin or lynx proteins may bring back the plasticity to an adult brain but also hold chances to neurodegeneration, hyperactivity and anxiety, Science News reports.
The nature is strong and sensible. Everything is precisely arranged in balance for the benefit of living things. Too much interference can bring irrevocable hazards for which we may not hold the potential to deal.
Time to take charge of more responsible attitude to shape our own brains!
Resources: The Talent Code by Daniel Coyle; Science News Magazine
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