Many scientists believed that our brain has not changed since childhood. Since growing up, he no longer transforms. New discoveries made in recent decades suggest that previous claims are not true. The theory of brain neuroplasticity confirms that this organ can change and does this, because it is flexible, like plasticine.
What is neuroplasticity?
Neuroplasticity is the ability of the brain to change itself throughout life. Metamorphoses can be both physical and functional; occur under the influence of factors both the external environment and the internal.
The concept of brain neuroplasticity is a very new vision, because earlier scientists believed that this body has the ability to change only at an early age and loses this ability in adulthood. In part, they were right, because in childhood it is much more plastic, but this does not mean at all that the brain of an adult is a static organ.
Plasticity of the brain determines our ability to learn. If a person can acquire new knowledge, skills, get rid of old bad habits - his brain is plastic. It is attention and the ability to concentrate it that helps in acquiring new ways of thinking.
How does neuroplasticity work?
Our brain is an integrated energy system in which a large number of different labyrinths and moves. We know some of the paths well, we move along them with a certain regularity - these are our habits.
We should not have difficulty repeating this action again, because it has been brought to automaticity and has moved to an even higher subconscious level when we do not need to connect consciousness. These automatic actions that we do correctly, easily and effortlessly, do not develop our brain in any way.
For example, if a musician confidently owns an instrument, he does not look at the keys, but a beginner has to keep an eye on his fingers. Also, the familiar pathways of our thinking include the methods that we resort to for solving certain problems, our emotions and feelings that we experience every day. This road is already well-trodden and well-known, it is now easier for our brain to overcome this path.
How does the brain respond to new tasks?
If we have to solve previously unfamiliar tasks, experience new emotions or feelings, our thinking leads us in a different way. The first step on unfamiliar roads is always difficult, you can even physically feel how your convolutions began to work, you may get a headache or throb in certain areas - these are included in the work of those neurons that until recently had a sound sleep. This is neuroplasticity. By rebuilding the brain, we can achieve a qualitatively new level of its functioning.
While we master new routes, but we don’t use the old ones, the second ones begin to "overgrow with moss." The brain is plastic: if you do not make efforts on yourself and develop it, it is prone to degradation; if you train, "drill" new "wells" in it, then there are more neural connections, in addition, their strength is enhanced.
The uniqueness of man is that the brain controls him, but you can learn to control the insidious organ yourself. This is more complicated than you think, but absolutely real for everyone. If we get rid of a bad habit and learn to think more positively - this is the use of brain plasticity in practice. If you can focus on the ability that you want to acquire, you can change the functioning of your brain.
Remodeling Principles
- Motivation and interest are the best contributors to neuroplasticity.
- The more efforts you make, the more noticeable the changes.
- The first result is temporary. For changes to become permanent, you need to convince the brain of their significance.
- Neuroplasticity is not only positive changes that occur due to our efforts, but also negative ones. If you have made an effort on yourself - this is a step forward, if you did not, then you did not remain standing still, but took two steps back.
Why does getting knowledge become harder over the years?
This depends not only on the development of brain neuroplasticity, but also on the experience gained. In school years, we gain a lot of knowledge. Someone assimilates them easily, for someone it takes more time. The consciousness of most diligent students is convinced that these skills will become useful, therefore, the memory “begs” the brain to remember a certain amount of information, which it does with pleasure.
If in the future this information does not find practical application, then the brain says: “Well, why do I need this knowledge that I kept for so long in my archives?” It turns out that these data occupied a serious niche in our head, it’s good if at least once they managed to show off in front of friends or superiors.
Next time, the brain will no longer be able to accept into its "library" information that cannot be practically applied. Now he selects only vital knowledge. If skills or facts lie idle in our heads, they will at some point begin to "decompose" and harm our mental health. All knowledge must be involved. How to do it? Read the next paragraph.
How to train your brain?
To prevent stagnation of material in our head will help training. Neuroplasticity of the brain depends not only on factors from outside, but also on ourselves.
So, a few ways to help keep your mind in good shape:
- Solve sudoku and crosswords every day. They will help make your thinking more flexible.
- Read as much as possible. This applies not only to fiction, but also to cognitive. It is very good if the material is unfamiliar and forces you to open a dictionary or Google. It is important that it is relevant and interesting.
- Communication with other people. Any information remains in our brain forever, whether it is reading, communication, something heard or seen. We may not suspect this for the time being, but it has been deposited in our subconscious and sooner or later will make itself felt. Chat with people who are better than you. If you have to contact dysfunctional personalities as a result of your profession, then try to control yourself as much as possible in the process of communication and abstract yourself.
- Reading is a useful, but even more fruitful activity - this is a letter. Do rewriting or copywriting, write a fictional story or poem, even if you think that you have no talent.
- Do not watch TV and useless channels on Youtube. The media offer us fully processed information that is as chewed as possible. She passes by the brain and immediately “swallows”. If you really choose a program, then one that will not relax.
- Solve puzzles, collect Rubik's cube and puzzles.
- You can devote free time to games on development of logic, speed of thinking or on concentration of attention.
- Apply your skills in everyday life.
- Use both hands more often at the same time.
- The work of the brain depends on the general physical form, so you need to play sports and eat right.
- Sleep is the best means of "rebooting" for the brain. During this period, it is cleaned of toxins and processes the information accumulated over the day, sorts it. No wonder they say that the morning of the evening is wiser.
- Learn a new musical instrument or start learning a new language. Do not pull up English if 10 years at school and 5 at the institute did not give proper results. You may not have been taught the way your brain would have liked. You need to choose a language and try to learn it using your own methods. When it is possible to open a personal learning algorithm, you can collect the rest of the scattered knowledge thanks to it.
Check how your brain works
- Walking around the supermarket, for example, in the tea department, close your eyes and name 10 brands of goods. If you managed to remember 7 or more - this is a good result.
- Ask someone to write the names of 10 different items, study the list for 30 seconds and set it aside. Try to remember all things in the indicated sequence (8 or more is a good result).
- Decipher the anagrams: fetenol, iatrag, demachon, kachsha.
- Continue the pattern: 1 4 9 16 25 ...
- Remove three matches so that you get 4 even squares.
Neuroplasticity of the brain. Exercises
1. What number is not in this figure?
2. Find 2 identical images.
3. Solve an example.
4. Count all the triangles in the picture.
5. What numbers do you see?
The answers
1. The number 51 is missing here.
2. Simple enough!
3. If you thought that the correct answer is 12, then you were mistaken. After the last unit in the first and second row there is no “+” sign. Correctly, this is considered the number 11, which was moved to the second line.
4. The correct answer is 35.
5. Now see?