You would not be here if you weren't interested in learning, and neither would I.
But, here's something we haven't learned about together...LEARNING.
The ways in which we acquire and retain knowledge
(which is the very definition of learning)
is really a science in itself. And like any other discipline that involves the study
of the human brain is practically still in its infancy.
Just twenty years ago most scientists believed
that once we reached adulthood our brains were pretty much fixed
not that we were incapable of learning anything new exactly,
but the assumption was that our brains development phase was over...
and now it's pretty much there to remind our hearts keep beating.
And occasionally let us remember where we left our phone.
But thanks to huge advances in things
like functional brain imaging we have a clearer picture than ever of
how our brains work and we're beginning to observe some wonderful things.
For one we now know that the process of learning
actually alters the structure of our brains at the cellular level
and once more it turns out that our brains
never stop changing to make room for new information.
People often compare the human brain to a computer, but
imagine a computer that can actually grow new circuits,
as it acquires new facts and associations
(and you have a much more awesome comparison)
-this is the gift known as neural plasticity.
You might think of plastic is being stiff in cheap,
but biology plasticity refers to the capacity of living things to mold themselves to new conditions
and our brains are great at it.
For one thing your brain cells (or neurons)
are always changing their connections to one another,
to meet changing demands.
Each of your neurons consists of a central body,
with spindly dendrites and a long axon stemming from it.
The neuron transmits electrical signals to other
brain cells through its axon, and receives signals through its dendrites
-via connections where the cells meet called synapses.
When you're born, each neuron in your brain has about
2,500 synapses connecting it to other cells.
But by the time you're 3
and you've become just a sponge of fascinating new information like
what sound a piggy makes & where your mom's face goes when she hides behind her hands
...you have 6 times as many (up to 15,000 synapses)
for each neuron in your brain!
In this regard it's kinda true that brain hit its peak when you're young,
because by the time you're an adult your brain cells have about half as many synapses as when you were 3
but it turns out that's okay because we now know that
synapses just shrink up when they're no longer needed.
Like you know now that pigs go oink and that people still exist when you can't see their faces
so you don't need to keep those connections to remind you.
This process of winnowing down of unused connections
is known as syntactic pruning.
Meanwhile, your neurons experience all kinds of new growth as you continue to
soak up new information,
like how to drive, how to solve for x, and how to get through that one really hard
level in your favorite castles matching game.
Here...the key to learning is memory
because you need to retain that information in order to apply it in the future.
So your brain cells can change in different ways
depending on how long you've remembered what you learned.
As you stockpile data in your short term memory, for example:
the structure of your existing synapses has been found to change
with more and stronger dendrites growing to reinforce them.
So for info that you retain for just a short time like,
how to destroy digital castles using rocks and fire
you don't need to sprout whole new connections -just beefing up the existing ones
you've used so far will help you master the game just fine.
But when it comes to important stuff like the learning we do at school
or hopefully the stuff you learn here on SciShow
your neurons actually forge entirely new synapses over time
as you re-learn, re-remember, and reuse the information.
This is how your brain builds the long-term memory you need
to retain the learning you're doing right now at work and at school
and turn it into a lifetime of applied knowledge.
So I said it before and I'll say it again
take care of your brain and odds are...it'll take care of you!
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