If you are anything like me, you may have thought to yourself over the years, Man, I really wish I would have learned another language in high school, or wondered, Why didn’t my mother put me in guitar lessons? Now I’ll never be able to learn how to play. You can’t teach an old dog new tricks, right?
Wrong!
This common misconception couldn’t be further from the truth, and older minds are still very much capable of learning and mastering new skills.
Emerging studies in psychology and neuroscience are now proving this very fact. They are also showing that continuing to learn and experience new things may actually help you to maintain good mental health and cognitive functioning as you age. It’s time to reconsider any previously held beliefs that we are simply incapable of learning new things after a certain age.
Where Did This Assumption Come From?
This pessimistic view of the ageing mind can perhaps be traced back to the ancient Greeks. In his treatise De Memoria et Reminiscentia, Aristotle compared our memories to a wax tablet; at birth the wax is hot and pliable and can take on whatever shape you give it, but as it begins to slowly cool down, it becomes tough and brittle, making it difficult to mould or imprint upon.
Enter the Exciting Realm of Neuroplasticity
The Brainu2019s Way of…
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Neuroplasticity refers to “the brain’s ability to reorganize itself by forming new neural connections throughout life. Neuroplasticity allows the neurons (nerve cells) in the brain to compensate for injury and disease and to adjust their activities in response to new situations or to changes in their environment.”
This essentially means that the brain is…