brain plasticity-based strategies designed to help struggling ......comparison group (no fast...
TRANSCRIPT
Dr.MichaelM.Merzenich
ProfessorEmeritus,UCSFCo-Founder,Scien=ficLearningCorpora=on
Director,BrainPlas=cityIns=tuteCSO,PositScienceCorpora=on
Neuroplas=city&Educa=on Vancouver Oct.23,2015
Brain plasticity-based strategies designed to help struggling children
Oursubject:Neuroplas=city-basedformsofhelpforthestrugglingchild
1.Brainplas,cityinchildhood.
2.Thefundamentally‘reversible’natureof brainplas,city-drivenchanges.
3.Whatcan‘gowrong’,inchilddevelopment.
4.“HarnessingtheGenie”,tohelp.
BRAINPLASTICITY:Thebasisofthebrain’screa=onofamodelofyourworld,andofthecontrolofyouropera=onswithinit.
Compe==vely,progressivelyrefiningfunc=onalorder.
Viacompe==veplas=cityprocesses,environmentalexperienceprogressivelyrefinesthebrain’srepresenta=onofsensoryinputsANDitsprocessingmachinery.
That“specializa=on”cruciallyenableshigher-orderbrainopera=ons.
Processesthatcontrolplas=city“mature”acrossthisearlychildhoodepoch.Withthatmatura=on,changesareONLYallowedforinputsandac=onsthatthebraindeterminestobe“good”forit.
Atanolderage,it’sallaboutpersonalunderthebrain’sowncontrol.
Reader
Non-reader
WHATischanging,exactly,asthebrainremodelsitselfinearlychildhood—indeed,throughoutlife—to
makethemostofitsuniqueexperiences?!ItsdetailedWIRING(synap=cconnec=ons)—ANDMANYOTHERphysicalaspectsofthebrain
Itsopera=onalcharacteris=csgoverningpercep=on,aeen=on,cogni=on,socialbehavior,etc.
Themachinerycontrollingchange,andcontrollingits(its‘owner’s’)ac=ons.
NotethatthesechangesarePHYSICAL.
Theproductofallthatchange?Aunique .
Old (or young, impaired) individuals were then sent to a ‘rehab center’ for brain training…..
vs
We began by comparing old animal and human brains with young adult brains…
de Villers-Sidani et al., PNAS 2010 Mishra, de Villers-Sidani et al., in review, 2014
vs
With simple forms of training in older (or younger, impaired) individuals ALL neurological abilities were substantially if not completely restored. Included on our list: 1. Local and long-track myelination 2. Excitatory & inhibitory response power & dynamics 3. Local response coordination/correlation 4. Cortical column sizes & boundaries 5. Parvalbumin inhibitory neuron numbers, vigor, morphologies 6. Inhibitory, excitatory, and modulatory receptor sub-types 7. Temporal response dynamics 8. Topographic order, precision 9. Response selectivity (receptive field size; feature extraction) 10.BDNF expression, function 11.Cortical thickness and neuropil volume 12.Cortical process‘noise’ 13.Distractor suppression 14.Successive-signal adaptation, adaptation to backgrounds 15.Modulatory neurotransmitter nuclei, transporters (ACh; DA; NE; SE) 16.Correlated gamma- & theta-frequency responses 16. Among other indices – all recovered at every examined system level. de Villers-Sidani et al, 2010, PNAS 107:13900; Zhou et al, 2011, J Neurosci 31:5625;de Villers-Sidani & Merzenich,Prog Brain Res 191:119; Mishra, de Villers-Sidani et al,2014,Neuron; Lin, Zhou et al 2015 PNAS
Ananimalmodelexample:
Note:Weseeallthesamechangesdrivenbytraininginyounger-impaired(orinnormally-developing)brains;e.g.,seeZhou,Linetal,PNAS,2015.
Example 2: Reducing the power of background “distractors” AND recovering discriminative powers.
Ahumanexample:
(20-100yrolds).
(BrainHQ.com)
Similarresultsrecordedwithvisualtraining.
65-90yearolds,beforetraining
aVertraining
TrainingdatafromSmithGEetal.,JAmGeriatrSoc2009.
