department or unit 12 pt “current brain research related to teaching & learning” dana...

Department or unit 12 pt

“Current brain research related to teaching & learning”

Dana Merriman, Professor of Biology

Teaching: Human Phys 212, Neurobio 306, Bio of Gender 310

Research: Retina & optic nerve response to injury

STUDI Course, August 2012


What does your speaker (an eyeball specialist) know about the neuroscience of learning?


Teach basic mechanisms (neuron structure/function + memory pathways) twice a year

Teach neuroscience each spring; learning unit included Prepublication reviewer of “Cellular and molecular

mechanisms underlying learning and memory impairments produced by cannabinoids” (Sullivan, 2000)

Taught BBE workshop at Christa McAuliffe Academy for K-12 teachers in 2005

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Four selected neuroscience principles behind Brain-Based Education

1. Brain structure & function are shaped by environment & experience, not just by genes.

“Epigenetics” is one mechanism for this.

2. Brains are “plastic”, rather than “hard-wired”. They are “changing all the time”. Educational strategies can influence that change.

3. When a brain learns, neurons synthesize new structures.

So long as they have accurate instructions (genes), the necessary building materials (nutrition), and sufficient energy (nutrition) to do so.

4. Certain kinds of stress impair learning, as do certain drugs.

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Four selected neuroscience principles behind Brain-Based Education

1. Brain structure & function are shaped by environment & experience, not just by genes.

“Epigenetics” is one mechanism for this.

2. Brains are “plastic”, rather than “hard-wired”. They are “changing all the time”. Educational strategies can influence that change.

3. When a brain learns, neurons synthesize new structures.

So long as they have accurate instructions (genes), the necessary building materials (nutrition), and sufficient energy (nutrition) to do so.

4. Certain kinds of stress impair learning, as do certain drugs. 4



Not new.Plasticity demonstrated 1940s, mainstream 1970s.

Not global or profound. Brain isn’t rebuilt from scratch each day.

Not consistent.Some life stages are more plastic than others.Some brain parts are more plastic than others.Very likely there are inter-individual differences.

COMMON MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT PLASTICITY

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What IS plasticity?Just HOW do brains “change”?

1.Number of neurons (↑ via “neurogenesis”)2.Number of synapses between neurons3.Connection pattern of synapses between neurons

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What IS plasticity?Just HOW do brains “change”?

1.Number of neurons (↑ through “neurogenesis”)2.Number of synapses between neurons3.Connection pattern of synapses between neurons 4.Strength of individual synapses between neurons

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To SOME extent, cortical brain maps are plastic

FINGERTIP TOUCH

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FINGERTIP TOUCH

VISION

SIGHTED PERSON

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FINGERTIP TOUCH

FINGERTIP TOUCH

BLIND PERSON TAUGHT BRAILLE

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FINGERTIP TOUCH

FINGERTIP TOUCH

SIGHTED PERSON WHO, FOR A FEW DAYS, IS BLINDFOLDED AND TAUGHT BRAILLE…

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FINGERTIP TOUCH

VISION

…A FEW HOURS AFTER REMOVING BLINDFOLD

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Embryonic plasticity can compensate for profound brain volume deficiency

2009 case study: A German girl was discovered at age 3 years to have been born with only one brain hemisphere. Now 10 years, she “has normal psychological function and is perfectly capable of living a normal and fulfilling life. She is witty, charming and intelligent.'"

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IMPORTANCE OF CORTICAL PLASTICITY TO LEARNING

Gray matter “thinking cap” of neuron nuclei & synapses Hippocampus (memory consolidation & short term

storage) Olfactory cortex (odor learning) Neocortex; mammals only (sensation, perception, long

term storage) Sensory cortex: baseline sensation Motor cortex: motor commands Association cortex: perception/awareness, higher

mentation, memory storage

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1. The human brain can and does grow new neurons. Many survive and become functional. We now know that new neurons are highly correlated with memory, mood, and learning. Of interest to educators is that this process can be regulated by our everyday behaviors. Specifically, it can be enhanced by exercise, lower levels of stress, and good nutrition. Schools can and should influence these variables. This discovery came straight from neuroscientists Gerd Kempermann and Fred Gage.6

(2008) Neuroplasticity: a fresh look at brain based education. http://www.fasa.net/upload_documents/NEUROPLASTICITY10.29.pdf STUDI Course, August 2012

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http://www.fasa.net/upload_documents/NEUROPLASTICITY10.29.pdf

http://www.fasa.net/upload_documents/NEUROPLASTICITY10.29.pdf



After birth and throughout life, the brain grows new neurons.

