Learning how we learn can be fascinating. It takes the right environment and the right internal balance to truly absorb information. Besides the usual suspects; food, sleep and repetition, a lot of how we learn happens in our brain, without us even knowing it. It can be said that “cells that fire together, wire together.”
Growing your brain
For your brain, going to school is comparable to going to the gym. We grow our biceps at the gym and we grow our brain at school. A neural synapse is the space between brain cells, which are called neurons. Neurons allow chemical signals to pass from one neuron to another. Chemicals called neurotransmitters leave one cell, travel across the synapse, and are taken in by the next neuron through a receptor. The connection between the two neurons is called a neural pathway. When we learn new things, new pathways are made between neurons. Thus, learning causes growth of brain cells by creating new dendrites, which look like fingers coming off the arm, or axon, of the neuron. The more dendrites created and continually used, the more brain activity you will have.
Context-dependent memory vs. state-dependent memory
Have you ever walked to the next room to do something and forgotten what it was you were going to do? Did you retrace your steps and find that when you returned to where you came from you remembered what the task was? That is because of context-dependent memory, and as you may guess from the name, the context in which you remember things matters. Research shows that a person who takes an exam in the same seat or room as they learned the material will test better in that place than in a new area. State-dependent memory refers to internal conditions under which someone learns. If you always study while consuming caffeine, for example, your brain creates neural pathways that make a connection between the learned material and caffeine. In this example, you would likely perform better on a test while consuming caffeine.
Short-term memory, working memory, and long-term memory
As we learn we create a path of remembrance similar to a trail that is often walked by hikers, leaving a well-worn path. Short-term memory is the process in which we gather information in our neural pathways that we want to use in the near future. When we don’t use it anymore we will forget it, as the brain prunes its unused neural connections to strengthen more used paths. Our working memory is what we store along neural pathways, which can be interrupted by distractions from music, the tv or text messages, limiting the amount of working memory we will have. Working memory can be enhanced by focusing and connecting information you already know that is relevant to what you are learning, then storing that information with the previous learned information. The retrieval of well-learned information from long-term memory and the connection of new information is a good way to move information from working to long-term memory.
20 minute pick-me-ups
It happens to the best of us. We study for what seems like an eternity and eventually find ourselves staring at a page or screen, no longer processing information. Your brain is telling you it’s had enough. Our brain doesn’t like to be forced to learn too much, too fast. Psychologists have discovered that our pupils dilate when we push our brain to learn. This means, for more reasons than one, that learning takes energy. To rejuvenate yourself, consider working out for 20 minutes. Psychologists have proven that exercise can boost memory and brain power. Not only does aerobic exercise make more oxygen pump to the brain and release hormones, research from UCLAshowed that exercise also increases growth factors in the brain—making it easier for the brain to grow new neuronal pathways. In fact, Dr. Chuck Hillman of the University of Illinois showed evidence that about 20 minutes of exercise before an exam can improve performance.
The debate: writing vs. typing
In the digital age we live, finding laptops in the classroom is the norm. Many students have moved from note-taking with pen and paper to typing their lecture notes. This could be a bad choice if your goal is to effectively retain information. Writing stimulates cells at the base of our brain called the reticular activating system (RAS). The RAS acts as a filter for what your brain needs to process, giving importance to what you are focusing on at the moment, such as writing. When the RAS is triggered through writing it sends a message to your brain to pay particular attention to information you are feeding it. The same can not be proven for typing. A University of California study found that of two groups of students asked to listen to the same lecture, the group that had to write their notes not only tested better on their ability to remember the ideas in the lecture, but they retained the information far better a week later. The study suggests that movements involved with handwriting require a motor memory and more neural pathways in the brain to recognize and connect letters, which is absent when typing.
Laughter and smiles aren’t just for fun
Gamma is the highest brain frequency and the only frequency found in every part of the brain. A Loma Linda University study found that humor associated with laughter creates gamma-band oscillations. Since gamma frequency reaches all parts of the brain, this means that humor actually engages the entire brain. As well, laughter involves the part of the brain that associates with pleasure, so mixing laughter with learning creates a more enjoyable experience. Laughter also reduces mental tension and increases energy, which increases your ability to focus. And even if you aren’t laughing, the facial-feedback theory says that a smile can also increase your performance. Your brain is constantly monitoring your posture and movements, including your facial expressions. Faking a smile can trick your brain into thinking you are happy, which then stimulates your body to respond as such. Try it. Stick a pencil between your teeth and make yourself grin. It forces your face to mimic a genuine smile, recruiting the muscles of the mouth, cheeks, and eyes that respond when you are happy.
