The brain consists of three principle parts – stem, cerebellum and cerebrum. Of the three, the cerebrum is most important in learning, since this is where higher-ordered functions like memory and reasoning occur. Each area of the cerebrum specializes in a function – sight, hearing, speech, touch, short-term memory, long-term memory, language and reasoning abilities are the most important for learning. So how does learning happen? Through a network of neurons, sensory information is transmitted by synapses. Your brain is primarily composed of about 85 billion neurons, which is more than the number of stars you can see with the naked
eye in the night sky. A neuron is a cell which acts as a messenger, sending information in the form of nerve impulses (like electrical signals) to other neurons(synapses). For example, when you are writing, some neurons in your brain send the “move fingers” message to other neurons and this message then travels through the nerves (like cables) all the way to your fingers. The electrical signals that are communicated from one neuron to another are therefore what allows you to do everything you do: write, think, see, jump, talk, compute, and so on. When you are learning, important changes take place in your brain, including the creation of new connections between your neurons. Neuroscientists have long believed that learning and memory formation are made by the strengthening and weakening of connections among brain cells. Recently, researchers at the University of California Irvine’s Center for the Neurobiology of Learning and Memory proved it. In experiments with mice, researchers found that when two neurons frequently interact, they form a bond that allows them to transmit more easily and accurately. This leads to more complete memories and easier recall. Conversely, when two neurons rarely interacted, the transmission was often incomplete, leading to either a faulty memory or no memory at all. This phenomenon is called neuroplasticity.
The ability of your brain to change, that is to create, strenghten, weaken or dismantle connections between your neurons.. The more you practice, the stronger these connections become. As your connections strengthen, the messages (nerve impulses) are transmitted increasingly faster, making them more efficient. That is how you become better at anything you learn whether it's playing football, reading, drawing, etc. We can compare the connections between your neurons to trails in a forest. Walking through a forest without a trail is difficult, because you have to compact and push the vegetation and branches out of the way to carve your way through. But the more you use the same trail, the easier and more practicable it becomes. Conversely, when you stop using the trail, the vegetation grows back, and the trail slowly disappears. This is very similar to what happens in your brain—when you stop practicing something, the connections between your neurons weaken and can ultimately be dismantled or pruned. That is why it may seem so difficult to start reading again when school starts if you have not read all summer practicing or rehearsing repeatedly activates your neurons and makes you learn. So, the question is, how can you help your neurons to create and strengthen their connections? Here,two strategies that appear to be more compatible with how your brain works and could help you learn better. Because the connections between your neurons need to be activated multiple times to become stronger and more efficient, a first and crucial strategy is to repeatedly activate them.
As a baby, you were not able to speak and walk within 1 day: you practiced a lot. However, it is important to note that only reading or glancing will not be that helpful in connecting your neurons. To create the connections between your neurons, you need to retrieve anything that you are studying from your memory. In other words, you have to try recall the answer yourself to activate your connections. All of us know that it not is easy to do! However, scientists think that this “struggle” improves learning because the challenge is an indication that you are building new connections remember, learning something new is like hiking in a bush with no designated trail, you will probably walk slowly at first, but if you keep hiking, trails will start forming and eventually you will be walking on well-beaten tracks. Besides, when you do try to recall what you have learned and make a mistake, it can help you identify gaps in your learning and give you an indication of which trail still needs to be worked on. Scientists have also noted that performing tests or exams can help you remember information better than studying alone. For example, if you study your neurosciense interspersed with test periods, you will probably perform better on your final test than if you had only studied. There are different strategies that you could try at home, for example swering practice questions or using flashcards.
These should improve learning more than re-reading or listening to lectures. Other strategies include preparing questions to ask to a classmate or a parent as well as redoing tests or exercises. Use your imagination! What you need to remember is that first, for your neurons to strengthen their connections, you need to retrieve the information and avoid just reading or listening to the answer. Second, you should plan a way to get feedback to know whether you got something correct or incorrect. Do not be discouraged if you face challenges, this is a natural step of the learning process taking place in your brain!
