When I was in University I wrote a paper comparing the neuroplastisty
of the child and adult human brain. The research indicated that the
childs brain was better at recovering and relocating functioning from a
damaged area if the amount of damage was large. The adult and child
brain were about equal for small amounts of damage. The paper wasn’t
very well received because it went against the traditional understanding
that neuroplasticity effectively stops around age 12. Regardless, I
learned something even if it was only that the adult brain can relocate
brain functioning if it receives a small injury.
A lot has happened in the years since I graduated. The Internet
exploded and information about everything is available all the time.
Undoubtedly, the consumption of information is going to have an impact
on me. It’s going to increase the amount interconnection between the
brain cells because I will be learning a lot more (the interconnection
between brain cells is one of the outcomes of increased learning)
assuming I choose to consume the information.
Recall my post about the Maclean.ca article on Keeping Your Brain Functioning All Life Long,
the one that reveals that even adults in their senior years can improve
their brain function and take years off their mental age? That means
I’m right in thinking that the impact of the Internet will continue to
impact my brain well into my life, given that constant use helps to
prevent mental aging.
But “Mixed Feelings” by Sunny Bains in Wired.com
adds another layer of complexity and optimism to the mix. The article
reveals recent research findings that our brains are able to hack our
senses by interrepting information from on sense modality that codes for
something else entirely – they talk about using a belt rigged with a
number of vibrators and having the one that is pointing north shake.
This will allow the wearer to know which way they are facing; basically
giving the user a directional sense by hacking their sense of touch.
It’s very interesting. What’s more, the directional information becomes
part of the users consciousness and eventually unconsciousness. The
constant influx of information will promote neural branching as the
brain adapts. The brain is going to grow more dense in area that is
devoted to sensing this directional ability. Wow!
To draw this back to my paper, if the adult brain has the ability
relocate function in response to small brain injuries, does it have this
ability to relocate function even if their is no injury? More so, what
will it do with this new information that comes in that indicates
something other than the raw sensory experience?
Further, what is the potential for sense hacking with a young brain
given that it does have better neuroplasticity for large brain injuries?
What impact will this have on developing neural density or even on
localizing new sense functions to other unused regions of the brain?