Rerouting - Neuroplasticity in Adults

According to John P.J. Pinel in his ninth edition of "Biopsychology," "neuroplasticity was thought to be restricted to the developmental period [which starts from infancy and goes into adolescent age.] Mature brains were considered to be set in their ways incapable of substantial reorganization. Now, the accumulation of evidence has made it clear that mature brains are continuously changing and adapting."

Neuroplasticity is such a huge topic it could be it's own book. I will try to summarize and be clear on most of the research presented today.

According to Pinel...

FACT: "The human brain starts to function in the womb and never stops working until one stands up to speak in public." (This makes me laugh every time I read it because I can totally relate.)

MYTH: "Neurogenesis (the growth of new neurons) does not occur as adults."

I am sure you are all wondering, what exactly is neuroplasticity?

Neuroplasticity means the brain is a changeable organ (in biopsychology terms, the brain is "plastic") in response to experiences and genes.

This doesn't refer to just emotions, this refers to how the whole brain operates. There are stories of people who have had the right hemisphere of their brain removed and they can still function like typical human beings with a job, communication skills, and self awareness. Where one part of the brain lacked, another part of the brain made up for it. While the right hemisphere is in charge of caution and safety, with it removed, the neural networks rerouted caution and safety networks to the working hemisphere to ensure survival of that individual.

Neuroplasticity of our brain is effected by experience

Experience includes everything, our environments, our home, towns we live in, toxic households, healthy households, polluted cites, mental illness, or even something as small as our social circles.

How our brains are effected by our genes

We are born with a set of genes, these genes can be activated or deactivated by the experiences in our life. Some people are born with a cancer gene that is never activated while others may be activated. There are also findings that some are born with a Schizophrenia gene, whether it is activated or not is different for different people. What activates and deactivates genes is still being researched but some finding would say that the environments we live in can activate or deactivate our genes. here

So how does this make the brain changeable or cause neuroplasticity?

Our brains are constantly adapting in new and old situations. There are some who may not have the cognitive ability to independently adapt but new behaviors can be trained and practiced in  hypothetical situations until the "real life" situation occurs. As educators we try to savor these teachable real life situations.

Let's use an extreme case. When a women is in a toxic relationship, she tends to believe the things her abuser tells her, she's worthless, a whore, stupid, she is lucky to have him love her because no one else will, etc... Over time, hearing these words become truth. She then withdraws from friends and family because his words are true. He tells her, "No one else really loves you and are annoyed by you." When anybody else does tell her they love her and support her, in her head, they are lies made up to make her feel better. Her mind has accepted the artificial fact the she is unlovable. In some cases, it hits her and she somehow gains a realization that this relationship is no longer a place for her. (That I cannot explain with science.) She packs a suitcase or two and leaves. She may run back, she may disappear forever, those choices are hers. Once she has left the toxic relationship and really focuses on healing through therapy, and learns to depend on a positive support system, her neural pathways began to change. The idea she has of herself begins to change. She can actually sit alone with herself, buy things for herself, enjoy herself. Originally, her minds idea of herself was that she was unlovable but, after leaving that toxic environment, she changed her mind about herself.  Of course I have to say that every situation is different and it is always way easier to type this, than to live it. Healing from a toxic environment takes time, it can feel lonely, and loving yourself definitely doesn't come over night. It comes and that is the point.

In a smaller but just as significant case, it could be a simple thing. I will use me for an example, I hated math. Hate is a strong word and that is why I picked it. I was ready to develop a career that did not include any math in it. Math made me feel incapable of learning. It made absolutely no sense to me. I decided to challenge myself with a math class. On the first day I sat in the class, the teacher began to talk in math language, and the culture shock hit me. The moment the professor began to teach, my eyes welled up with tears and my brain was screaming, "this is impossible, it's over your head, you can't do this." After working very hard and seeking help from my professor and peers, I did it. I made it through math and confidently signed up for Statistics the next semester. I was no longer intimidated by math or anything that had to do with it. I actually got to enjoy statistics.

An adult who at, one point, was incapable of loving themselves learned to. Someone who was far from a math wiz ended up actually doing well in math. This goes for everything, IQ scores, athletic ability, social skills, thought processes ect... We are all capable of change.




The book I used to gather this info

Pinel, John P. J. Biopsychology. 9th ed. N.p.: Pearson, 2014. Print.