Our brains are amazing!  We’ve known this for many years.  However, recent research by neuroscientists leading this field suggests that our plastic brain continues to change and adapt throughout our lifetime.

Brain structure and function is incredibly dynamic.  In early years, there are obvious changes, thought to be caused by both genetic predisposition and environmental factors.  Now, studies show that the plastic brain is continually redesigning itself as our circumstances and needs change.  Let’s look at three of the most recent examples of such discoveries.

Social Anxiety Disorders – The Plastic Brain Fixed by Therapy

These days it seems that more and more of us suffer from uncomfortable anxiety when presented with social situations.  This is especially the case when we are placed under pressure, perhaps doing a presentation at work, meeting new people or  speaking publicly.

Social anxiety can cause the sufferer intense distress.  Sometimes this distress can become debilitating.  Excessive sweating, shallow breathing or hyperventilating and a racing heartbeat are all symptoms of anxiety, as are feelings of nervousness or paranoia.

It’s thought that around one in ten people are affected by social anxiety to some degree at some point in their lives, and these figures seem to be increasing.  Social anxiety disorder is diagnosed if the sufferer’s fears and anxieties begin to significantly impair their everyday life and cause considerable suffering.

Through improvements in diagnostic imaging techniques, it’s been found that the regulation of anxiety by frontal and lateral brain areas is impaired in sufferers.  Treatments which restore the balance between cortical and subcortical brain areas, regulating the emotions, reduce the levels of anxiety experienced.  Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is the central therapy for social anxiety disorder.

Studies conducted at the Centre for Depression, Anxiety Disorders and Psychotherapy at The University Hospital of Psychiatry in Zurich, used a ten-week course of CBT.  Patients’ brains were examined using MRI both before and after therapy.

Head physician, Annette Bruhl says, “We were able to show that structural changes occur in brain areas linked to self control and emotion regulation.  Psychotherapy normalizes brain changes associated with social anxiety disorder.”

The research group demonstrated that the CBT caused these changes to take place.  They also found that the areas of the brain associated with processing the emotions were more physically interconnected after successful treatment.

Once the structure of the sufferer’s brain changed, the symptoms diminished.

Astronauts’ Brains Found to Change Shape During Space Missions

A new study using MRI scans has revealed that an astronaut’s brain actually changes shape whilst they are in space.

These changes specifically affect grey matter of the brain in regions known to control movements of the legs.  They reflect how the plastic brain adapts to moving in microgravity conditions.

The study, by the University of Michigan, found that grey matter increases and decreases occurred during time in space.  The extent of the changes is dependent on the length of time spent in space in microgravity conditions.  12 astronauts who had been shuttle crew members for two weeks and 14 who spent six months onboard the International Space Station were involved in the tests.  All were found to be affected similarly by the observed changes.

Rachael Seidler, University of Michegan’s professor of Kinesiology and Psychology says, “We found large regions of grey matter volume decreased, which could be related to redistribution of cerebrospinal fluid in space.  Gravity is not available to pull fluids down in the body, resulting in so-called puffy face in space.  This may result in a shift of the brain position or compression.”

The changes in the brain structure that researchers discovered were similar to those in someone practising and learning a new skill – such as a musical instrument or language.

These discoveries could indicate that new connections between neurons are being created to deal with new sets of information.

The implications of this new knowledge could lead to breakthroughs in the treatment and management of conditions that require or cause long periods of inactivity, decreased mobility and bed rest.  Conditions such as normal pressure hydrocephalus, in which cerebrospinal fluid accumulates in the ventricles of the brain, could also benefit from these discoveries.

How Music Affects Our Plastic Brain

It’s long been known that listening to music causes emotional changes to occur.  If you are feeling down, an uplifting track can improve your mood.  Similarly, some downbeat music can make the listener feel morose and self-reflective in a negative way.

Music has been used for thousands of years as a way of changing and affecting our emotions.  From primitive times, we’ve instinctively understood that even listening to something as simple as the repetitive rhythm of a beaten drum can cause changes in conscious perception.  Now, advances in neuroscience, particularly imaging techniques, have enabled these changes to be observed and quantified.

