Brain Plasticity: You CAN Teach an Old Dog New Tricks

March 12th, 2009

Not long ago I found myself speaking with a well-informed psychologist. We were discussing the topics of fate, destiny and feeling “doomed”. Many people who visit psychologists struggle with these concepts, sensing that they can only possibly be unhappy/worthless/you-name-it. In response to this troubling and common belief she mentioned the work being done the realm of neuroplasticity. I was intrigued by the innovative, ground-breaking nature of the research being done and set off to do some research of my own. What I found was both interesting and encouraging.

Neuroplasticity has been called “the most important medical advance in 400 years”. Rhetoric aside, it represents a fundamental shift in how the medical community thinks of the brain. With technological advances in precise, economical imaging, our view of the brain is becoming much clearer.

20 years ago, the components of the brain were thought of as putty: slightly malleable but wholly fixed. Now, they are better described as bundles of worms: shifting and reconfiguring themselves dynamically.

When considering the Noprobo perspective (one of living optimally), these are the interesting findings:

• You can’t teach an old dog new tricks. You can’t teach a stubborn dog new tricks.
  It turns out the brain is not fixed at childhood; it continues changing throughout life. This is evidenced in stroke patients who, when enthusiastic about recovery, can come back strong and develop compensatory neural pathways, despite their age. It seems reluctance to learn in later years comes more from a mental unwillingness to try, rather than a physical limitation.
• The brain can change significantly in three months or less.
  Many of us are overwhelmed at the prospect of changing our mental routines. A smoker of 20 years may logically assume it would take 20 more years of arduous abstinence to reverse their habit. It turns out they would be wrong. A study that imaged the brains of medical students three months before and immediately after writing their medical exams showed marked changes in brain configuration.
• An open, active mind is a healthy one.
  Although we really knew it all along, neuroplasticity research confirms it. The brain is like a series of muscles. If you exercise one part of your mind, that part will grow until it plateaus. To keep you brain from withering, learn new things from time to time. Take your mind out of its comfort zone. Switch between music, math, poetry, mechanics, art, and whatever else you can to keep your brain fit and nimble.
• The brain can develop just by thinking.
  In a landmark study where participants were taught to play the piano, researchers found that simply imagining practicing the piano resulted in brain development similar to those who actually physically practiced. It seems the right frame of mind and a can-do attitude must exist before you develop a skill, rather than the other way around. Simply going through the motions isn’t what develops your mind, the thought process itself does.
• Happiness and sadness can be learned.
  Despite temporary fluctuations, the mind tends to quickly return to its baseline happiness level. Some of the highest happiness baselines are found in Buddhist monks. In studying their brain patterns, it was found that the part of their brains associated with happiness (their left prefrontal cortexes, as shown, in green) were highly developed, indicating an ability to “train” themselves to be happy and elevate their baseline levels. Conversely, someone who practices negative thinking will develop their right prefrontal cortex, which is associated with negative moods, thus lowering their baseline.

These encouraging findings contribute to a movement that is challenging an old paradigm, both in the medical community and society as a whole. While most people still think of themselves as fixed in their ways, research shows our ability to adapt is stronger than we had previously thought, so long as we surrender our stubbornness and allow ourselves to grow. While the medical community is cautious in their acceptance of these changes, I suggest you embrace these new truths with enthusiasm and excitement. They paint a much more optimistic picture of our abilities as a species and offer a new hope for personal growth.