7/27 How Life Experiences Shape Our Brain
This summer has been all about understanding what is it that makes you who you are. We have studied fascinating topics like neurodiversity and seen how our brain reacts to perception and becomes biased.
Now we will analyze how experiences shape our brain and make it unique and like no other. We will also view the specific characteristics of an adult brain and finally how to rewire our brain for success and happiness.
The brain is constantly rewiring itself in response to adaptation. Many thinkers have noted how our experience shapes our lives.
The great Indian, lawyer, politician, social activist and writer Mahatma Gandhi (1869-1948) wrote:
“Your beliefs become your thoughts,
Your thoughts become your words,
Your words become your actions,
Your actions become your habits,
Your habits become your values,
Your values become your destiny.”
Mahatma Gandhi
Why would Gandhi believe that our values become our destiny? That is because when we repeat a route of thinking in our brain, that creates a path that will transform our brain. According to William- Carter, if thoughts and behaviors repeat themselves often enough a strong connection will be created also known as a “Neural Pathway” (Williams-Carter 2017).
Neurons that fire together wire together.
There are billions of roads and pathways lighting up every time the brain thinks, feels or does something. Some of these roads are well travelled. These are the habits, which are established ways of thinking, feeling and doing. Every time the brain thinks in a certain way, practices a particular task, or feeling a specific emotion, these roads are strengthened, so it becomes easier for the brain to travel through this pathway (Williams-Carter, 2020).
The changes that the brain undergoes when creating new paths, and when paths are no longer in use are physical. The brain changes its shape with new neurons and wiring and also with the trimming of unused brain paths. These changes are called Neuroplasticity.
“…neuroplasticity is an umbrella term referring to the ability of your brain to reorganize itself, both physically and functionally, throughout your life due to your environment, behavior, thinking, and emotions” (Hampton, 2017).
Watch this short video on How Experience Shapes Your Brain
Life Experiences
Life has a combination of experiences. Each individual has a unique experience in this world. That make each of us completely different. Dr. Merzenich (2017) emphasizes: “Every brain is massively SPECIALIZED by brain plasticity process”.
Life experience vary depending on the time in history, culture or religion we grow in, the type of family we have, the relationships we build, the sociopolitical environment, even the technology we use. Let’s take a look on our development as humans.
Human History
The evolutionary history of the human brain shows primarily a gradually bigger brain relative to body size during the evolutionary path from early Homo sapiens. In addition to just the size of the brain, scientists have observed changes in the folding of the brain, as well as in the thickness of the cortex. In adult humans, thicker cerebral cortex has been linked to higher intelligence.
Comparison of Human and pre Homo Sapiens scull and brain
Throughout history, there has been many changes in how people have lived. These changes created important modifications in our brains. One example is that sometime around 12,000 years ago, our hunter-gatherer ancestors began trying their hand on farming. The brain had to create new synaptic routes to understand and develop the new ways to survive. With each meaningful event in history, human brain developed to adapt to the new and challenging circumstances of the times.
All those changes have profoundly impacted the form of human brain. Another example is when the first writing system emerged around 3200 BCE. Imagine how both the ability to recognize words and sounding out words letter by letter as well as the motor skill of writing had to be developed. New neurons were created and after using the new synapses, neuronal paths were produced for the process of reading. Many areas of the brain are involved in reading and writing: primary visual cortex, after which the signal is then sent to the visual association cortex, the left visual association cortex (VAC), the corpus callosum, temporoparietal cortex, dorsal parietal lobe and the premotor cortex in conjunction with the primary motor cortex. All had to adjust to the new challenge.
Immigrations in Mesoamerica
From the creation of cultures, the rises of religions, and emigrations to new lands with new climates and new challenges to understand, human brain adapted for survival through neuroplasticity. Here is a list of meaningful events in history that shaped how our brain is today
A long list of human accomplishments is a lasting testament to the neuroplasticity accomplished through human history in all aspects of life.
