Shaun M. Eack, Ph.D.,
University of Pittsburgh
[Pitt Magazine, Fall
2013]
So there is significant “plasticity” in the brain beyond
early development! Wow!
But note that plasticity goes both ways:
Atrophy is what happens when the
brain is not used – or when abused.
Growth of new brain tissue requires that we exercise whatever we’ve got.
And, while IQ may not be elevated by a large margin with CET
or other interventions (yet to be fully explored), cognitive functions like attention, memory, situational behavior,
problem solving and communication appear to be significantly
expandable – enough so to move one from unemployable to employable … from
under-performing to performing competently … perhaps even from un-promotable to
promotable …
How do we make that happen at street level … for those of us
who have not yet been officially diagnosed with our own personal malady of the
mind (which we almost certainly do have)?
I’ve got an increasingly compelling hunch that moderate
stress – think of it as “Brain Stretching” – can be a positive contributing factor;
viz., problem-solving. In a recent
article “What’s Right with the Autistic
Mind” [Time, October 7, 2013, pp. 57-59], Temple Grandin and Richard Panek make
the point that the management of autism-spectrum disorders has historically –
and errantly – focused on understanding and compensating for cognitive problems in afflicted individuals. They argue that more focus should be applied
to identifying and fostering strengths. A core part of the discussion is the fact
that more than a few individuals with such handicaps rise to stardom once they
find an appropriate “strength” to pursue.
(What color is YOUR parachute?) However,
buried in the discussion is the fact that – whether driven by strengths or
deficits – all such individuals struggle throughout life to understand
and make sense of the world around them.
And most of them do … eventually.
Based on results to date, one might conjecture that – up to a point – the
more challenging the struggle and tighter the focus, the more likely a
successful outcome.
NOTE 1: Early human neurologic development is underscored by
a constant struggle to understand (and influence) the world at large. And the discordance of teenage years is coincident
with one of the most fluid brain “wiring” periods. (Perhaps there are a lot of missed
opportunities here?)
NOTE 2: Research on Alzheimer’s Disease has produced a
growing body of data indicating the value of mental gymnastics in forestalling
the now not-so-inevitable decrements associated with the untended elderly.
NOTE 3: Research on victims of brain trauma, including
strokes, shows that substantial recovery of “normal” function can be achieved
with herculean effort.
So it looks like the struggle is so very important. Most of us stop struggling to understand the
world after we’ve mastered the refrigerator, remote control, smart phone and
Facebook. Then there’s Stephen Hawking
who struggles to understand the universe.
(What “universe” are you trafficking in?)
Whether it’s growth of new cells or new wiring connections,
the effort to “lay down new tracks” in the brain can’t be underestimated. Plowing new ground makes the entire garden
more fertile. An important caveat is
that, whereas following the same tracks builds memory, it can also build ruts …
like habits and addictions.
A benchmark key to success is guided or focused “Vectoring” –
the art of pointing ourselves and our compasses forward and upward: Toward what
strength or goal is the effort targeted and with what amount of intentionality/commitment/mentoring/coaching? It’s no surprise that the most successful
autistic-spectrum individuals KNOW where they want to go and have had intensive
help along the way – including a great deal of self-help. Structure and disciplined effort in understanding
the world, along with “what makes us tick”, seems to be critically
important.
One can’t help wonder – on the flip side – what kinds of
things affecting brain plasticity might be negative influences, i.e., interfering
with “normal” or “exceptional” brain development. In particular, how do drugs, nutrition, video
games, television viewing, texting and tweeting … etc., influence directional
vectoring of brain malleability? Here’s a
sobering reflection:
“How does a child of fourteen, who
has never shot a handgun before, acquire the expertise to fire eight shots and
get eight hits on eight different kids [Heath High School, West Paducah, KY,
1997]? ‘Nowhere in the annals of law
enforcement or military or criminal history can we find an equivalent
achievement.’ … in fact, Michael Carneal
had practiced killing literally thousands of people. His simulators were point-and-shoot video
games that he played for hours and hours in video arcades and in the comfort of
his own home.” [Dave Grossman and Gloria
DeGaetano “Stop Teaching Our Kids to Kill”
referenced in “Reclaiming Virtue” by
John Bradshaw.]
We can “Train the Brain” to do wonderful, woeful, or wicked
things. Without guidance – worse, with
conniving willful defiance – the brain will wander all over the map in search of
maximum hedonistic, sensational pleasure and will develop a darkness that light
cannot penetrate.
SOBERING FACT: All the GAINS in brain function are reversible, but a sorry number of LOSSES are not. And “making up” for reversible losses is extraordinarily difficult. That’s why we push!
Which direction is your
brain going? Is it sitting idle? Is it getting s-t-r-e-t-c-h-e-d? Who’s driving the development of your brain? Vices or virtues? Drugs and indulgences? Advertizing/marketing? Tribal customs? Political pundits? Those of us not yet dead need to keep the
pressure on for heightened, enlightened empowerment in seeing, understanding
and contributing to a better world.
Quartermaster
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