Studies in the 1990s demonstrated that babies benefit from listening to music, especially classical music, in early life and even in the womb.  This is known as the Mozart Effect.  Further scientific observations show benefits from learning to play an instrument, similar to those experienced when learning a new language.  Imaging techniques allow us to see the physical impact of these changes on the plastic brain.

Musicians are now known to have different brains to those who are not as involved in listening to, learning and playing music.  Their brains are noticeably more symmetrical; the areas of their brains that control motor movement, auditory processing and spatial co-ordination are larger and more developed.  They also typically have a larger corpus callosum.  The corpus callosum is the bundle of nerves that connects the two hemispheres of the brain together.

It has been proved that listening to music reduces the levels of the stress hormone, cortisol, in the body, increases the ‘feel good’ hormone, dopamine, and stimulates production of oxytocin.  Oxytocin helps us to trust other people and to bond with each other.

An active involvement in music is now known to protect against degenerative memory loss, and help with conditions such as autism, dementia, Alzheimer’s, chronic pain, emotional trauma and various mental disorders including anxiety and depression.

Whatever your age, music can bring benefits to your life by causing physiological changes to your plastic brain and the chemicals that control your moods and perception of life.

The brain used to be considered as an organ that matures in early adulthood and remains static in structure until degeneration caused by advanced ageing.  However, exciting neuroscience developments are now showing us that this is far from the case.  Our plastic brain actually changes, adapts and develops throughout our lives depending on our experiences.  What we do changes how our brain is built, works and acts.  This knowledge is leading the way in identifying methods of improving our quality of life in times to come.

The post The Plastic Brain appeared first on Illumine Training.

In the second part of a three part series exploring how our brains develop, we look at the period from early adulthood to late middle age.

The basic brain structure is developed during childhood (see part one). It’s now known that adolescence is also a very active time in terms of the growing brain and its development. But what happens to our brains during the period between early adulthood and late middle-age?

New research into this phase of brain development has shown that the brain continues to grow and change. And it’s been discovered that most changes that occur during this time are caused by exposure to outside stimuli.

New Challenges

This time brings many different challenges to us. Work, relationships, home building and child rearing are all vital tasks to be learned. Our brains are kept busy building new neural networks to deal with these new demands. Neurons continue to grow and change branch-like projections, which are known as ‘dendrites’. Dendrites conduct electrical signals between neurons and are responsible for the formation of new networks. These changes happen in short bursts and can involve both growth and shrinkage.

For many years, the scientific community didn’t believe that neurons were capable of changing at all during this phase of adulthood. “The scale of change is much smaller than what goes on during the critical period of development, but the fact that it goes on at all is earth-shattering,” says Elly Nedivi, a neuroscientist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

The continual process of brain plasticity enables us to develop new skills into adulthood and improve those we have learned in earlier years. Further changes to the neural structure within our frontal lobes enable us to control our moods and impulses.

Settling Behaviours

Generally, this period of life is about settling into familiar patterns in learning, behaviour and social settings. We become more confident in our capabilities. We feel more able to cope with everyday stresses and threats. We are clearer on what we like and what we dislike. These settling behaviours are all led by the constant pruning and sculpting that is occurring in our growing brain.

We may feel that our intellectual capacity increases during this time. Research has shown that our actual intellectual capacity is at its greatest in our late teens to early adulthood. However, as we mature, we are better able to focus our attention, thus learning may ‘feel’ easier. It’s easier for us to focus our attention due to the pruning process in the growing brain. This process continually removes unused neural connections and strengthens those that are regularly used.

London Taxi Driver Study

One of the most popular studies into the science of the growing brain and its development into adulthood concerns London taxi drivers. These taxi drivers have been shown to have enlarged hippocampi. This is an important area of the brain for storing details of our surroundings. Scientists have concluded that this brain growth is caused by the constant challenge of distinguishing landmarks and navigating streets. These are changes that have occurred during working adult life.

Improving Middle-Aged Brains

The middle-aged brain was traditionally thought to start slowing down. Middle-aged people tend to report forgetfulness and other similar issues. However, research has shown that this simply isn’t the case. As well as being calmer, less neurotic and more adept in social situations, the middle-aged brain can also acquire new skills. “Researchers now have an unprecedented wealth of data on the ageing brain from the Seattle Longitudinal Study, which has tracked the cognitive abilities of thousands of adults over the past 50 years. These results show that middle-aged adults perform better on four out of six cognitive tests than those individuals did as young adults,” says Sherry Willis, PhD, of the University of Washington in Seattle.