12
After Before Lower is better
After Before Higher is better
divided attention N=7781 multi-tasking N=3854 remembering faces N=3836 visual search N=3836
visual tracking N=7781 aural syllable ID N=2845 working memory N=3175 phoneme discrim N=2866
AGE (20-100, for each task)
perf
orm
ance
pe
rfor
man
ce
Divided attention N=7781
Multi-tasking N=3854
Remember Faces N=3858
Visual search N=4486
Visual tracking N=7761
Syllable ID N=2945
Working memory N=3175
Phoneme discrim N=2806
20 100 20 100 20 100 20 100
Actually,EVERYneurologicalabilityisimprovable, .
*(i.e., until AD or related neuropathology gains a strong foothold)
How do you turn an old or impaired brain into what appears to be a (physically and functionally) more capable (‘better’; ‘younger’) one?
Youtrainit.Notabene:Ofcourseneurologicalrejuvena=onwillonlybeachievedwithpar=cularformsoftraining.
How do you turn a brain in the prime of life into an old one?
Zhouetal,2011,JNeurosci31:5625 Keepupthenoise,andthecri,calperiodre-opens!
What’scanaddtothe“noise”inachild’sbrain?
4. MANYgene,cfaults 5.Environmentalchaos6.BBBcompromise 7.Epilepsy8.Depriva,on;abuse 9.Somemeds10.Environmentalpoisons 11.Infec,ons12.Manyformsofphysicalwounding13.etalia
for delivering programs on computers, pads, phones.
, individualized training tools.
, for rapid gains
, to recover key abilities to renormalize brains
, to achieve ‘rejuvenation’ at all system levels, in all domains, for many clinical indications
to define training outcomes, in every kid
, via ‘gold-standard’trials.
to enable therapist monitoring, supervision, via the Internet
Aprimarytarget:youngerhumanbeingswithan“issue”
Ourcurrent,predominanteduca,onalstrategiesprebymuchassurethatone(orboth)ofthesekidsarenotgoingtothriveatanolderageinoursociety.
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:TOLDLanguageAgeI:2&P:2combinedPre-toPost-TrainingChange(n=96)
Cases(orde
redbychron
ologicalage)
• = Chronological age of each child
LanguageAge(years)
110 105 100 95 90 85 80
BELOW AVERAGE AVERAGE
Quotient Value
Pre-Training
Post-Training
SPOKEN LANGUAGE
Listening
Speaking
Semantics
Syntax
Phonology
Median
TOLD Quotients (I:2 & P:2 combined) Pre- vs. Post-Training Scores
ReadingachievementandFastForWordinaTexasschooldistrict(Gates-MacGini,etest)
Reading
Gra
de
Eq
uiv
ale
nt
0.0
0.53.0
3.5
4.0
4.5
5.0
5.5
6.0
BeforeAfter8 - 12 Weeks AfterMean Grade Level
m04kil07xma/man=144Gates McG Total Reading Grade EquivAll 2002-03 Killeen, TX students
Participant Group(Fast ForWord)
Comparison Group(No Fast ForWord)
Readinggainsareenabledbylisteningtraining.
OvercomingADHD
AnexamplethatappliesFormanystrugglingchildren
16
24
32
40
Pre Mid Post Followup
ADH
D S
ympt
om S
ever
ity
ONTRAC' Control'
*
* *
FromStevensetal,BrainRes1205(2008_.
FromMishraetal,Neuron84(2014)
FromMishraetal.,(inreview);2015
Anotherkeyrelatedclassofstudy:GrowingSOCIALcogni=on.
There’s a clearer path forward, for helping children in need….
Forfurtherreading,references,help…
For further information: [email protected]
www.BrainHQ.comwww.scilearn.com
Considerthese10“rules”astheygoverntheacquisi,onofanyneurobehavioralabilitythatyou’vemastered.
1
Learning-driven changes are MASSIVE.
1. Mitraisinthemood,tochange.
2. Outcomescontrolherrateofchange.
5. Changeisallaboutstrengtheningsynap@cconnec@ons(re-wiring).
4.Posi=velas=citygrowsteamwork=reliability.
5. Changesareassocia=ve,andsupportsequencedac=on.
7. Changesareini=allyprovisional.
8. ‘Mental’learningplaysanimportantrole.
8.Memoryguideslearning.
9.Everylearningmomenthasbeena“noise(distractor)control”moment.
10.Learning-inducedchangescouldhavebeenNEGATIVE.