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Colleagues,
The brain is a fascinating organ. Barbara Strauch, the New York Times health editor, wrote an essay recently that reflected on some of the ways we might "jiggle our synapses." Excerpts of this short article are below. To read the full article, click here.
"I LOVE reading history, and the shelves in my living room are lined with fat, fact-filled books. There's "The Hemingses of Monticello," about the family of Thomas Jefferson's slave mistress; there's "House of Cards," about the fall of Bear Stearns; there's "Titan," about John D. Rockefeller Sr.
The problem is, as much as I've enjoyed these books, I don't really remember reading any of them. Certainly I know the main points. But didn't I, after underlining all those interesting parts, retain anything else? It's maddening and, sorry to say, not all that unusual for a brain at middle age: I don't just forget whole books, but movies I just saw, breakfasts I just ate, and the names, oh, the names are awful. Who are you?
Given all this, the question arises, can an old brain learn, and then remember what it learns? Put another way, is this a brain that should be in school?
Educators say that, for adults, one way to nudge neurons in the right direction is to challenge the very assumptions they have worked so hard to accumulate while young. With a brain already full of well-connected pathways, adult learners should "jiggle their synapses a bit" by confronting thoughts that are contrary to their own, says Dr. Taylor, who is 66.
"As adults we have these well-trodden paths in our synapses," Dr. Taylor says. "We have to crack the cognitive egg and scramble it up. And if you learn something this way, when you think of it again you'll have an overlay of complexity you didn't have before - and help your brain keep developing as well."
Dr. Mezirow developed this concept 30 years ago after he studied women who had gone back to school. The women took this bold step only after having many conversations that helped them "challenge their own ingrained perceptions of that time when women could not do what men could do."
According to the author, Barbara Strauch, this in less about crossword puzzles and more about forcing your brain to rearrange itself, turn things upside down, debate an opposite viewpoint, acquire novel experiences and training. Essentially, forcing your brain to forge otherwise nonexistent connections.
Consider passing the article on to staff and residents at an opportune time, if it makes sense to.
In good health,
Neil Beresin 
Program Manager, COLLAGE, The Art & Science of Healthy Aging
Web: twitter.com/collageaging
COLLAGE is An Integrated Assessment Tool and Person-Centered Process to Advance Healthy Aging and Improve Outcomes |