Growth and Mental Development
The sole aspect of the brain’s growth from childhood to adulthood changes the constitution of the brain through its development. The brain grows in size and also changes its shape in accordance to the learning process.
Child vs. Adult Brain
Additionally, there is a whole world inside of our psyche that determines how we perceive our experience, and hence how is our brain built. Many psychologists have ventured to explain the different aspects involved, which factors are the most influential in our development, and therefore our mental state, behavior and brain constitution. There are abundant theoretical traditions that try to explain those aspects:
Psychodynamic Theory: Sigmund Freud, Alfred Adler, Erik Erikson, Erich Fromm, Karen Horney, Melanie Klein, and Harry Stack Sullivan, all prominent in the field of psychology, emphasize the systematic study of the psychological forces that underlie human behavior, feelings, and emotions. The father of Psychoanalysis, (the first Psychodynamic theoryst) Sigmund Freud, incorporated the concept of an unconscious, which is the information gathered in our mind that is unknown, in the most part, for the conscious mind, and is built by childhood events, feelings and relationships with others. According to him, the information in the unconscious will dictate most of the decisions we make in life in search for survival and pleasure. If childhood provides a stable, loving environment, then the person will develop a set of tools to mature and adapt as an adult. If the child was not provided by this type of environment, then emotional complications can arise, resulting in mental health problems that would affect all aspects of a person’s life. The brain would, in both cases be wired completely different.
This theory is especially interested in the dynamic relations between conscious and unconscious motivation. There is discussion if the person has freedom of choice in his life, or if the unconscious determines most of our decisions according to the emotional map laid out during our upbringing, which created thoughts and automatic emotional responses to experiences.
Humanistic: This theory was born in response to the Psychodynamic Theory assuring that the individual does have free will. It adopts a holistic approach to human existence and pays special attention to such phenomena as creativity and positive human potential. Some of it leaders are: Abraham Maslow, Carl Rogers, and Clark Moustakas.
Analytical Psychology: Carl Jung created some of the best known psychological concepts, including synchronicity, archetypal phenomena, the collective unconscious, the psychological complex, and extraversion and introversion. He believed we all share part of our unconscious, and the heritage of archetypes of human history, which participate the way we see the world, and therefore, take decisions.
Biological: The biological approach believes we are a consequence of our genetics and physiology. It is the only approach in psychology that examines thoughts, feelings, and behaviors from a biological and thus physical point of view.
Behaviorist: Ivan Pavlov's work with the conditioned reflex, said that we are conditioned by society to respond in certain ways. He laid the foundations for academic psychology in the United States and was associated with the names of John B. Watson and B. F. Skinner.
By reviewing these different theories, it can be concluded that the human psyche is a complex apparatus formed by many aspects, all important and critical to the formation and shaping of our experience.
Religious experiences
Religion is a big part on the human experience. Even if people differ in their religious beliefs, the neurophysiological effects of faith, praying and meditation on the brain are scientific facts that can be accurately measured (Hagerty, 2009).
Furthermore, according to Sandoui A. (2018), a religious belief can increase our lifespan and help us better cope with disease. Also, both prayer and meditation rewire the brain differently and correlate with a decreased activity in the parietal lobes. Nuns, who pray using words rather than relying on visualization techniques, show increased activity in the language-processing brain areas.
The brain during Meditation and with no Meditation
Sandoui (2016) also reports that in a research led by Dr. Jeff Anderson, Ph.D. — from the University of Utah School of Medicine in Salt Lake City —19 people were scanned using an MRI. Those who reported the most intense spiritual feelings displayed increased activity in the bilateral nucleus accumbens, as well as the frontal attentional and ventromedial prefrontal cortical loci. These pleasure and reward-processing brain areas are also active in sexual activities, when listening to music, gambling, and during intake of drugs. The participants also reported feelings of peace and physical warmth.
