Species with more long-range connections, such as humans and other primates, thinned out these local networks. This approach to connectivity may reflect geometric constraints on packing a nervous system into a skull. But variations in these links within a species might also track with different abilities. Though human brains follow the mammalian connection game plan, they also show some striking innovations.
In a head-to-head comparison of human connectomes with those of chimpanzees, our closest living relatives, published last year, Martijn van den Heuvel of Vrije University Amsterdam and anthropologist James Rilling of Emory University revealed 33 human-specific connections.
These unique links were longer and more important to network efficiency than connections that were shared in the two species. This setup could enable efficient integration of information from different parts of the brain, particularly those tasked with conceptual processing. But in humans the connections between the two are stronger. It as though the two regions have dedicated their processing might to each other and set the stage for language.
In a study published last November, van den Heuvel, Rilling and their colleagues found human-specific connections were more disrupted in schizophrenia. While these studies argue for the evolutionary importance of brain connections, the imaging methods are not without mistakes.
They have limited resolution, so they may miss a connection ending or taking a turn. This problem means the field needs to draw from other areas of evidence to firm up the findings, says Christine Charvet, an assistant professor at Delaware State University who studies human brain evolution and was not involved in the papers. Genomics can fill in some of the gaps. This is very similar to what happens in your brain—when you stop practicing something, the connections between your neurons weaken and can ultimately be dismantled or pruned.
That is why it may seem so difficult to start reading again when school starts if you have not read all summer. However, it is possible for some neural networks to become so strong that the trails or connections never completely disappear.
The fact that learning rewires your neurons shows how dynamic plastic your brain is—that the brain changes and does not remain fixed. Practicing or rehearsing repeatedly activates your neurons and makes you learn. So, the question is, how can you help your neurons to create and strengthen their connections? Here, we present two strategies that appear to be more compatible with how your brain works and could help you learn better.
Because the connections between your neurons need to be activated multiple times to become stronger and more efficient, a first and crucial strategy is to repeatedly activate them. As a baby, you were not able to speak and walk within 1 day: you practiced a lot.
However, it is important to note that only reading or glancing at your arithmetic tables will not be that helpful in connecting your neurons. You might also find it quite disengaging and boring. To create the connections between your neurons, you need to retrieve the arithmetic tables from your memory. In other words, you have to try recall the answer yourself to activate your connections. We are not saying that this is easy to do! Remember, learning something new is like hiking in a bush with no designated trail, you will probably walk slowly at first, but if you keep hiking, trails will start forming and eventually you will be walking on well-beaten tracks.
Besides, when you do try to recall what you have learned and make a mistake, it can help you identify gaps in your learning and give you an indication of which trail still needs to be worked on. Scientists have also noted that performing tests or exams can help you remember information better than studying alone [ 4 ]. For example, if you study your arithmetic tables interspersed with test periods, you will probably perform better on your final test than if you had only studied.
The tests require that you retrieve the information from the neurons in which the information is stored, thus activating your connections and contributing to their strengthening. The point is thus to practice retrieval in an engaging way.
Not only are these neurons constantly communicating with each other, but they also interact with neurons in the peripheral nervous system. The peripheral nervous system is comprised of sensory and motor neurons throughout the rest of your body.
The sensory neurons collect information from the outside world through the five senses, while the motor neurons allow you to move and respond to signals from the brain and spinal cord. When you were born, you had almost all the neurons you will ever have, and many more neuronal connections than you have today.
The brain continues to change and grow throughout your lifetime because the connections between neurons are plastic. In other words, your brain can add new connections or subtract unused ones. As you grow up, your experiences and environment help your brain decide which connections are important and useful. Although it is very complicated to tease apart what is inherited and what is learned, many behaviors appear to be a combination of both genetic and environmental factors.
Download this page as a PDF. Go to BrainFacts. What does experimenting with other animals tell us about people? Find out in our new Brain Basics article. Get the basics. Here are the basics. How do moods differ from emotions? While all the parts of your brain work together, each part is responsible for a specific function — controlling everything from your heart rate to your mood.
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