Comments on: The brain and learning, 3 http://grace-ed.org/blog/archives/1492 Christian Education, Leadership, and Misc. Wed, 23 Nov 2011 14:16:36 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Israel Galindo http://grace-ed.org/blog/archives/1492/comment-page-1#comment-12302 Israel Galindo Tue, 05 May 2009 01:16:59 +0000 http://grace-ed.org/blog/?p=1492#comment-12302 Thanks, Corey. What you describe sounds congruent to what I've read. But more fascinating are the studies that demonstrate that there's less separation between the physical and neural than we may believe. When people "practice" physical activities by going through the motions in their mind, the same areas of the brain are rehearse and re-wired and re-inforced. Atheletes have used this technique for ages, rehearsing a perfect shot, pitch, jump, etc., in their head over and over. It gives a whole new meaning to my response "I'm thinking of working out," when my wife asks when I'm going to get off the recliner and put down the book! Thanks, Corey. What you describe sounds congruent to what I’ve read. But more fascinating are the studies that demonstrate that there’s less separation between the physical and neural than we may believe. When people “practice” physical activities by going through the motions in their mind, the same areas of the brain are rehearse and re-wired and re-inforced. Atheletes have used this technique for ages, rehearsing a perfect shot, pitch, jump, etc., in their head over and over.

It gives a whole new meaning to my response “I’m thinking of working out,” when my wife asks when I’m going to get off the recliner and put down the book!

]]> By: Corey http://grace-ed.org/blog/archives/1492/comment-page-1#comment-12297 Corey Sun, 03 May 2009 03:19:40 +0000 http://grace-ed.org/blog/?p=1492#comment-12297 Dr. Galindo, I've enjoyed these blogs. Very interesting. I know it's a completely different area of brain science, but I read an article in a science journal about how they recently discovered that the brain "rewires" itself in response to how we use it most often. Neurologists originally thought that the functional map of the brain remained static. And this has been seen in both areas of psychology and physiology in terms of the brain map. For example (and I won't explain this well), if a person consistently does more study, reading, writing, etc. than they do physical activity, some of the parts of the brain that control physical activity are rewired for cognitive pursuits (thus explaining why intellectuals tend to be non-athletic and vice versa). It's also provided some fascinating breakthroughs in things like the "phantom limb" phenomenon in amputees. They've found brain remapping where the area known in most people to control the arm now controls other muscles after an amputation. So, the saying really is true: "Use it, or lose it." Anyway, I was just wondering if you had heard that research. It's fascinating, and might even have a bearing on the learning stuff that you talk about here. Dr. Galindo,

I’ve enjoyed these blogs. Very interesting.

I know it’s a completely different area of brain science, but I read an article in a science journal about how they recently discovered that the brain “rewires” itself in response to how we use it most often. Neurologists originally thought that the functional map of the brain remained static. And this has been seen in both areas of psychology and physiology in terms of the brain map. For example (and I won’t explain this well), if a person consistently does more study, reading, writing, etc. than they do physical activity, some of the parts of the brain that control physical activity are rewired for cognitive pursuits (thus explaining why intellectuals tend to be non-athletic and vice versa). It’s also provided some fascinating breakthroughs in things like the “phantom limb” phenomenon in amputees. They’ve found brain remapping where the area known in most people to control the arm now controls other muscles after an amputation. So, the saying really is true: “Use it, or lose it.”

Anyway, I was just wondering if you had heard that research. It’s fascinating, and might even have a bearing on the learning stuff that you talk about here.

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