science of happiness paper 1

7/30/2019 Science of Happiness Paper 1

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Palak Patel

Science of Happiness Paper #1 2/26/13

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Neuroplasticity and Achieving My Lifelong Dream

The idea of neuroplasticity seems to be an improbable feat. When this idea came

about in the twentieth century, it was not met with open arms, but instead a heap of

criticism regarding its implications. Neuroplasticity presents the idea that one can alter

his or brain as a child and/or adult to compensate for any disabilities, trauma, limitations,

or desires for improvement. Plasticity allows us to develop brains so uniquein

response to our individual life experiences (p. 120). The maximum abilities of our brain

are still far from being unmasked, but the transition into the practice of neuroplasticity

was remarkable, as it implies that the brain can change itself, in both structure and

function. Despite these extraordinary advances, as Norman Doidge mentions in his book

The Brain That Changes Itself, neuroplasticity also suggests that our brain is extremely

vulnerable and susceptible to both the positive and the negative alterations available to

our minds (p. preface). As a child I believed in the idea that change was not only

possible, but also an easy thing to attain. Why is it that as we get older we lose our ability

to be optimistic about ideas that arent familiar to us? I used to believe that if a person

truly believed they could change, they were fully capable. As I was reading The Brain

That Changes ItselfI noticed that I found myself doubting the stories Doidge wrote

about. Overall I would call myself a believer and as I began to understand the idea behind

neuroplasticity, I began to trust that ones brain can be altered at any age. The biggest

challenge Ive faced thus far, which to most may not seem like a challenge at all, is two-

fold: first, to gain entrance into medical school in the near future and second, to have

faith in myself to motivate myself to climb through and over any obstacle that falls in my


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path. The change I wish to implement into my life is the ability to take my lifelong dream

and make it real, motivate myself to work to one hundred percent efficiency, and not be

discouraged along the way. I believe that even though the stories in Doidges book dont

directly apply to my situation, there are techniques and concepts that can be applied to

create a change to help me reach my end goal of being a physician.

One challenge that I face is maintaining personal motivation to achieve my end

goal. As mentioned in The Brain That Changes Itself, when Merzenich was bringing the

word plasticity into the scientific world as a real, factual concept he received a lot of

criticism and doubt for many others in his field. Torsten Wiesel had the same doubts that

I had when I first learned of neuroplasticity. He believed that adults could not ascertain

plasticity and that once the brain matures, it cannot change itself. That initial doubt I felt

sparked by this progressive, transformative idea is due to a sense of doubt I feel in my

life. Majority of people my age and beyond have an improbable skepticism that they

cannot change because their brains are set in their way. The main thing that caught my

eye about this incidence in the book initially was the disbelief Merzenich received from

those around him. It was written that Wiesel now believes in neuroplasticity and that he

was wrong. I want to prove to many of the authority figures here that they were wrong to

doubt my abilities to become a physician. My intelligence has been undermined and just

like Merzenich, I want to show that my capabilities and ideas should not be doubted. (p

61-62). The best way I can do this is to use stories of such innovators like Merzenich as

motivation to go above and beyond despite any disbelief from other people.

The biggest setback facing my challenge is my ability to motivate myself. I

understand that my opportunity to gain entrance into medical school lies in the hands of


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how well I score on the MCAT, yet when it comes time to study I choose to watch TV or

go on the Internet instead. The mental tracks that get laid down can lead to habits,

good or bad (p. 209). Pascual-Leone explains that once these tracks are laid down in our

brains it is possible to change, however, it is a challenging process. My bad habits

involve present-day technology. Merzenich said that our brains could be remodeled by

exposing ourselves to unproductive activities such as watching television and using

modern technology (p. 306). My continuous TV watching, even when I know there are

more productive activities I can pursue, may be detrimental to my brain and may be the

source of my attentional problems. I continually tell myself that I have so much time that

I will be fine, but Ive had to change my test three times to make up for not studying

efficiently when I had the time. My bad habits seem to never dissipate even though each

time I make myself aware of my faults, but here I am again still not studying. Merzenich

discussed being able to erase bad habits and change to better conventions (p. 117). To

unlearn my laziness and motivate myself to work to full efficiency is a skill that I would

very much like to attain. Unlearning and weakening connections between neurons is just

as plastic a process, and just as important, as learning and strengthening them (p. 117).

As I grow older I understand the need to take on responsibility for all of my actions, but I

think unlearning the negative is a process that I need to undergo right now in order to

truly succeed in becoming a physician.

The idea of purely being able to change our brains based on imagination is

something I wish to apply to my own life to help me achieve better focus in my studies.

To imagine something and then have a similar area of your brain activated seems like it

would call for a lot of discipline and practice, but as I learned from Doidges book it is a


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natural phenomenon as evidenced by brain scans. After I read about that concept I began

to try to use visualization as a way to improve my ability to remember things I read in my

MCAT book. It became apparent to me that visualization is a technique I have been

employing my whole life to memorize material for tests, remember peoples faces, and

even to recall old memories from my past. The experiment conducted by Guang Yue and

Kelly Cole (p. 204) about increasing muscle strength as a result of imagining using the

muscle must be far-fetched. It seems extremely unlikely that someone can imagine using

their muscle and actually muscle strength by a significant percentage, but the evidence is

there. To be able to employ this concept to areas like self-motivation and preservation

would create a largely positive effect in the lives of many. This concept could have life-

changing implications on any persons future endeavors. I understood after reading this

chapter that it is not always about the physical act, but the mental practice as well, which

can lead to improvements in a certain area or field of skills.

The experiment conducted by Pascual-Leone employing mental practice I

believe could be applied to my inability to focus sometimes (p. 201). If I could

implement the concept of mental practice into my study schedule and do the MCAT

reviews mentally in my brain over and over again, maybe it will help me be better at

focusing physically on the tasks. My exposure to constant media and technology is

affecting my brain plasticity negatively and that is my motivation to limit the time I use

electronics. Getting a good score on the MCAT will not only improve my confidence but

also realign my faith that I am very much capable of achieving a difficult goal. Ive

realized through these readings that I am creating my own obstacles and in order to


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remove them, gradually, I need to imagine myself studying for the test, limiting my TV

exposure, and allowing my brain the chance to change in a positive direction.

science of happiness paper 1

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