It’s now thought that memory and perceptual skills start to decline in young adulthood. However, verbal skills, spatial reasoning, simple maths abilities and abstract reasoning skills improve well into middle-age.

Take a look at the other blogs in this series below…

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In the first part of a three part series exploring how our brains develop, we look at the period to our late teens or early adulthood.

Scientists have been studying exactly how the growing brain develops during childhood for decades. Recent advances in safer scanning technologies have enabled the discovery of answers to questions that have puzzled us for years. It’s now clearly understood that early experiences, as much as genetic predisposition, affect the development of the brain. They can significantly influence behaviour, learning ability, character and health. Negative effects may last into adulthood and cause problems which become difficult to treat.

Initial Development

The growing brain develops its basic architecture through an ongoing process. This process begins in the womb and continues into adulthood. Initially, the growing brain forms simple neural connections, enabling the formation of basic skills. Over time, these neural connections become stronger and more complex.  This means that more sophisticated skills develop and enable us to tackle more complex tasks.

Pruning and Sculpting

During the first few years of brain development, up to 1000 new neural connections are formed every second. This staggering rate of growth eventually slows during a process known as ‘pruning and sculpting’. Pruning and sculpting enable the removal of unused connections and the improvement in efficiency and strengthening of remaining connections.

New connections can form throughout life and unused connections continue to be pruned. This explains the concept of ‘use it or lose it’ as it refers to the loss of skills that are not regularly practiced. It is literally the case that the neural connections involved in the mastery of learned skills are removed if they are not used.

This dynamic process of brain plasticity never stops, so it is impossible to say for sure what percentage of brain development occurs at a certain age. Although brain development varies greatly between individuals, depending on factors such as genetics and environmental influence, the early years are vitally important. Up until the later teens or early adulthood, the growing brain is forming connections that will provide either a weak or a strong platform for development that occurs in later years.

Genetics and Experience

Both genetics and experience have a huge part to play in the development of the growing brain. Genes enable the initial formation of neural circuits, but these connections are reinforced by repeated use. A process known as ‘serve and return’ is crucial. This process concerns the interaction between children and their parents, or other providers of care. Research has demonstrated that the absence of responsive care-giving, or inappropriate care-giving responses, cause problems with brain development. This can cause issues in later life in areas such as learning, social skills, cognitive ability and behaviour.

The earlier years of brain development, including emotional and physical health, social and linguistic skills, are all hugely linked with an individual’s capacity for success at school, at work and in the social arena.

Stress Responses

It’s also important that the growing brain experiences stress. The activation of the stress response produces a variety of physiological effects that enable an individual to deal with stressful situations or perceived threats. A certain amount of stress or threat must be experienced in the formative years in order effectively to develop these responses. However, it has been shown that, if these responses are activated for significant amounts of time at a high level, detrimental effects can occur in the development of neural connections. This is particularly evident in the areas of the brain associated with higher-order skills.

The growing brain doesn’t look like that of an adult until the early 20s in many key ways.  Enormous changes are still occurring during the teenage years. Grey matter in the brain, which forms the folding, outer layers of cortex where the processes of thought and memory are based, is at its highest volume. This is thought to explain why impulsive behaviour is often observed during the teenage years. The parts of the brain that govern impulse control are among the last to mature.

During the early years, and continuing into the teens and early adulthood, the growing brain is like a sponge, soaking up information from the environment and other humans.  It’s crucial that the child is exposed to a supportive and experiential environment In order to grow into a well-rounded and capable adult.

Take a look at the other blogs in this series below…

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When it comes to brain development, nature or nurture is one of science’s most enduring questions. In recent years, many of the most prominent names in neuroscience have researched the issue, with illuminating results. Our understanding of this area is gradually evolving to explain the full picture.

In the Past

Some thirty years ago, neuroscience believed that people are born with a certain number of neurons in their brain, which immediately begin to degenerate. This degeneration is then linear. Our brains slowly become less and less effective until we die. However, more recent research has suggested that this simply isn’t true.

