Can the mind change?

/ Blog

When I was in medical school, I was taught that the adult brain, unlike other organs in the body, did not regenerate cells. Instead, the brain compensated for the loss of injured neurons by improving the function of remaining healthy neurons. This left me with the impression that once our brains are fully developed, we’re “hard-wired” and change is unlikely to happen.

Fortunately, our knowledge of the brain has evolved. And it’s good news!

We now have a better understanding of the extensive and complex communication system between neurons. There are ~ 100 million neurons in the body. Each one connects with up to 100,000 other neurons. We have 10-100 times more connections in our brain than we have cells in our body^†. These neuronal networks are distributed throughout the brain and the body. They help us make sense of our world, respond to sensorimotor inputs, and to function normally.

One of the most important neuroscientific discoveries since I left medical school is that neuronal connections can change and grow.

When neurons along a network are repeatedly used, they thicken and form additional branches to make useful and efficient connections. This is one of the ways our habitual thoughts and behaviors get wired into our brains and bodies^¥.

As the Canadian neuropsychologist, Donald Hebb, postulated in 1949, “what fires together, wires together.”^†Or, as the Buddha observed ~2,600 years ago, “Whatever you frequently think and ponder upon, that will become the inclination of your mind.”

Every time we have a new thought or perform a new action, a neural pathway is created in the brain, making it easier to think that thought or perform that action in a subsequent attempt. This concept is termed neuroplasticity: The capacity of the brain to change with learning^‡.

Hebb also challenged the assumption that the brain is separate from the body. We now know that intelligence is not only housed in the brain, above the neck, but is distributed in complex neuronal networks throughout the body.

What are the implications?

When we repeatedly think the same thoughts, or perform the same action, the neuronal networks associated with that action become more efficient, making that action easier to perform and often with less awareness. An example of this is when you take a familiar route home and you can’t remember the details of the drive.

We are not “hard-wired” and we can change! That is particularly good news for those of us who have developed habits or thinking patterns that we want to change.

When we practice a new habit, skill, or language^∞neuronal network connections are stimulated, causing neuronal cells to extend and grow. This helps the new habit become second nature. An example of this is starting a new walking program. Just the act of putting on walking shoes and taking them off again for a few days in a row, will bring the “walking neuronal networks” to the party. After a few days, it will be easier to leave the house for a walk.

We can use the intelligence of the body to help us learn new habits and ways of being.