Brain Plasticity

Brain plasticity refers to fact that the brain is adaptive -- it self-organizes, meaning that if exercised appropriately exercised it can adapt and change for the better.

This new understanding of the brain, made possible by the fMRI, is in stark contrast to the prior theory, that each part of the brain has a fixed specialized function.  And that once these functions are learned, typically at a young age, they are fixed, pre-determined for life.  As explained in great detail in Norman Doidge's book, The Brain That Changes Itself, this theory was called localizationism and it has been proved wrong.

In fact, not only is the brain plastic and able to change, it is changing constantly.  Brain maps, the functionality by region, change constantly depending on individual needs.  This is called "competitive plasticity" (or "use it or lose it"), referring to the fact that the brain is constantly dropping connections (knowledge or skills) that are seem to be no longer needed or that are not being challenged, and it will add connections if there are new demands.  For instance, the brain of a person learning to violin will steadily add more brain capacity to the playing hand, as the demands for accuracy, speed and coordination grow.

How Brain Plasticity Helps Learning

Conventional wisdom has been that the "window" for help children develop their learning skills ends at three years of age.  This is not true.  The window is open through out a person's life. If exercised appropriately all brains are capable of higher levels of learning skill. 

It is true that in the first three years of life the brain is in set up mode and learning circuitry is "always on" and so the rate of learning -- discarding old connections in favor of newer better ones -- is fantastic.  Beyond that window exercises aimed at boosting learning ability need to overcome a more cemented learning process.  But that's all.  It is very possible, and a number of therapies, exercising the brain in very different ways, targeting very different aspects of brain function are having success. 

Leading therapies are:  Fast ForWord, BrainWare Safari, Interactive Metronome, Balametrics, PACE, The Listening Program, to name a few.

Neuroscience Principles Used in Fast ForWord

While the underlying opportunity for Fast ForWord is brain plasticity, the real beauty of the software is the neuroscience principles it uses to truly access the brain's willingness to change for the better if exercised appropriately.  Key principles are:

• Intensity, the knowledge that new brain pathways require retraining, that must first overcome current inefficient processing.  This is not unlike the technique of "immersion" used for learning foreign language -- we can spend years studying it in class on and off and still be nowhere, whereas a month of immersion in a country speaking only the local language can do wonders!  Fast ForWord protocols build in this intensity. 


• Noradrenaline release.  This chemical has the effect of "melting" and then resetting new pathways.  Fast ForWord uses extensive rewards to encourage the release of this chemical in the brain, when new levels of success (and ability) are achieved.



• Shaping, the idea of using tiny, incremental steps to create new neural pathways to lead the brain to new learning abilities.  Fast ForWord is an adaptive program that allows individual users to proceed at their own pace.