Brain Plasticity

In 1998, a scientist called Fred Gage, working from the Laboratory of Genetics at the Salk Institute, showed that the brain continues to produce new nerve cells into adulthood. He also proved that, in mice, exercise increased the rate at which these new cells are created. This demonstrates that the whole system isn’t set by its initial genetic components. Instead, it is influenced by experience with the outside world. These discoveries led to an improved understanding of neuroplasticity. Neuroplasticity is the ability of the brain to grow, change, strengthen and eliminate new nerve cell connections throughout life. This discovery made scientists look at the question of nature or nurture in a whole new light.

Renowned neuroscientist, Blakemore explains, “Neurons can change their connectivity. They can change the strength of their connections. They can change the morphology of their connections. They can do it not necessarily in the early stages of life, although this is especially exaggerated, but probably throughout life. They respond to new environments and experiences.”

Scientists are increasingly convinced that the number and strength of connections in the brain changes continually.  This depends on how often they are used. Genetic programming plays a key role in that we are initially born with certain ‘hard-wired’ connections.  But the maintenance and strength of those connections changes over time. This is due to our experiences and the environment we encounter.

Therefore, in the question of nature or nurture in brain development, it isn’t a case of one or the other. The interplay between both nature, what we are born with, and nurture, what happens in our lives, is what determines brain development. Brains don’t develop normally without the initial genetic components.  They also fail to develop normally in the absence of essential environmental input.

Genetic Disorders

Many common neurological and mental health conditions, including depression, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, autism, Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis and Alzheimer’s disease are incredibly complex genetic disorders. Science is revealing that these conditions are influenced by environmental factors. Studies are currently being conducted into the treatment of developmental disorders in humans. There’s a growing body of evidence that underlines the importance of the interplay between nature and nurture in this area. This involves a massive feedback loop between genetics, neurological structure, experience and disease.

Neuroscientist, Coyle, states, “You are three times more likely to die from a heart attack if you are depressed than if you are not… and depression has a huge impact on diabetes as well.” A step backward further demonstrates the interplay. It’s been discovered that people who experience significant trauma and stress in their lives are more likely to suffer from clinical depression. There’s also a huge variation in how trauma and stress affect us as individuals. Some people are more resilient than others.

Into the Future

Developments in imaging techniques and technologies, like channel rhodopsin ‘light switches’, enable us to see neural networks.  We can then analyse how they react to external influences. This allows scientists to map the complex relationship between genetics versus experience. We can now see how both affect physical activity in the neurons within our brains.

Gene profiling and our technologies in genetic manipulation in animals also enable us to explore how genes manipulate our neural structures. These developments allow us to observe how environmental factors affect our behaviours, predispositions and health.

Today our scientists are convinced of the complex interaction between the elements of nature and nurture on our brains’ development and ability to function at an optimum level. In the future, we will discover further answers in this field. These answers will have important roles to play in the treatment and management of many conditions which negatively affect our lives.

If you enjoyed this article, you may enjoy those below…

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The question of how to remember song lyrics before or during a performance, isn’t an easy one to answer, because everyone is different! Here are a couple of typical scenarios and suggestions that I and others have found useful:

1. You are able to learn the songs and able to sing them when alone, but forget the words when performing

In this case the stress of either performing and being worried about forgetting the words and/or being in an unfamiliar environment may be part of the problem. Practical ways of dealing with this scenario:

• Make sure that as much of the practising as possible is done in situations close to a performance environment. For example if you use a microphone and stand up to sing and it’s usually dark on stage, practice with a microphone whilst standing in the dark! There is something called ‘state-dependent memory’ and this approach can make a big difference.
• Depending on the environment in which you are performing, have the words there with you so that you can refer to them. Knowing they are there if absolutely necessary, reduces stress and nearly always means that they aren’t needed! Only you will know whether this is appropriate for your situation.