• Demonstrated in rodents & birds in 1962, 1977, 1983. • Olfactory cortex (SVZ); related to odor learning?• Hippocampus (SGZ); related to other learning?

• Disregarded for years because not found in monkeys.• Re-demonstrated in rodents, then monkeys, in 1990s.• Demonstrated in humans with terminal cancer in 1998. Agreed.

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Highly correlated with learning: Plasticity occurs in the Hippocampus & Association cortex

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Correlation, yes… but causation?

LearningNeurogenesis ?


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(2010) New neurons and new memories: how does adult hippocampal neurogenesis affect learning and memory? http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20354534

“…whether increased neurogenesis is responsible for cognitive improvement remains to be tested...”

“…studies that directly investigated the effect of depletion of adult-born DGCs on an animal’s cognitive ability have generated inconsistent results.”

Study employed rodents and predictive computer models

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http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20354534


LearningNeurogenesis


IF

THEN

BUT IT DOESN’T CONSISTENTLY INTERFERE WITH LEARNING, SO….???

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(2012) The age of olfactory bulb neurons in humans. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22632721

“…that there is very limited, if any, postnatal neurogenesis in the human olfactory bulb. This identifies a fundamental difference in the plasticity of the human brain compared to other mammals...”

Study examined humans exposed to radioactivity from nuclear bomb tests

SO, IT’S RISKY EXTRAPOLATING FROM RATS TO HUMANS, WHEN IT COMES TO NEUROGENESIS… Yeah, but that’s the OLFACTORY part, not the HIPPOCAMPAL part… 21




(2012) Neurogenesis and progenitor cells in the adult human brain: A comparison between hippocampal and subventricular progenitor proliferation. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22539366

Abundant “parent” cells in hippocampus/SGZ

Robust post-injury neurogenesis, compared to olfactory/SVZ

Few “parent” cells in hippocampus/SGZ

Minimal post-injury neurogenesis, compared to olfactory/SVZ

SO, IN THE HIPPOCAMPAL PART, RATS AND HUMANS EXHIBIT SIGNIFICANT CONTRASTS WHEN IT COMES TO NEUROGENESIS…

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(2012) The social environment and neurogenesis in the adult mammalian brain. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22586385

“As experimentally manipulating the social environment to examine its effects on adult neurogenesis in the human brain is impossible, the majority of studies examining alterations of adult neurogenesis in humans have focused on comparisons between healthy people and those with neurodegenerative diseases (Sierra et al., 2011).”

Why? Because BBE often touts “prosocial” teaching strategies.


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What is wrong with neuroscience????

Can’t do definitive experiments on humans, except for those who are SO sick, they are desperate Animal studies may not be applicable Sick human studies may not be applicable

Everyone’s chasing the big bucks: medicine “Translational research”

“Entrepreneurs” exploit the notion that “neuroscience is too hard and/or moves too fast” for educators to keep up “So buy our BBE product instead!”


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Case in point: Brain Gym®

http://www.braingym.org/ Widely adopted in British schools

Scotland spent at least US$200,000 on it Support for the method comes from “countless

anecdotal stories reported to us since 1986” Their proprietary yawn that “promotes oxidation”

of the brain Their Brain Buttons® exercise that “promotes

blood flow to the brain”


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http://www.braingym.org/


What is wrong with neuroscience????

Can’t do definitive experiments on humans, except for those who are SO sick, they are desperate

Everyone’s chasing the big bucks: medicine “Entrepreneurs” exploit the notion that

“neuroscience is too hard and/or moves too fast” for educators to keep up “So buy our BBE product instead!”

And nothing sells like “neuro”!


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Neurowater® family of “functional beverages”


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Where excellence and opportunity meet.™

One final dollop of neuro-skepticism…

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Not demonstrated, and very possibly not true.

Quality of the evidence is SO bad that I refuse to teach brain differences in my Biology of Gender course.

Delusions of Gender by Cordelia Fine

Brainstorm: The Flaws in the Science of Sex Differences by Rebecca Jordan-Young

“New neuroscience evidence proves that boys and girls learn differently.”

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Where excellence and opportunity meet.™

Thank you!Happy to take questions.

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http://www.jensenlearning.com/critics.php

“…has made over 45 visits to neuroscience labs…”

“…is working on his PhD in Human Development…”

“…a current member of the Society for Neuroscience…”

Revised edition of Brain Based Learning: the New Paradigm of Teaching (2008) equated glia with interneurons; to a neuroscientist, that is like someone saying “I’m not a farmer, but I’m an expert on farming, and this is my prize steer:”

Eric JensenA leader in the brain-based movement,But not a neuroscientist

http://www.jensenlearning.com/critics.php

department or unit 12 pt “current brain research related to teaching & learning” dana...

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