You Are The Sculptor Of Your Brain

There was a time when the idea that your intelligence depended on the genetic equipment with which you came into the world became popular. So, if the genes were on your side, you would become brilliant, even without trying. On the contrary, if the genetic lottery had not favored you, you’d better think of some activity that did not demand too much intellect.

Fortunately, the sciences that study the brain continue to advance. Now we know that this wonderful organ is transformed throughout life. Thus, in the same way that you can modify your body, you can also change the configuration of your brain and modify your mental abilities; of course, within limits, but within wide limits, which in most cases turn the investment into a profitable improvement. 

The plasticity of the brain

The term “plasticity” refers to the brain’s ability to modify and remodel the connections between neurons. It is these circuits that determine intellectual abilities such as association, abstraction, the ability to solve problems and creativity, among others.

The subject began to be studied in depth after some changes were observed in people who had suffered strokes, for different reasons. This had led them to lose different functions. However, as time passed, many of them were able to regain all or part of the lost skills.

This is explained because the brain has a great capacity for adaptation. It is as if he found a closed door and to solve it he invented another way until he reached the same point by another way.

This, of course, does not happen spontaneously. Stimulation processes are required that take advantage of this brain plasticity and generate alternative functions for the different abilities.

Research suggests that the brain changes every time it learns something new. This is applicable both to people who suffer from some limitation, as to those who are in the category of “normal.” This process has also been proven to be truly effective when learning is rewarding.

“Improve” intelligence

There are conditions that allow us to use this brain plasticity to increase the potential of intelligence. For this, perhaps one of the most important pillars is adequate nutrition for the brain. Obvious truth! However, sometimes we forget about it and think that our brain does not benefit from the same forms of care as the rest of the body, when deep down it is made up of cells that are going to feed on what we provide them. At this point, the main thing is to avoid any situation that could lead to hypoglycemia, or low blood sugar. A nutritious breakfast is the best basis for daily mental performance, that the brain has nutrients at all times will allow it to develop its potential and mental fatigue comes later.

It is also important to take into account that the brain is not detached from the rest of the organism and that a new motor learning, for example, affects the development of intelligence. Some researchers at the University of Hamburg verified it with a group of people between 57 and 62 years of age. They were asked to learn juggling. After three months they found that the brain regions associated with learning had evolved. Then they interrupted this activity for another three months and found that the same regions showed deterioration.

Taking on challenges and having new experiences are situations that have a very beneficial effect on the brain. They keep it active and stimulate it to design new circuits between neurons. In other words: they make people smarter.

Hence, it is not an exaggeration to say that each of us is the sculptor of his own brain. This organ will take the form that your effort and your patience want to give it.

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Image courtesy of agsandrew and Nataraj Metz