IS OUR BRAIN DOOMED TO DECLINE?

Our brain is plastic.

We’ve all more or less heard of “neural plasticity”.
Simply put, neuroscience has shown that almost any area of the brain can be shaped, with considerable but achievable effort.
Neuroscience has also shown that our cortical areas, i.e. areas that specialize in one or another sensory or motor function, can substitute for each other. In other words, with extensive and appropriate rehabilitation, a damaged area of the brain could be reconstructed in another place and return to its original function (e.g. smell). The example is often cited of the little American girl Jody Miller, who had her right brain removed and who now has all her faculties at her disposal.
Third discovery: new neurons can be born in our brain, develop (up to ten times their size) and multiply their connections (synapses) under the influence of emotions, images, thoughts and actions.

This triple “elasticity” depends essentially on two things:

– Our taste for the new and our capacity for empathy.

It is true that an adult loses an average of 20 to 30,000 neurons per day on a basis of 100 billion… This gives reason for hope, especially since we can reconstitute neurons, increase their size and power and, above all, multiply their connections.

So there is no longer an age to learn to speak a foreign language or play a musical instrument.
What will be needed is the end of the often well-established belief that “I’m no longer old enough” or “I’m too old for”.

So what are the tips for regaining control of your brain?

– Never stop learning, regularly, all your life, new things. in new disciplines, in new ways.
– Encourage small or big changes. Whether it’s having tea instead of coffee, changing your route to work or your means of locomotion. Or changing your favourite brand of pasta to a monotonous holiday destination, etc.

– Beware of noise pollution.

– Always encourage the notion of taking small steps, one step at a time.

– Avoid tension, diabetes, cholesterol, alcohol or tobacco which are the enemies of neuronal plasticity.

– Love antioxidant foods (fruits, vegetables, fish), physical activity, Zen, empathy, laughter that promote plasticity.

Neuronal plasticity and the future

The fact that our neurons can “grow back” and migrate to areas of our brain that need them (thanks to the tenascin molecule in particular), this opens up serious avenues in the care of neurodegenerative diseases.

Neurofeedback is a revolutionary method of training our brain, and thereby self-regulating it. Just like in a weight room, this self-regulation will avoid a “loss” of power of the electrical activity and will also train the nerve impulse. This increases conductivity, i.e. the ability to transmit impulses from inter-neuronal connections. The result: better emotional control, increased cognitive abilities and increased neuronal plasticity.

If we had to summarize our article, we could say that reading it has changed the structure of your brain. This brief reading has altered your neurons. If, in addition, you have experienced positive emotions, especially love, the change will be all the more important.
So, love is good for your health and your brain!