Learning as Biological Brain Change
This is a summary of the article, "Learning as Biological Brain Change", by Robert Leamnson. It describes dramatic developments in the activity of the brain through the biological process as it relates to learning and remembering. Leamnson raises the idea of new developments in brain research and learning that are rapidly advancing our conceptualization of the human brain (2). According to the author, the brain is powerfully shaped by genetics, development and experience that actively shape the nature of our memory, and culture in which we live (3). Leamnson states, "brain and behavior research both suggest that things we remember are reconstructed in the brain at the instant of remembering, and then reconstructed again at each subsequent remembering" (1). Memory is an essential element of learning. Learning physically changes the brain. There is no one area of the brain that is solely responsible for memory. Leamnson suggests, that memories are well distributed throughout the structure of the brain. Areas of the brain vary dramatically in their flexibility and their capability to create long-term memories (6). Leamnson goes on to refer to another author's study about the wiring of the brain. John Searle, proposed the
What happens when we learn? Leamnson answers this question by explaining, while the process of learning involves the whole body, the brain acts as a way station for incoming stimuli. All sensory input gets sorted, prioritized, processed, stored, or dumped on a subconscious level as it is processed by the brain. The mature human brain is comprised of billions of neurons, which interact and create elaborate networks that communicate through neurotransmitters. Neurons that communicate at contact are called synapses (3). "The more times a synapse passes a signal, the larger it grows, and the more securely it links the two cells. The number of synaptic connections between the cells may increase as well. It is literally a case of use it or lose it" (3). The creation of neural networks and synapses are what constitutes learning. Leamnson, Robert. "Learning as Biological Brain Change." Change November-December 2000, vol.32., issue 6. idea that a blueprint of the brain's wiring does not exist, and the paths that signals take to generate a memory is not known (3). With new research developments, a greater sense understanding of how the brain creates and retrieves memories, how emotions effect rational and ethnical decision making, and how the brain is influenced by aging can be determined by the brain structure and function (2). Leamnson identifies this by stating, to remember one needs to reflect on new information and relate it to what is already known (4). Leamnson explains while brain connections are vulnerable to aging, neural networks have the potential to grow more sophisticated as we age, making the brain more responsive. The human brain increases in mass several-fold between birth and adulthood. The dendrite
Some common words found in the essay are:
According Leamnson, Robert Leamnson, John Searle, Change November-December, human brain, learning biological brain, Brain Change, Personal Commentary, biological brain change, Learning Biological, brain change, neural networks, biological brain, learning biological, , Biological Brain, Change Robert, varying functions capabilities, leamnson brain, brain brain, connections cells, according author, insight varying functions, leamnson identifies, change robert leamnson,
Approximate Word count = 1172
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)
|
