Understanding the Brain

The human cortex of the brain has 30 billion neurons capable of making 1 million billion synaptic connections. The number of possible neural circuits would be 10 followed by at least a million zeros. To put this into a context the number of particles in the known universe is estimated to be only 10 followed by 79 zeros.

These staggering numbers explain why the human brain can be described as the most complex known object in the universe.

 

Up until the discovery of neuroplasticity, scientists believed that the only way the brain could change structure was through thousands of years of evolution with new brain structures developing as a result of ‘survival value’ genetic mutations being passed on to the next generation.  Plasticity creates a new way of introducing new biological brain structures in individuals without having to wait thousands of years for genetic mutations to arise. This is proved every time a parent reads to their children. When a parent reads, the microscopic structure of their brain is changed. Reading to children teaches children to read and reading changes the biological structure of the child’s brain too.

 

One of biggest influences on the plastic nature of the human brain over the last 50 years has been television. A recent study of more than 26 hundred toddlers has revealed that early exposure to TV between the ages of 1 and 3 years correlates with problems paying attention and controlling impulses later in childhood. It was about 20 years after the spread of TV that teachers started to notice that their students had become more restless and had difficulty concentrating. On a positive note TV has also enabled us to gain knowledge, awareness and learn without having to leave our armchairs. Brain science has also revealed that the same ‘mirror neurons’ in the brain that are active when we carry out an activity, are also stimulated when we watch an activity being carried out. You only have to look at how quickly young children can copy something so easily and quickly that they’ve seen. Watch this Youtube clip which demonstrates this perfectly:

Reading, television, video games, modern electronics, contemporary music and the internet are all massively remodelling the human brain through exposure and from the fact that we can spend millions of ‘practice’ events, that the average human a thousand years ago had no exposure to. ‘Practice’ events create new neural connections in a brain capable of creating a million billion connections. Thanks to the advances in brain mapping and neuroplasticity it is now possible for anyone to rewire their brain in order to achieve a more successful life in terms of health, relationships and careers.

How likely is it that someone can change brain types?
The truth is that people can adapt the way they use the brain and the brain is adaptable. Neuroscience and brain scanning in particular shows clearly that the brain continues to learn throughout life. The new field of ‘neuroplasticity’ has now replaced the old view that the brain was fixed in childhood. However, in order to change the way our brain’s are wired we need to believe that it’s possible. Many people have been using their brain the same way for some time and like the body if we over utilise and under utilise different bits we gain strength in some areas and weaknesses in others. The brain is just the same. So the answer to your question is, it’s more likely to change in someone who is convinced that it will change and is dedicated to learning new ways of thinking and behaving and practising them until they become second nature.
What instigates a change?
The claim that we only use 2% of the brain’s capacity is misleading. We actually have access to all of our brain and so each of the brain types I describe can be utilised for different situations. Unfortunately for most people, ‘life experience’ moulds the way we think and then the way we consistently think wires the brain into habitual thoughts (our beliefs about ourself and the world). We are also defined to a degree by our genes and the latest research suggests that we inherit ways of using the brain based on how our parents and possibly our grandparents experienced the world. The latest debate on ‘nature vs nurture’ has revealed that it’s more likely that our ‘nature’ develops via how we are ‘nurtured’. In other words, we are born with certain genetic potential which can be triggered by our environment and our perception of our environment. So highly emotional ‘life-events’ for example bereavement, loss of job, divorce, mid-life crisis and imprisonment can trigger changes. Also, intellectual ‘life-events’ such a
s extensive travel, exposure to different cultures, career paths, professional and personal development also stimulates changes to how our brain’s are wired.
My approach, and the quickest way is to use the emotional brain (Hunter/Gatherer) to motivate new learning in the intellectual brain (Expert/Performer) so that all areas learn to ‘collaborate’ rather than ‘conflict’ with each other. Using training and coaching I work with individuals, groups and organisations helping them firstly understand their brain(s) and how fear leads to ‘Conflict’ andconfidence leads to ‘collaboration’. Success comes down to how committed and actively involved people get in the process. Just like everything else in life!