Learning & The Brain Notes from 2/10 Conference Lynn Fishman Hellerstein, O.D., FCOVD, FAAO Dr.H@LynnHellerstein.com 303-850-9499

Neuroplasticity Research Our brain is a dynamic system that has the capability of significant growth. Rudraprosad Chakraborty, M.D. J Indian Med Assoc 2007;105(9) Neuroplasticity research Lets you rewire and remodel your rain Judy Willis

Neuroplasticity Research Neuroplasticity research has established, beyond doubt, that instead of being a static cell mass, our brain is actually a dynamic system of neural networks that has the capability of significant growth under favorable circumstances. Rudraprosad Chakraborty, M.D. J Indian Med Assoc 2007;105(9)

Neuroplasticity Research Research shows that adults do, in fact, exhibit neuroplasticity. You can use this innate ability to treat a variety of visual system disorders. Dominick M. Maino, O.D., M.Ed. Review Optometry (1/09)

Neuroplasticity & Visual System Disorders Neuroplasticity as a Proposed Mechanism for the Efficacy of Optometric Vision Therapy and Rehabilitation Huang JC. J Behav Optom 2009;20:96-100 …70% all sensory input fibers to brain is related to vision and visual processing, optometrists can play a major role in the rehabilitation of visually-related deficits

Research - Stress Relaxation response physical and emotional responses to stress can be changed State of deep rest that decreases metabolism, slows the heart beat, relaxes the muscles, slows breathing, reduced BP, increases nitric oxide

Research Stress If practiced-lasting effects Herbert Benson’s Harvard “Relaxation Response” http://www.mbmi.org/basics/whatis.asp

Research Emotions, Mind & Body - Candace Pert PhD Emotions are both energy and matter and are the communication bridge between the mind and body. Suggests the body is the subconscious Emotions and thoughts effect our body, but are not permanently hard- wired

The 2nd Brain Dr. Michael Gerson Chair Anatomy & Physiology Columbia Medical Center 100M Neurons in the gut Esophagus-Anus Gut does much more than digests Impacts emotions & moods

Research - Visualization Same parts of the brain light up on MRI when person looks at an actual object, or if they imagine the same object in their mind Basketball Study Evolve Your Brain: The Science of Changing Your Mind by Dr. Joe Dispenza 2007 “What the Bleep” http://www.drjoedispenza.com

Research - Visualization We can release our emotions and thoughts and rewire our neuro-networks This is how visualization can affect physical/brain changes

Is Vision Therapy Just for Kids? Lots of people have vision problems. Neuro-scientist-professor at Mt. Holyoke-teaches vision Shows theories of vision incorrect-supported by Dr. Oliver Sacks Dr. Susan Barry

12 Brain Rules – John Medina Ph.D. The brain is an amazing thing. Most of us have no idea what’s really going on inside our heads. Yet brain scientists have uncovered details every business leader, parent, and teacher should know. Dr. John Medina- Developmental Molecular Biologist Improve thinking skills- move 2. Don’t have 1 brain in our head- 3. Started with “lizard rain” to keep us breathing, then added a brain like a cat’s, then topped those thie the thin layer of Jell-O known and the cortex-the 3rd and powerful “human brain” No 2 people’s brains store the same information in the same way in the same place- great number of ways of being intelliegnet many of which don’t show up on IQ tests Brain’s attentional “spotlight” can focus on ly one things at a time: no multitasking. Emotional arousal helps the brain learn. The brain has many types of memory systems. The more elaborately we encode a memory during its initial moments, the stronger it will be. Most memories disappear within minutes, but those that survive the fragile period strengthen with time. The way to make long-term memory more reliable i Exercisers outperform couch potatos in long-term memory, reasoning, attention, and problem solving tasks (etting rid of PE at school)s to incorporate new information gradually and repeat it in timed intervals. Powerpoint- seconds to grab someone’s attention and only 10 miins. To keep it. Brain needs a break (stories) Fatigue at 3PM?- brain wants to atake nap. Sleep well Why terrible twos are a child’s powerful urge to explore.

