Reference News Network, September 19 report: The French newspaper Le Figaro recently published an article titled "What Happens in the Brain When We Learn?" by Anne Prulhière. The full text is as follows:
The brain only deteriorates when it is not used. No matter what age you are, if you have real motivation, effort will pay off.
Learning is undoubtedly one of humanity's greatest abilities. "We are not only Homo sapiens, but also Homo educans (a species capable of self-education - note from this site). We learn from each other through social interactions, and the speed and efficiency of our learning are hard to match even by the most advanced artificial intelligence algorithms," wrote neuroscientist Stanislas Dehaene, who specializes in cognitive psychology, in his book "The Mind's Idea." It is precisely because we are more skilled and faster at discovering the mysteries of the world than any other species that we have conquered the world. Now, in a world where technological revolutions are accelerating and artificial intelligence tries to replace the human brain, learning is more necessary than ever.
Learning at Any Age
No matter your age, you need to learn. "Our society not only needs children, but also adults who know how to learn. This is a social issue. Adaptability is key to understanding the changes we experience. Poor adaptation can lead to negative consequences—economically, as well as in terms of physical and mental health," said Pierre-Marie Lledo, director of the Neuroscience Department at the Pasteur Institute and research director at the French National Center for Scientific Research. For example, if you are 50 and already speak multiple languages, learning a new language won't be too difficult. On the contrary, if your memory of foreign languages is still stuck in high school, you'll need more time to learn, and the results may not meet your expectations.
But should we give up just because we're older and learning is slow and laborious? Lledo said, "Indeed, any learning requires effort from the brain. But when the learning is meaningful—that is, related to our dreams and desires—the difficulty is reduced, and we find it easier to grasp information that is useful to us."
Whether it's learning Japanese for a planned trip to Japan, learning home renovation for your dream house, or practicing golf with a new partner, you shouldn't hesitate. Grégoire Borst, professor of developmental psychology and educational cognitive neuroscience at Paris University, added: "It is certain that motivation is the main driving force behind our persistence."
Magnetic resonance imaging can observe changes in the brain during learning. Learners should know that this "plasticity" of the brain weakens with age. However, this stabilization may not be bad. Borst said that a highly plastic brain is especially sensitive to the environment, and stress, diet, and toxins have a greater impact on the developing brain. A more mature and fixed brain is less sensitive to environmental disturbances. In addition, the stabilization of the brain helps in long-term retention of learned content. Of course, the cost is that our learning speed becomes much slower.
"What changes is flexibility, especially in a mature brain. That is, you can perform well in areas where you have experience and continue to acquire new skills. But if you are asked to change your way of thinking, change your worldview, or learn entirely new knowledge, it becomes much more difficult," Borst said.
How Should We Learn?
After having motivation, how should we learn? Cognitive science has identified several factors that influence the success of learning. First is attention, which is the process of focusing and filtering surrounding information. "To learn well, we need to allocate some attention and cognitive resources to learning," explained Borst. But we must realize that our attention is easily distracted! In this highly connected world, there are plenty of distractions that make it easy to lose focus.
For example, when learning Japanese before going to Japan, it's best not to keep your phone nearby. Frédéric Eustache, director of research at the French Higher School of Practical Studies and a neuropsychologist, warned: "As we age, memory related to attention also declines. When multitasking, these attention problems become even worse."
Now let's look at our Japanese learner. After learning the Japanese characters, we need to remember them and recognize them at a glance. At first, this isn't easy. Because like all initial stages, we need to consciously process all the information, and sometimes we feel overwhelmed. To get the brain to automatically recognize Japanese, musical notes, or tango steps, we need to consolidate the knowledge we've learned. Borst said: "If you want to remember information for a long time, you must review it regularly, and the intervals between reviews can gradually be extended."
If you occasionally need to check your phone to confirm the information, don't worry—it's actually re-encoding the information, which is equivalent to remembering it again. "The real problem is that people think since information is always accessible via electronic devices, there's no need to memorize it in the brain anymore." This issue should be guarded against throughout the learning process at all ages in life. (Translated by Zhao Ke Xin)
Original: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7551707163371078182/
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