A few years ago, it was believed that our brain was static and unalterable, that we were born with a fixed number of neurons that would be lost over time, and that our inherited genes conditioned our intelligence. Today, thanks to advances in neuroscience, we know that neuroplasticity exists, meaning a plastic brain.
What is neuroplasticity?
Neuroplasticity is a property of the nervous system that allows it to continuously adapt to life experiences. Our brain is exceptionally plastic, capable of adapting its activity and significantly changing its structure throughout life.
Experience continuously modifies our brain, strengthening or weakening the synapses that connect neurons, so we are in continuous learning. This fact allows that, regardless of the natural decline that comes with old age, learning can occur at any age, generating new neurons, which is why our intelligence is not fixed or immutable (Guillén, 2012).
From an educational perspective, the concept of brain plasticity constitutes an open door to hope because it implies that all students can improve. Although genetic conditions exist, we know that talent is built with effort and continuous practice. And our responsibility as educators lies in guiding and accompanying students in this continuous learning process and growth, not only for school but also, and above all, for life (Guillén, 2012). Under this premise, ISEP’s Master’s in Neuroeducation has been designed.
Studies of the plastic brain
There are emblematic studies in this field. One of them is Eleanor Maguire’s study with London taxi drivers, where she found that they increased their hippocampus by having to memorize a complex street map (Maguire, E. A. et al., 2000); or Thomas Elbert’s study with violinists, where he found that subjects increased the region of the cerebral cortex that controls the fingers of the left hand (Elbert, T. et al., 1995).
Recently, the studies by the Spanish Álvaro Pascual-Leone have been considered original and significant. In the first, half of a group of volunteers were taught to play a piano piece with five fingers. It was observed that continuous training led to an increase in the region of the motor cortex responsible for moving those fingers. Although this result constituted clear evidence of neuroplasticity, it was not novel because other experiments had reached similar conclusions. What was truly interesting was analyzing the brain images of the other half of volunteers who were asked to imagine playing the piece. It was observed that the mental simulation of movements activated the regions of the motor cortex required for the execution of real movements. Curiously, mental practice was sufficient to promote neuroplasticity (Pascual-Leone, A.; Amedi, A.; Fregni, F.; Merabet, M.L., 2005).
Pascual-Leone’s second study is called the “blindfold experiment.” For five days, a group of healthy volunteers had their eyes blindfolded. During that period, they were kept busy reading Braille (the tactile reading and writing system designed for blind people, where fingers must be moved over printed dots) and performing auditory tasks consisting of differentiating pairs of tones heard through headphones. Analysis of brain scans using functional magnetic resonance imaging revealed that the participants’ visual cortex, after five days, modified its function and began to process auditory and tactile signals, thus increasing its activity. After removing the blindfolds, only a few hours had to pass for the activity to decrease (Pascual-Leone, A.; Amedi, A.; Fregni, F.; Merabet, M.L., 2005). From an educational point of view, the demonstration that mere thought causes neuroplasticity is valuable.
The plastic brain and learning
Regarding learning processes, attention is one of the critical factors. It is an essential mechanism because our brain’s capacity to process incoming sensory information is limited. Attention to what needs to be learned requires continuous effort, motivation to be receptive, and appropriate emotions (Davidson, Richard, Begley, Sharon, 2012). In that order, constant dedication requires self-control, novelty and relevance facilitate our motivation, and in a relaxed state, our attention (and memory) is in a more beneficial situation to facilitate learning. Therefore, brain plasticity allows, through adequate mental training, our emotional profile to change and positively affect our lives (Spitzer, 2005).
Dopamine is a neurotransmitter with important educational implications because it intervenes in gratification and motivation processes that are fundamental in learning. It has been shown that positive thinking is associated with the left hemisphere’s prefrontal cortex and that, in this situation, dopamine is released, activating reward circuits. In a study conducted with rats, it was shown that direct stimulation of the ventral tegmental area, made up of dopamine pathways, changed the cortical representations of the sounds heard. If the rats only listened to the sounds without any electrical stimulation, no variation occurred. The importance of this experiment lies in the fact that neuroplasticity occurred in the auditory cortex when stimulating the dopamine gratification circuit, meaning the learning of the auditory task was linked to the activation of a circuit involving a neurotransmitter that we know affects learning (Bao, S.; Chan, V.T.; Merzenich M.M., 2001)
In educational practice, it is necessary to know how to stimulate that dopamine gratification with gestures, glances, or pleasant behaviors. Our non-verbal language plays an important role in transmitting emotional components.
Conclusions on brain plasticity
Finally, we are the only species that uses plasticity to perfect and evolve the brain, which makes us different and unique. But, in addition, each individual of our species is unique and unpredictable and participates in their own evolution due to the influence of lived experiences.
Research in neurosciences helps us better understand our brain, and this helps us optimize our capabilities. Training in neuroeducation helps psychology and education professionals understand the different neurocognitive maps currently present in classrooms in our country and improve learning processes.