Train Your Brain

In a similar way that one would train to run a marathon, new research indicates that we have the ability to train our brain to become "smarter" at any age. Some people believe that if they are not good at a certain task, then any amount of work or effort they put in to practicing will not make them any better. Gary Marcus, the author of Guitar Zero, decides to test this notion. Being a middle aged adult as well as a cognitive psychologist, Marcus attempts to learn to play the guitar despite his lack of musical aptitude in order to gain a firsthand experience of the brain's capacity to learn new things at any age in life.

In the article Building Better Brains, researchers, like Marcus, also decided to test previous beliefs. More specifically, researchers wished to test previous beliefs surrounding fluid intelligence. This type of intelligence, as described by the article, reflects how well a person is able to tackle a new task. Some generally accepted beliefs regarding fluid intelligence are that fluid intelligence is a fixed attribute and either directly inherited or acquired very early in life. While it is true that it is highly heritable, new research is now showing that there is still room for fluid intelligence to be influenced by the environment. In these researchers' laboratories, various cognitive training activities that exercised working memory (also referred to as short term memory) were explored to determine their effect on fluid intelligence. Previous studies have found that this type of memory system in our brain plays a key role in determining fluid intelligence. More specifically, researchers varied these mental tasks in order to prevent participants from developing strategies, as well as eliminate any influence from practice effects. Data was collected from a group of young adults, and then the same experiment was carried out in a group of participants over the age of 65. Similar data was able to be concluded for each age group tested.

In the experiment relating to Building Better Brains, researchers concluded that these types of mental training exercises did not actually affect the capacity of working memory, but improved the participant's ability to "tune out" distracting information. Brain areas of participants were also viewed using fMRI in order to gain a better understanding of which brain areas were used during these mental tasks. As training progressed, brain regions taxed by working memory became less active and more efficient in their functioning. It was found that the same brain regions are more engaged when at rest. According to the data, this pattern suggests that the brain is left better primed to perform a wide array of tasks.

Marcus figured that as he grew older, his aspirations of becoming musical would only further diminish. Even though Marcus struggled and had to be extremely patient, he was still able to overcome these obstacles. While data shows that children have more variability in fluid intelligence, adults are not as limited as we once thought. As the data in Building Better Brains concludes, adults over the age of 65 are able to effectively tackle new tasks, even if it does take a little longer. Marcus can serve as an example for adults that have always wanted to learn something new, and thought they couldn't. If there is enough aspiration to overcome intrinsic blockades, the brain is able to learn new tasks at any age.

Still, a question remains: Why was this specific attempt by Marcus more successful than his other previous attempts to learn the guitar? From grade school, every attempt that Marcus made in order to become more musical ended up in failure. So, what made this attempt successful? One possible answer could be found by looking to the related article. By using fMRI's while increasing and varying the level of intensity in the cognitive exercises, the important brain regions used during these mental tasks were seen. As training progressed, these brain regions became more effective in their functioning. One possible reason for Marcus' success could be due to the video game, Guitar Hero. By playing this video game before actually learning to play the guitar, it is possible that Marcus could have primed certain areas of his brain critical for working memory and fluid intelligence, thus making this attempt more successful than the previous ones.

As we can see from Marcus' experience, as well as supporting evidence from Building Better Brains, it is possible to prime the brain for a wide array of tasks at any age.




http://www.nature.com/scientificamericanmind/journal/v23/n4/full/scientificamericanmind0912-59.html