See the suggestions for the other scenario below…

2. You just can’t learn the words in the first place and/or you get the order of them wrong

In this case the issue is more about getting the words into the brain in the right order rather than simply accessing them when needed. Again, different approaches work for different people, but here are some that work:

• Learn the words in multiple different ways: listen to them in an original recording (that is as close as possible to how you will be singing – or better still one that you have recorded yourself); listen to them whilst reading them at the same time; read them silently; read them out loud; sing them phrase by phrase – following a recording and then before listening, to test yourself. Repetition in as many different ways as possible is the key.
• If there is a logical flow to them (i.e. they are telling a story) – add visualisation to the story so that you get the ‘big picture’ in your head – individual verses will then slot into place more easily.
• Learn individual verses out of sequence. I realise that this one is slightly at odds with the previous one, but typically we are fresher when we begin a memorisation session – so the first verse is OK and the others are being committed to memory when our brains are (relatively) fatigued – and that pattern is repeated every time.
• Repetition and consistency – related to the first one, but keeping revisiting them (in different ways) is key.
• One specific issue that occurs for some people is that once they get going on a particular verse, they are fine, but getting each verse started is the challenge. Here, using some sort of mnemonic – something that helps you to remember the first word (or few words) of each verse, can be a big help.

The post Remembering Song Lyrics (please pass on to any singers you know!) appeared first on Illumine Training.

You can find out about how to remember more here.

Download PDF version of the report writing infographic here (opens in a new tab).

The post The 7 Essentials for Building a Powerful Memory – Infographic appeared first on Illumine Training.

What is memory?

According to the Science Museum your memory is your brain’s filing system, which is a useful way of explaining what your memory does. A vast amount of information is stored away in the memory every second of every day, from the day we are born. Some things are stored in the short term memory and are things which are probably referred to only once, like a phone number or name of a person we have met only once. Other memories are retained sometimes for many years, or for all our lives, even if we never need them.

Memory is important because it makes up the essence of who we are. Memories built up over a lifetime all go to make up our personalities and our characters. Whether you appear to possess a good memory or a poor memory can be a factor in influencing how others see you and in how they assess your character. We are all familiar with the term ‘scatter brain’. This is normally applied to a person who appears to have trouble in remembering facts, or who frequently forgets to do things, or who never turns up for appointments because they forgot all about them. A scatter brain may be delightfully dotty in a much-loved grandma, but it is not exactly a compliment when associated with a business person. Conversely, a person who is blessed with a sharp memory is considered to be of higher intelligence and someone who can be relied on.

Advantages in business

It cannot be emphasised enough the advantage that having a good memory is and many people who have reached the top of their field and made a success of their business can partly attribute their success to their sharp memory. At a very basic level, a good memory prevents us from forgetting important dates, facts and deadlines. At one end of the scale, the employee who fails to hand in a work project will surely earn nothing more than the wrath of the boss when they explain that they simply ‘forgot to do it’. At the other end, a manager who fails to implement a new system because they forgot to attend a meeting or simply couldn’t remember how to do it, will never be seen in a good light. Think also of the business person who can’t remember the names of clients or business associates. This can be very embarrassing at the least and even bad for business.

Train your mind with memory training

Learning new things and exercising the brain can improve memory and great things can be achieved by embarking on Mind Mapping Training or Fast Reading and Super Memory courses proving that a better memory can lead to better business success.

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Remember what Steve Jobs said about creativity – that it’s about making connections? It now seems that science is on the brink of discovering how that connectivity works; and what’s more, how the physical brain develops through learning new skills and acquiring new knowledge.

Grey matter and white matter

Recent research (reported in New Scientist) has begun to reveal how the mind changes and develops through learning and training. The key to this phenomenon seems to be myelin – known as white matter – the fatty substance which surrounds the nerve cells in the brain, like insulation surrounds an electrical wire.

Scientists have long been aware of the role of specialised nerve cells called neurons and synapses in the brain and spinal cord – our so-called grey matter. This grey matter is thought to be a key element in intelligence. However we are now becoming more aware of the importance of the connections between the cells of the grey matter, and the crucial role played by white matter in thinking and learning.

Why are myelin pathways so important? In a Stanford University study, mice whose brains were stimulated to run in anticlockwise circles were found to have laid down new myelin in these brain circuits. This demonstrates that brains can actually change through training.

In fact scientists feel that this research might in time yield a wonder drug that speeds up the rate of learning.