It therefore seems better to retrieve often within spaced practice sesions, as opposed to a massed practice (practicing a task continuously without rest). For instance, instead of studying or doing homework for 3 h(right now I'm doing the complete opposite writing this article at 2 am lol, but it's important for everyone to study their reality and put these studies into practice) after which you would probably feel exhausted anyway, you could separate this learning period into three 1-h periods or even into six half-an-hour periods. In short, when spacing your retrieval practice, you allow your brain to make the connections that you strengthened during your practice sessions more efficient. When you take a quick break from practicing, let us say a 20 min recess, you allow for the maintenance or replacement of the receptors on the surface of the neurons. The receptors are like electric outlets that receive the nerve impulse (electrical signals) from other neurons. Taking a break helps them work better: your neurons can thus transmit their nerve impulses more easily to other neurons. Finally when you get a night of sleep between practice sessions, you actually benefit from a free retrieval practice session because while you sleep, your brain reactivates the connections between the neurons that you activated during the day.
You could also get similar benefits from a nap. Next time you find yourself sleepy in class, you could tell your teacher that you are in fact trying to do retrieval practice! In brief, when spacing out learning, and especially retrieval practice, your brain is more activated than when you mass learn in one long session.
Your brain is where learning occurs and you therefore need to keep your neurons active to optimize the use of class or study time.
Another recent study at the Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School found that the structural core of the brain receives sensory information from different regions and then assembles bits of data into a complete picture that becomes a memory of an event. This memory is strengthened by multiple sensory inputs. For example, if we both see and hear something, we are more likely to remember it than if we only hear it.
If we experience an emotional reaction to something – fear, anger, laughter or love – that emotion becomes part of the memory and strengthens it dramatically. In recalling memories, subjects who had experienced an emotional reaction were far more likely to remember the event and with higher accuracy than those who simply witnessed an event without any emotional attachment. That explains why highly emotional events – birth, marriage, divorce and death – become unforgettable.
What does this neuroscience research suggest about learning? We need to ensure that learning engages all the senses and taps the emotional side of the brain, through methods like humor, storytelling, group activities and games. Emphasis on the rational and logical alone does not produce powerful memories. A third recent discovery at the University of Michigan’s Biopsychology Program confirmed that the brain behaves selectively about how it processes experiences that enter through our five senses. The brain is programmed to pay special attention to any experience that is novel or unusual. It does this by making comparisons between the new information brought through the senses and existing information stored in our brain’s long-term memory. When the brain finds a match, it will quickly eliminate the new memory as redundant.
When new information contradicts what’s already stored in memory, however, our brains go into overdrive, working hard to explain the discrepancy. If the new information proves useful to us, it becomes a permanent memory that can be retrieved later. If this new information does not seem useful or if we do not trust its source, we are likely to forget it or even reject it altogether, preferring to stick with the information we already possess.Since learning inherently requires acquisition of new information, our brains’ propensity to focus on the novel and forget the redundant makes it a natural learning ally. In fact, our brains are hard wired to learn, from the moment we are born. Our native curiosity is driven by our brain’s inherent search for the unusual in our environment.
On the other hand, past memories can be an impediment to future learning that contradicts previous information. As we age and gain more experience, we tend to rely too much on our past knowledge. We may miss or even reject novel information that does not agree with previous memories.
References :
- Blanchette Sarrasin, J., Nenciovici, L., Brault Foisy, L.-M., Allaire-Duquette, G., Riopel, M., and Masson, S. 2018. Effects of inducing a growth mindset in students by teaching the concept of neuroplasticity on motivation, achievement, and brain activity: a meta-analysis. Trends Neurosci. Educ. 12:22–31. doi: 10.1016/j.tine.2018.07.003
- Rossi, S., Lanoë, C., Poirel, N., Pineau, A., Houdé, O., and Lubin, A. 2015. When i met my brain: participating in a neuroimaging study influences children’s naive mind-brain conceptions. Trends Neurosci. Educ. 4:92–7. doi: 10.1016/j.tine.2015.07.001
- Kania, B. F., Wronska, D., and Zieba, D. 2017. Introduction to neural plasticity mechanism. J. Behav. Brain Sci. 7:41–8. doi: 10.4236/jbbs.2017.72005
- Zaromb, F. M., and Roediger, H. L. 2010. The testing effect in free recall is associated with enhanced organizational processes. Mem. Cogn. 38:995–1008. doi: 10.3758/MC.38.8.995
- Callan, D. E., and Schweighofer, N. 2010. Neural correlates of the spacing effect in explicit verbal semantic encoding support the deficient-processing theory. Hum. Brain Mapp. 31:645–59. doi: 10.1002/hbm.20894
How the Brain Learns
July 20, 2011 Donald J. Ford, Ph.D., C.P.T.5 min read
- At forefront Chicago Medicine Learning how the brain learns
January 29, 2016 Written ByKevin Jiang
Terminando de ler, muito top✨👏