Neuroscientist Richard Davidson (Hagerty, 2009) reports that the brain can be sculpted just as a muscle. Even just two months' practice, can lead to a systematic change in both the brain as well as the immune system in more positive directions.
Relations
Good relationships to others are an important predicter on how our brain can rewire. Happy relationships will help build a brain that experiences trust and feels happier, creating chemicals like endorphins, dopamine and serotonin, which are helpful with the immune system and help us to feel happy.
From an early age, newborns and babies depend on their relationships with others to survive. Babies that feel neglected might even lose their lives. The brain is made to wire in response to relationships because in the beginning of our lives we are immature beings. Through the love and socialization of a caregiver we survive childhood and carry forward in life the type of relationships we learn in our childhood, often repeating what we know. Therefore, our relationships are of most importance in the formation of our brain connections.
Being in a good relationship triggers the brain’s reward center in the limbic system, just as a drug can do. Conversely, being out of a relationship can trigger feelings of loneliness, lack of motivation and even depression and anxiety. Emotional response, then, becomes intertwined with physical response, each supporting the other. The way we relate to others can be relearned and improved with new opportunities in life. In a letter Sigmund Freud wrote to Carl Jung in 1906 he said: “Psychoanalysis is in essence a cure through love”.
Trauma
War, loss, abuse, neglect, illness and many other negative events in life can create trauma.
Neuroplasticity has far-reaching implications and possibilities for almost every aspect of human life. However, this same characteristic, which makes the brain resilient, also makes it vulnerable to outside and internal influences. In his book “The Brain That Changes Itself: Stories of Personal Triumph from the Frontiers of Brain Science” (2007), Norman Doidge calls this the “Plastic Paradox.”
A significant percentage of the population will experience a traumatic event at some point in their lives. According to the American Psychological Association (2020), immediately after the event, shock and denial are typical. Longer term reactions include unpredictable emotions, flashbacks, strained relationships and even physical symptoms like headaches, nausea or others. While these feelings are normal, some people have difficulty moving on with their lives.
According to Jennifer Sweeton Psy.D. (2017), trauma can alter brain functioning in many ways, but three of the most important changes appear to occur in the following areas of the brain:
1. The Thinking Center is under activated.
The prefrontal cortex (PFC), or thinking center, is located near the top of your head, behind your forehead. It's responsible for abilities including rational thought, problem-solving, personality, planning, empathy and awareness of ourselves and others. When this area of the brain is strong, we are able to think clearly, make good decisions, and be aware of ourselves and others. People may notice difficulties with concentration and attention, due to the thinking center being under activated.
2. The Emotion Regulation Center is under activated.
The anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), known as the “Emotion Regulation Center”, is located next to the prefrontal cortex, but is deeper inside the brain. This area is responsible (in part) for regulating emotion, and ideally has a close working relationship with the thinking center. When this region is strong, we are able to manage difficult thoughts and emotions without being overwhelmed by them.
3. The Fear Center is overactivated. The amygdala is a tiny structure deep inside our brain and serves as its fear center. Its primary job is to receive all incoming information and assesses if the experience is dangerous. If it detects that a threat is present, it produces fear. When this area is activated, we feel afraid and reactive. A traumatized brain may experience chronic stress, vigilance, fear, and irritation. It may also have a hard time feeling safe, calming down, or sleeping. These symptoms are the result of a hyperactive amygdala.
Rewiring the Brain
There has been exciting research conducted showing that the brain is able, under certain conditions, to ‘rewire’ itself, correcting its own faulty circuitry, and, thus, alleviating the behavioral and emotional problems caused by the original damage (Williams-Carter 2017). New pathways can be created through changes in behavior, environment and neuro processes. Not only is the brain capable of creating new pathways, it is designed to do so. The brain is highly resilient. One incredible thing about the brain is that it has a very real desire to heal itself.
