The idea is to create new circuitry. “When that scaffolding is finally in place,” Richard Restak wrote in his book Mozart’s Brain and the Fighter Pilot, “you will experience yourself in the world differently.”
“When we’re young we are recruiting neurons to form networks or nerve nets,” Restak goes on to say. As we age the networks can connect to multiple networks utilizing common neurons, which is why learning a second foreign language is made easier once you’ve learned the first one.
In truth, the things that require the most effort usually prove most rewarding. Moving out of the comfort zone is almost always a good idea and the sense of accomplishment, despite early frustration, can be so uplifting emotionally and such a confidence builder, all things combine to increase brain function. It’s difficult to convince your teenager of this but the older we get the more we realize just how meaningful that is.
The key is to step gently. It’s best to move ever so slightly out of the comfort zone and allow your brain a chance to process new concepts before moving on; it’s important to challenge ourselves without making the task so overwhelming that we lose interest.
Scientifically designed brain games are geared for that kind of gradual challenge.
We are aware that drugs can help with depression and anxiety. Anti-depressants have become the treatment of choice to a large extent in curing a variety of mood disorders. A change in attitude can often attain similar results. In other words, the mind can alter the brain.
If the connections within the brain change from electrical to chemical at the synapses, attitude and activity can go along way to change our internal chemistry. It does not always work so easily and sometimes in extreme cases prescription drugs are necessary, however, exercise and the right kind of psychological stimulus can surprise us. Watching a “feel-good” movie or learning something new or listening to music are prime examples.
If you combined music with learning something new by undertaking to learn an instrument or simply strengthen your music appreciation, you might find such an endeavor brings with it new found hope, faith in the future and improved brain function.
In troubling times such as these, depression and anxiety readily crop up even for those not prone to depression. But simple pleasures and maintaining a positive attitude even to the point of absurdity can be keys to mental well-being, not to mention our very survival.
Title of dance: Movement-in-Development
Title of PhD: Multisensory processing of metrical structure in music: Movement influences adults’ and infants’ auditory perception.
Scientific synopsis: Auditory and vestibular systems receive coupled inputs, contributing to the brain’s multisensory processing of music. Infants learn to feel the beat of music through movement, and this shapes the perception of music throughout our entire lives. Thus music and movement promote early brain development, and play an integral role in the social and emotional experience of music, such as between mother and child, between lovers, and in any community around the world and throughout human history.
Artistic vision: The first musical interaction is between the mother and her infant, such as through the mother’s singing and musical movement. The child becomes a woman, and music functions in her bonding with a mate, which is expressed through a spontaneous salsa dance. The woman becomes a mother, and in her turn, moves musically with her new child. The life cycle continues, and music is always present.
Artist: Jessica Phillips-Silver, Ph.D.
Duration : 0:3:38
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Technorati Tags: Auditory, Beat, Dance, Feel, infant, Movement, Music, Rhythm, Salsa, Science, Vestibular
Listen to the founder of Right Brain Education, Pamela Hickein, explain how it can help activate — or re-activate — the lesser-recognized right hemisphere, and why it can be so vital to achieve whole-brain integration.
Developed by Pamela in a Montessori environment, Right Brain Education is a gentle but powerful method of activating both left and right hemispheres of the brain to work together to accelerate learning, activate photographic memory, promote speed reading and make early learning fun for both children and parents. As an accelerated early learning program, it was also inspired by early childhood educators such as Maria Montessori, Glenn Doman, Makodo Shichida, Tony Buzan and others.
Right Brain Education is not just a knowledge-building program — it is a way to learn more deeply and efficiently.
Right Brain Education is built upon scientific findings about brain development. Because the outer cortex of the brain develops from right to left, this gives a window of time during which your child is functioning primarily with the right hemisphere.
In the first six years of life, a child’s right brain is open and primed to absorb incredible amounts of information. Children with early exposure to quality topics during this time — such as math, reading and writing — create a rich knowledge library they’ll tap into for the rest of their lives.
Right Brain Kids has a gentle early learning program called TweedleWink for children ages zero to about six that is tailored with special methods and techniques to help take optimum advantage of this highly fertile right brain learning period.
See a sample TweedleWink right brain lesson at http://www.rightbrainkids.com/early-learning-flashcards/
As a child continues to grow and develop, their right brain pathway becomes less engaged. Right Brain Kids has a program called Wink that uses delightful games and playful training exercises to help reactivate and maintain a child’s right brain connection.
Right Brain Education is very popular in Asia and the Far East where they place a great deal of emphasis and value on early learning and in giving their children every academic advantage to excel in school.
Get more information from an eBook at http://www.rightbrainkids.com/genius-child-program-ebook/
Pamela Hickein is a mother of four children, ages 3 to 15. She is an international author, educator and teacher trainer with over 300 students in Asia, North and South America, Europe, and Australia. She has been and honored speaker at the National ociation for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) sharing how to create caring, right brain learning environments for our children and youth.
Pamela Hickein is one of the principal owners of Right Brain Kids, the official web site of Right Brain Education. Pamela is active in teaching and promoting Right Brain Education on her web site.
Duration : 0:4:30
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Technorati Tags: Advanced, baby, Brain, Childhood, Development, Early, education, Family, infant, learning, parenting, preschool, Right, Smart, Special
We are aware that drugs can help with depression and anxiety. Anti-depressants have become the treatment of choice to a large extent in curing a variety of mood disorders. A change in attitude can often attain similar results. In other words, the mind can alter the brain.
If the connections within the brain change from electrical to chemical at the synapses, attitude and activity can go along way to change our internal chemistry. It does not always work so easily and sometimes in extreme cases prescription drugs are necessary, however, exercise and the right kind of psychological stimulus can surprise us. Watching a “feel-good” movie or learning something new or listening to music are prime examples.
If you combined music with learning something new by undertaking to learn an instrument or simply strengthen your music appreciation, you might find such an endeavor brings with it new found hope, faith in the future and improved brain function.
In troubling times such as these, depression and anxiety readily crop up even for those not prone to depression. But simple pleasures and maintaining a positive attitude even to the point of absurdity can be keys to mental well-being, not to mention our very survival.