A unique course to develop your brainpower

Illumine offers a range of courses to develop your brainpower. Under the heading Learn, Absorb & Understand – Learning to Learn you will find business training focused on increasing your ability to learn. From speed reading to memory training, from Mind Mapping to accelerated learning, our courses will give you essential techniques to select, absorb, remember and use relevant information.

The post Yes, you can increase your brainpower! appeared first on Illumine Training.

Slow reading

The idea behind slow reading is to recapture the kind of in-depth reading of years gone by. Back in the nineteenth century books were weighty tomes, with long descriptive passages to set the scene – essential in the days before colour photography, television and widespread travel. Think of Dickens, think of Thackeray, think of War and Peace. All these great works were aimed at an audience with spare hours to fill on long winter evenings. Since books were expensive – and since an initial ‘read’ couldn’t absorb all the detail — re-reading books was commonplace.

Today, slow reading is designed to recapture the spirit of that bygone time. The Slow Book Movement began in the USA in 2009. Founded by the novelist Alexander Olchowski, it aims to encourage people to slow down to read books. It is part of the wider Slow Movement – a reaction against the increasing speed of modern society – which was set out in Carl Honoré’s 2004 book In Praise of Slow: How a Worldwide Movement is Changing the Cult of Speed.

Is slow reading best?

There is a lack of research evidence to show that reading more slowly helps in reading comprehension. In fact, studies tend to show a connection between reading very slowly, and lack of fluency and understanding. In children, very slow reading has even been seen as a predictor of dyslexia.

Horses for courses

Nowadays there are still plenty of lengthy books being written. (The Harry Potter series comes to mind, with each successive book becoming longer and longer!) But for most of us, the need to deal with mountains of written material – both online and in printed form —  makes ‘slow reading’ an impossibility, certainly in the workplace.

It seems to me that there is no real argument about which is best. It’s a case of ‘horses for courses’, ie choosing the right tool for the task. Slow reading is ideal for savouring the prose of a novel and reflecting on how its characters develop; whereas in our fast-paced world, modern speed reading training can give us the skills we need to absorb written material rapidly, effectively and efficiently.

Illumine’s course in Effective Speed Reading™ provides skills and techniques to increase your reading speed while actually improving comprehension and retention of material.  (This course features the unique INSEAK® approach to reading, exclusive to Illumine.) Our Fast Reading and Super Memory course uses Mind Mapping to enable you to read faster and remember more.

Find out more about Illumine Training’s Speed Reading courses here

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Exercise the body, exercise the brain.  It’s well known that increasing the health of the body also increases the health of the brain.  Increasing your physical fitness will mean that oxygen can reach the brain more easily, and, as a result, it will perform more efficiently.  Also ensure that you get sufficient sleep – a sleep-deprived brain isn’t one that operates at full capacity.  A course of exercise will become a memory course as well!

Laugh.  ‘Laughing your head off’ is great fun, and now you’ve got one more reason to do it:  it improves your cognitive functions.  Yes, time spent working on those punchlines will help to improve the strength of your grey matter, enabling you to make associations with more ease – a vital part of the memory process.

Don’t stress.  Reducing stress is a proven way to help improve your memory.  When stressed, the brain becomes overloaded with chemicals such as cortisol, which are designed to help your ‘fight-or-flight’ responses.  Unfortunately, too much of these chemicals results in cells being lost and your cognitive functions decreasing.  Keep calm, and keep the chemicals away from your brain.

Eat well.  You’ve all heard of the cliché ‘brain food’.  Well, it’s a cliché for a reason.  There are a variety of foods that will make a noticeable difference to your cognitive performance if eaten regularly over a long enough period of time.  Fruit and veg are perfect as they’re full of antioxidants designed to keep your body as clean as possible.  Fish is also great, as the omega-3 fatty acids are pure fuel for the brain.  Finally, cut back on saturated fat, as it merely clogs up your system and slows down your ability to think.

Take a course.  One of the advantages of the web is that it increases accessibility to a variety of courses that can help you develop and improve your memory, and stave off cognitive decline.  Whether you want to protect yourself against future deterioration or simply improve what you already have, a memory course can help.

Find out about Improve Your Memory Training courses here

Memory Tips and Tricks here

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