12 Brain Rules Exercise boosts brain power Human brain evolved too Every brain is wired differently We don’t pay attention to boring things Repeat to remember Remember to repeat Improve thinking skills- move 2. Don’t have 1 brain in our head- 3. Started with “lizard rain” to keep us breathing, then added a brain like a cat’s, then topped those thie the thin layer of Jell-O known and the cortex-the 3rd and powerful “human brain” No 2 people’s brains store the same information in the same way in the same place- great number of ways of being intelliegnet many of which don’t show up on IQ tests Brain’s attentional “spotlight” can focus on ly one things at a time: no multitasking. Emotional arousal helps the brain learn. The brain has many types of memory systems. The more elaborately we encode a memory during its initial moments, the stronger it will be. Most memories disappear within minutes, but those that survive the fragile period strengthen with time. The way to make long-term memory more reliable i Exercisers outperform couch potatos in long-term memory, reasoning, attention, and problem solving tasks (etting rid of PE at school)s to incorporate new information gradually and repeat it in timed intervals. Powerpoint- seconds to grab someone’s attention and only 10 miins. To keep it. Brain needs a break (stories) Fatigue at 3PM?- brain wants to atake nap. Sleep well Why terrible twos are a child’s powerful urge to explore.

12 Brain Rules Sleep well, think well Stressed brains don’t learn the same way Stimulate more of the senses VISION trumps all other senses WE SEE WITH OUR BRAINS Male and female brains are different We are powerful natural explorers The brain is in a constant state of tension between cells and chemicals that try to put you to sleep and cells & chemicals that try to keep you awake. People vary in how much sleep they need and when they prefer to get it- biological drive for an afternoon nap is universal. Too much sleep hurts attention, executive function, working memory, mood, quantitative skills, logical reasoning, and motor dexterity. Your body’s defense system- release of adrenaline and cortisol-is build for an immediate response to a serious but passing danger (saber-tootherd tiger). Chronic stress, sucha as hostility at home, dangerously deregulates a system built only to deal with short-term responses. The worst kind of stress is the feeling that you have no control over the problem-you are helpless. Emotional stress has huge impacts across society on children’s ability to learn in school and on employees’ productivity at work. We absorb info about an event through our senses, translate it into electrical signals (some for sight, others from sound, etc), disperse those signals to separate part of the brain, then reconstruct what happened, eventually perceiving the event as a whole. Our senses evolved to work togethrer – vision including hearing, for example0which means that we learn best if we stimulate several senses at once. VISION IS our dominant sense, taking up half of our brain’s resources. What we see is only what our brain tells us we see-its not 100% accurate. We learn and remember best through pictures, not through written or spoken words Men’s & women’s brains are different structurally and biochemically. They respond differently to acute stress: Women activate the left hemisphere’s amygdala and remember the emotional details. Men use the right amygdala and get the gist. Babies are the model of how we learn-not by passive reaction to the environment but by active testing through observation, hypothesism experiement, and conslution.

Brain Research Create an education environment opposed to what the brain is good at Classroom Create a business environment opposed to what the brain is good at doing Cubicle Want to change things? Start over!

Intelligence Is Biology Richard Haier, PhD Brain structure and metabolic efficiency may underlie individual differences in intelligence Imaging research is pinpointing which regions are key players

Intelligence Is Biology Richard Haier, PhD Smart brains work in different way Women and men with same IQ show different underlying brain architectures Individual’s pattern of gray and white matter might underlie his specific cognitive strengths & weaknesses

Intelligence Is Biology Richard Haier, PhD What about new drugs & tools for cognitive enhancement? Scans instead of SAT?

