Effect of Learning on the Brain

As a current graduate student, didactic learning is what I do every day. I’m fortunate to be a student who has been in school every year since Kindergarten. I never had a gap year or break - I’ve always loved learning, I honestly don’t know what I’m going to do when I’m done with school in two years. Don’t get me wrong, I am VERY excited for that day when I have no more homework, exams, studying, etc. to do. But, on the flip side, I love learning like I have been. College is so fun (if you’re currently in high school, it gets better). 

Yes, learning provides us with more knowledge, but it also affects the structure and function of our brains! To preface, dendrites in the brain receive communication from other cells. When we learn, the functional circuitry used to process and remember the learning event is changed. When you learn something, these little changes form dendritic spines (like little blebs). The number of spines and their size depends on the memory and learning formation (Klemm, 2020). So, consider these spines as where the information goes, for simplicity’s sake. The change provides the opportunity to remember the information later and respond to similar events in the future. For example, we have all learned how to ride a bike. Every time I get on a bike nowadays, I don’t have to relearn. Those spines are still there. I also don’t have to completely relearn every time I ride a different kind of bike. Those existing spines help me adapt to the “new environment” (Klemm, 2020). 

Along with this, when we are first learning something, the most active parts of the brain are the ones that allow us to pay attention. However, when you become used to a task, the parts of the brain that are connected to spacing out or mind wandering are used. This may sound like a bad thing, but there are some tasks that are better done if you aren’t hyper focused on them. For example, if a musician had to stop and think every time they played a note, this could interrupt their beautiful performance. They wouldn’t be able to get “in the zone” (Stevens, 2014). 

When we don’t have that mental stimulation, these dendritic spines actually degenerate. Our brain shrinks! We see this in the aging brain most often. Therefore, it is key to keep up that mental stimulation throughout our entire lives, that way we can continue forming these spines (Klemm, 2020).

So, how can we continue learning throughout our lives? Keep reading! This means pleasure reading but also quality reading (ex: articles). Listen to podcasts about subjects you don’t know about. Watch educational documentaries or series. Keep doing the things you love so you don’t lose those spines. Are you a writer? Don’t stop writing. Do you like to dance? Keep dancing and learn a new form of dance even. Let’s continue stimulating our brains throughout our entire lives, forming dendritic spines and lessening brain shrinkage! 

References: 

Klemm, W. R. (2020). How Does Learning Change the Brain? Psychology Today. Retrieved from https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/memory-medic/202001/how-does-learning-change-the-brain. 

Stevens, A. P. (2014). Learning Rewires the Brain. Science News for Students. Retrieved from https://www.sciencenewsforstudents.org/article/learning-rewires-brain. 

Challenges/Points:

• Learning new things creates dendritic spines in our brains, which can eventually degenerate if not used anymore.

• Continual mental stimulation throughout our whole lives is the way to avoid dendritic spine degeneration and brain shrinkage. 

• Learn something new this week - listen to a podcast about a new topic, watch a documentary, or try a new creative project. 

Questions:

• What surprises you most about how our brains react to learning?

• If you’re in school, do you enjoy learning? If you’re out of school, do you do things in your daily life to keep learning?

• What can you do to keep forming those dendritic spines this week?  

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