However, creating new pathways demands a great deal of awareness, mindfulness and acknowledgment of the present. Yet, with time, discipline, and constancy, these new pathways will dominate the old, allowing trauma survivors, and everyone, to enjoy a better quality of life.
According to Hampton (2017), the harder you try, the more you’re motivated, the more alert you are, the better the potential outcome, and the bigger the brain change. If you’re intensely focused on the task and trying to master something for an important reason, the change experienced will be greater.
Adult Brain
The adult brain is much more changeable and modifiable than had previously been believed (Merzenich, 2020). “There is now a large amount of evidence to show that damaged neural (brain) circuitry resulting from severe childhood trauma can be corrected, reshaping our brain anatomy and consequent behavior, with the right kind of therapeutic interventions. In other words, it is now clear that brain architecture continues to change throughout adulthood, and this can be manipulated in highly beneficial directions” (Moses, 2014).
One reason why it is so difficult to change the way of thinking, feeling, and behaving is that many beliefs and corresponding neural pathways have been formed early in life. They have been reinforced and strengthened, over and over. In other words, the brain activity has carved out a deep brain path. If that road remains and no new roads are built and strengthened, it is very difficult to change the brain’s ways, and it is easy to fall back into old patterns.
Creating and strengthening new, positive neural pathways is an essential part of achieving lasting change.
The good news is that we all have the ability to learn and change by rewiring our brains. If you have ever changed a bad habit, or thought about something differently, you have carved a new pathway in your brain, and have experienced neuroplasticity firsthand. With repeated and directed attention towards your desired change, you can effectively rewire your brain to move forward and live a healthy, abundant life.
Rewiring for Happiness
The brain rewires in relation to our experiences. If that is so, creating happier experiences will rewire the brain to continue to live those happier experiences. According to Raynolds (2011) being happy has great cognitive benefits.
Stimulates the growth of nerve connections
Improves cognition by increasing mental productivity
Improves your ability to analyze and think
Affects your view of surroundings
Increases attentiveness
Leads to more happy thoughts
Happy people are more creative, solve problems faster, and tend to be more mentally alert.
According to Loretta Breuning (2016) our brain evolved to promote survival. It saves the happy chemicals (dopamine, serotonin and oxytocin) for opportunities to meet a survival needs, and only releases them in short spurts. This is a motivation to keep taking steps that stimulate our happy chemicals.
The good side of it is that the brain can be trained.
Some ideas on how to train the brain to live happier are (Ruth, 2017):
· Observing your thoughts
· Before going to sleep scan your day for at least three positive things
· Showing and feeling gratitude
· Help others
· Surround yourself with positive people
· Make good emotions be contagious
· Exercise
· Mindfulness
· Subconscious re-training (tapping, affirmations, neuro-linguistic programming, mirror work)
· Do things that you love
· Emotional regulation training
· Psychotherapy
· Diaphragmatic breathing
· Autogenic training
· Affirmations
· Visualizations
According to Raynolds (2011) Positive Thoughts are a very powerful tool. Thinking positive, happy, hopeful, optimistic thoughts decreases cortisol and produces serotonin, which reduces stress and creates a sense of well-being. This helps the brain function more optimally.
The way we think forms our character, how we operate in the world and how we move around mentally, physically and spiritually. Being focused on negative thoughts slows the brain down and can go as far as dimming the ability to function, also causing depression.
“Happy thoughts and positive thinking, in general, support brain growth, as well as the generation and reinforcement of new synapses, especially in your prefrontal cortex (PFC), which serves as the integration center of all of your brain-mind functions.” (Raynolds, 2011).
The Secrets of Becoming Mentally Strong
Watch this video on how to Visualize to reshape your thinking:
The Power of Visualization
Summary:
What makes you who you are? Our brain is an amazing organ that is transformed by human history, personal development, religion, culture, and life experiences. That combination makes each brain unique and unparalleled. The good news is that the brain is plastic through all our lives and that we can reshape it to have a happier more fulfilled life.
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