Many people are under the impression that as people grow
older, their ability to learn decreases. Just like the saying, “you can’t teach
an old dog new tricks,” adults themselves may buy into the idea that they
cannot pick up new skills. But hope for adult learners comes from the research
done by Barbara Strauch of the New York
Times, who investigated how adult brains learn differently than developing
brains. While adults may not learn as quickly, new growth is still possible
with practice and the correct methods. Because adults have more experiences,
the networks in their brains are more developed and rigid. But if adults can
try to learn new information in ways that challenge their old assumptions, for
example by looking at history from multiple points of view, learners can
“jiggle their synapses a bit” and form new neural connections.
Strauch’s research also shows advantages to how the aging
brain works. Because of the wealth of knowledge that comes from a lifetime of
learning, adults are better at understanding the bigger picture, identifying
patterns, and even spotting solutions to problems more quickly than their
younger counterparts. However, it is healthy for adults to shake things up a
bit, try to see things from a different angle, and exercise their brains in the
process.
More evidence gives hope to adults who wish to be lifelong
learners and pick up skills as they age. In his book Guitar Zero, Gary Marcus explains the process through which he was
able to learn to play the guitar as a middle-aged man. All he needed was lots
of practice time and a method which broke up the skill into small, manageable
parts. This gives hope to all those dreamers who wish they could have been
Jimmy Hendrix growing up… or at least Bob Dylan.
Experimental data has also been obtained to support the idea
that adults can learn too. A study done by Avi Karni and Giuseppe Bertini
showed that with practice, performance on perceptual tasks can be improved. It
is believed that neural changes can still be made when adults retain new
information over long-intervals. In fact the same mechanisms present in early
development appear to promote adult skills as well. This experiment showed
plasticity in adult brains such as changes in sensory and motor representations
that aided in the retention of new skills.
All in all, while aging brains may require more time or
different methods to learn new information and skills, teaching these old dogs
new tricks is a very real possibility.
Sources: Karni, Avi, and Giuseppe Bertini. "Learning perceptual
skills: behavioral probes into adult cortical plasticity." Current Opinion
in Neurobiology 7.4 Aug. (1997):
530-35.
Marcus, Gary. Guitar Zero. New York: The Penguin Press, 2012.
Strauch, Barbara. "How to Train the Aging Brain." The New York
Times 29 Dec. 2011. Web. 18 Oct. 2012.
<http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/03/education/edlife/03adult-t.html?_r=0>.
Most intriguing to me about the idea of learning new skills or concepts in old age is the mechanism behind it versus the mechanism in still developing brains. I recently read "The Other Brain," by Dr. R Douglas Fields, which had in great detail some of the newest research in glial cell function. Much of it was on the function of astrocytes, which have been found to move axons and control synapses, both via inhibition and excitation. I wonder if astrocytes are the primary cause of the synapse "jiggling" that occurs in adult learning, and how (or if) this is different from learning that occurs in developing brains. Perhaps the glial cells are much more active in children's brains than adult's, or perhaps learning occurs via a different, more complex and faster pathway. It's obviously ignorant of me to make these overly simple generalizations about the mechanisms of learning, but I would bet that astrocytes do have a primary involvement in learning and that their behavior and function (from changes in gene regulation) changes as we grow older.
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ReplyDeleteThis was a very interesting article. I have always heard older adults use the excuse that they are too old to learn new things. When they do learn new things the next time they come around to it again they have forgotten all of the steps that are involved. Mostly everyone has the stereotype that the older individuals become the less they are able to learn. I also agree with the fact that older adults are better at understanding the big picture, identifying problems, and solving them faster than younger individuals. People often forget older adults have so much knowledge and experience. Just like it was stated in the article it is a great idea for adults to change their everyday habits so they are able to challenge themselves (their brains) and learn new things. Like adults, students might also find it easier to learn new material and skills if they break down the skills and tasks to smaller parts (spacing). Overall, it seems like spacing information works best not only for adults but also for students when it comes to learning new material and taking on new challenges.
ReplyDeleteI found this article to be very inspirational and informative. For a very long time I've had the goal to pick up certain hobbies such as playing piano and guitar but I thought that this would never come to be because I don't have money to afford lessons. I figured that when I would have money I'd be to old and I wouldn't be able to learn because I've always heard that the aging mind has much more difficulty learning than particularly when it comes to musical instruments. But after reading this information I actually feel like there is a bit of hope and that one day I might actually accomplish my goals!
ReplyDeleteI read your blog post when it was first posted in the beginning of October. While sitting in class today, I remembered this post when we talked about language and the "critical period" of babies' cognitive development.
ReplyDeleteI think the research and findings that support this critical period is fascinating. Although it is unfortunate that I, as well as many others, was not exposed to languages different from my native language during this critical period, I am grateful that I still have the ability to learn a new language...even though it will take much longer and require a lot of practice.
I wonder how the example of Gary Marcus, learning to play guitar as a middle-aged man, could fit in with this idea of a critical period. Yes, infants are not able to learn how to play guitar during the critical period, for a variety of reasons. However, I wonder if exposure to a variety of musical sounds from different genres and cultures of music during this critical two week window would make it easier for a child to learn to play guitar, or another musical instrument, later in life.
However, I also challenge this idea by what we learned in today's class about the importance of genuine personal interaction. When babies were exposed to a physically present person speaking a different language, babies displayed the ability to recognize these non-native language sounds as well as babies for which these sounds were of their native language. When babies were exposed to these language sounds via video or audio recording, there was little recognition of these non-native speech sounds. So, in the case of music, if babies are exposed to music in this critical period, would it really make a difference? Would exposure to live music, as opposed to music produced by a CD player, have more of an effect on the ability to recognize different ranges of musical sounds? I am interested to know if there are any studies that ask the same questions as I have, and what the findings might be.
Thank you for your post. I appreciate the information you have discussed and appreciate the reference you provided me with in today's class.