Research about the brain

1. Research about the brain

2. Site links. • Treating your brain right: • http://www.bbc.co.uk/scotland/brainsmart/brain/ • Learning new stuff: http://science.howstuffworks.com/life/inside-the-mind/human-brain/10-brain-myths3.htm • Neuroplasticity: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neuroplasticity • Growth and fixed mindset: http://mindsetonline.com/whatisit/about/ • Learning things easier: http://www.wikihow.com/Exercise-Your-Brain • Fixed intelligence: • http://littlefootprintsplanet.blogspot.co.uk/2010/05/development-stimulation-is-intelligence.html

3. Treating the brain right • A good nights sleep can improve your scores in a test without doing any extra work. A wrongly timed chocolate bar can slow your thinking down.your brain is very sensitive and constantly needs repairs and build new connections when you learn new things.it needs good nutrition, steady supply of oxygen and time to sleep. • diet • For general brain health you must eat a balanced diet that contains plenty of fresh fruit and vegtables.it also needs a supply of energy but it can only get it from a type of sugar called glucose. It also need lots of oxygen. It gets it from exercise but you also need to have a good supply of iron in your blood stream. This iron comes from foods such as red meat, leafy vegetables (e.g. spinach) dried fruit and cereals. You must not skip breakfast or lunch especially before an exam. Your brain will perform well if you haven’t eaten for hours. Scientists have shown that a student’s test results are lower when they have not eaten. But you need to eat the right foods. Junk food wont help you concentrate. The brain needs slow-releasing carbohydrates. Beans on toast have been shown to be particularly beneficial. • Water • Dehydration will effect your brains performance. Don’t drink too much before an exam. Going to the toilet frequently can be a distraction to others. • Exercise • your brain needs lots of rest. Studies show that exercise improves your memory capacity-and lack of exercise wont help your brain. • Sleep • The quickest and easiest way to treat your brain is a good sleep. You get to rest and your brain gets to repair itself ready for when you learn a new thing. Even an hours of sleep can effect your test scores the next day.

4. What happens in your brain when you learn things? • As humans evolved our brains grew larger to accommodate all of the higher functions that set us apart from other animals. But in order to keep the brain compact enough to fit into a skull that would actually be in proportion with the rest of our body size, the brain folded in on itself. • We don’t start with wrinkly brains instead a fetus early in development has a very smooth brain. As the fetus grows its neurons also grow and migrate to different areas of the brain. By the time the fetus reaches 40 weeks its brain is wrinkled.so we don’t develop wrinkles when we learn new things. • our brains do develop when we do learn new things. The phenomenon is known as brain plasticity. By studying changes In the brains of animals (rats as they learn new tasks) researches have discovered that synapses(connections between neurons ) and blood cells that support neurons grow and increase in numbers. Some believe we get new neurons when we learn new things.

5. What is the neuroplasticity? • Neuroplasticity is also know as brain plasticity and is an umbrella term.it refers changes in neural pathways and synapses which are due to change in behaviour, environment and neural processes as well as changes resulting from bodily injury. neuroplasticity has replaced the formerly-held position that the brain is a physiologically static organ and explores how the brain changes through life.

6. Is your intelligence fixed? there has been a general debate since the 18th century as to whether human intelligence is fixed. There is clear evidence that there is nothing fixed or permanent about IQ. It is certain that In the early stages of life , enormous changes to IQ can be made by developmental and environmental stimulation. Babies need a stimulating environment in order to grow and develop mentally and physically to their peak potential. Intelligence is not fixed at birth; early stimulation has immensely powerful effect on development. A baby who is left in a playpen or carried on the back most of the day will never develop their full potential. A lack of stimulation can have a devastating effect on development. A baby needs to be given attention , spoken to and played with in order to develop and learn.

7. What are growth and fixed mindsets? • A mindset is a simple idea discovered by Stanford university psychologist carol dweck in decades of research on achievements and success – a simple idea that makes all the difference. • In a fixed mindset , people believe their basic qualities, like their intelligence or talent, are simply fixed traits. They spend their time documenting their intelligence or talent instead of developing them. They also believe that talent alone creates success-without effort. • In a growth mindset, people believe that their most basic abillites can be developed through dedication and hard work- brains and talent are just the starting point. This view creates a love of learning and a resilience that is essential for great accomplishment. Virtually all great people have had these qualities.

8. What can u do to help your brain learn things easier? • Read as much as you can. Reading is great exercise for your brain. You can read newspapers, magazines or books but remember the more challenging the text is the more workout your brain will get. • Increase your vocabulary. Learn new words from a-day calendar or dictionary. This exercises the language proportion of your brain. • Write something. Writing requires loads of thinking. You can write up made-up stories. • Learn a new language. Learning a new language is like a hack for your brain. Opening all sorts of pathways.

9. Helping the brain continued. • Do daily puzzles. Simple puzzles can help your brain by doing basic work. • Move onto more involved puzzles. Large complex puzzles give your brain a stronger workout. Some can take a few days to complete but its worth the effort. • Consider to play chess. Chess is an incredibly strategic as well as tactical game. Chess is simple to learn and easy to play. • Play video games. Video games actually make you smarter. Puzzle solving games like Mario and Zelda are good to workout your brain, helping you to become a better problem solver, more creative problem solver and a faster thinker.