Heredity, Environment, & Race Differences in IQ U. Michigan professor- writes about intelligence and cultural psychology

Heredity, Environment, & Race Differences in IQ Black – white IQ gap is NOT hereditary Adoption and intervention programs produce substantial lasting effects on black IQ At-risk kids- need intervention

Mindset – Robert Brooks

Mindset – Robert Brooks Assumptions & Expectations we have about self and others guide our behavior Strategies are worthless unless you believe in them & yourself

Mindset – Robert Brooks With kids with learning problems, need to change their mindsets Motivating environment: People being cooperative Willing to learn from each other Willing to take risks because they feel safe & secure All parties feel a sense of ownership

Cultivating Emotional Intelligence

Charlotte Reznick, Ph.D

Cultivating Emotional Intelligence Emotions guide cognitive learning Helps kids to build a set of academic “intuitions” about how, when, and why to use their new knowledge

Cultivating Emotional Intelligence 11% increase in standardized testing with Social Emotional Learning Bathing suit study Relaxation

How Your Child Learns Best

How Your Child Learns Best What is the biggest fear of students? Not being liked by the teacher Bad grades Making a mistake in front of the class

How Your Child Learns Best What is the biggest fear of students? Making a mistake in front of the class

How Your Child Learns Best Everything we learn comes to the brain through our senses Brain can’t process billions of bits of info every sec. Equipped with filters to protect from overload & focus on the data most critical for survival.

How Your Child Learns Best Helping your child turn information into KNOWLEDGE RAD Learning = RAS + Amygdala + Dopamine

How Your Child Learns Best RAS – Reticular activating system Located at brain stem (lower back of brain) Receives input from nerves from arms, legs, trunk, neck, face, internal organs Sets the state of arousal alerts brain to change & gets it primed

How Your Child Learns Best Selects for intake the sensory input (info) it “values” for survival or pleasure RAS responsive to novelty, surprise, color, curious events Lectures, drills & worksheets are NOT novel or engaging- don’t power info thru RAS brain filter

How Your Child Learns Best Amygdala – next filter Sensory data passes through brain’s emotional core, limbic system (amygdala & hippocampus) Emotional significance is linked to info Kennedy

How Your Child Learns Best When stress is high, amygdala diverts info to the reflex automatic system, non-thinking reactions (flight/fight) When amygdala is in a safe state and emotions are positive, info is passed on to the memory-making and thinking networks in the brain

How Your Child Learns Best Stress, boredom, frustration or confusion block the flow of info through amygdala to the thinking brain When learning is associated with pleasure, the amygdala “stamps” that info with increased memory impact

How Your Child Learns Best Dopamine – Neurotransmitter Carry info across synapses Released when experience is pleasurable

How Your Child Learns Best Dopamine – Neurotransmitter Elicited through humor, friends, achievement Increases focus, attention and executive function in the frontal lobes

How Your Child Learns Best You need brain-friendly strategies to empower your child to respond to the most useful sensory input from the environment and turn that data into retained knowledge

Dr. Judith Willis “I guide students in activities that help them focus and achieve positive moods to prime themselves for learning. We practice techniques to increase mindfulness.”

Dr. Judith Willis “For example, students learn to do visualizations, deliberately recalling in detail a place where they felt happy, calm, and safe.”

Dr. Judith Willis The more learners practice visualizing their particular calming place, the stronger the neural network holding that memory becomes;

Eventually, the students can easily Dr. Judith Willis Eventually, the students can easily return to that memory whenever they feel stressed.

Dr. Judith Willis Returning to that safe place enables learners to let new information that someone is presenting flow into their thinking brain rather than being filtered out.

Neuroplasticity When the action is repeated, the more dendrites sprout to connect new memories to old ones, stronger the connections become, the more efficient the brain becomes at retrieving that memory or action

How Your Child Learns Best This teaches students how they can change their intelligence by teaching them about their brains I study because I CAN CHANGE MY BRAIN

How Your Child Learns Best http://www.ascd.org/ASCD/pdf/journals/ed_lead/el200912_willis.pdf http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational_leadership/dec09/vol67/num04/How_to_Teach_Students_About_the_Brain.aspx

PERMANENCE Practice Makes Physical change of building, revising or extending neuronal networks in response to stimuli and mental manipulation

Neurons that fire together, Neuroplasticity Neurons that fire together, Wire together

Learning Promotes Learning!