Learning Process in the Adult Brain

           "Guitar Zero” by Gary Marcus is an exciting story of the case study performed personally by the author of the book who wants to find out what is the capacity of adults to learn new skills, particularly a skill to play guitar. He suggests that there are few studies devoted to understanding of how adults learn music, whereas there are tons of studies dedicated to the same process but in children. The reason for the small amount of literature on learning mechanism in the adulthood is the lack of subjects. Adults have their responsibilities related to their jobs, family lives and they would not have time to take music lessons, for example so scientists could observe changes taking place in their brains. For that reason, Gary Marcus decides to become a subject for his own experiment. The fact that his personal mission got accomplished proves that adults are capable of learning new skills. There are also recent studies dedicated to plasticity in the adult brain.
        “Learning Mechanism of the Adult Brain Revealed” is research news that focuses on the study done in Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience. The study touches the issue of adult’s brain capacity to learn new skills. It uses the phrase “they say you cannot teach an old dog new trick”. This phrase has been used in the “Guitar Zero “as well. What they mean is that once the critical period has passed, there is no chance of learning any complex skills because the so called “time window” shuts. However, the study suggests that the adult brain is still capable of responding to the lessons of experience, thus forming and/or strengthening neural connections. The fact that our brains are plastic (able to be structurally/functionally changed due to dynamic rewiring between neurons) opens up the door for those who still did not make their dreams come true and hesitate to learn something because they think they are too old. Learning mechanism of the adult brain has been revealed in the Dutch recent study, which might turn beneficial in the treatment of neurodevelopmental disorders. The ability to learn could be briefly explained in the following manner. There is a constant communication between presynaptic terminals and postsynaptic neurons that either excite or inhibit one another at the synapses. The more synapses they form, and the stronger they get, the higher the chance of learning new skills. In order for the neural network to function properly, the excitatory forces have to be regulated by the inhibitive forces. According to Christian Levelt, “The inhibitory synapses ensure an efficient flow of traffic in the brain. If they don’t, the system becomes overloaded, for example as in epilepsy; if they constantly indicate a speed of 20 kilometres an hour, then everything will grind to a halt, for example when an anaesthetic is administered. If you can move the signs to different locations, you can bring about major changes in traffic flows without having to entirely reroute the road network.
       The study has shown that plasticity takes place in the adult brain when forced to learn new skills, and that is good news for scientists interested in finding treatments for neurodevelopmental disorders and those studying the possibilities of neural tissue repair.
       Gary Marcus is a living proof of the plasticity happening not only during the pre/post natal development and early adulthood but in the late adulthood also. He realized that there is less evidence suggesting that in order to learn something you have to learn it early in life. The existence of critical periods in life is undoubted and it is easier to acquire new skills in that particular timeframe but it is not a necessity. When adults devote themselves totally to the desired goal by persistent practice, they exercise their brains, giving themselves a chance to succeed. This not only brings them a feeling of personal satisfaction but also a sense of happiness that is not comparable to anything else.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/04/120426104851.htm

Marcus, Gary F. Guitar Zero: The New Musician and the Science of Learning. New York: Penguin, 2012. Print.