Humans perform learned tasks better after sleep and recent research has uncovered that it appears to be the same for birds.
I read this interesting article today on the subject http://www.cbc.ca/technology/story/2010/01/12/tech-biology-bird-brain.html and wanted to share it with you. Let me know what you think.
Sleep is now recognized as being critical for learning and memory, and now a new study into fruit flies offers clues as to why. From their research, scientists have identified three specific genes critical to the sleep-learning connection. One of these genes is the fly equivalent of a specific gene in humans linked to learning and memory, known as the serum response factor.
So, if you want to learn something new, do as the fruit fly does, get a good night’s sleep!
It is a fascinating article that can be found at http://www.webmd.com/brain/news/20090403/sleep-clears-way-for-new-learning. Let us know what you think.
From the miracles we observe in nature, there is one that fascinates me every time I think about it, that is, the capacity of animals and, potentially, plants to adapt and change themselves because of something they have learned about their environment.
What is learning? In the excellent book, The Executive Brain: Frontal Lobes and the Civilized Mind, By Elkonon Goldberg , I think I found a simple explanation that we can share. He says the following: “ When the organism is exposed to a new pattern of signals form the outside world, the strengths of synaptic contacts (the ease of signal passage between neurons) and local biochemical and electric properties gradually change in complex distributed constellations. This represents learning, as we understand it today.” In other words, every time an organism learns something new, its network of nerves expands to create more complex and capable networks.
Did you know that one of the vital times when this expansion of brain networks takes place is when we sleep? Therefore, if sleep is interrupted for any reason, like for example, pain, illness, noise, bad position bad sleep position etc., learning will be impaired.
Be wise and have fun!
Link:
Wenatex conducts “Healthy Sleep for a Better Life” Seminars around Australia and New Zealand. If you are interested in attending please register on our website.
How is it you can learn the tango in the evening and be able to remember it the next morning? When did your brain create this memory? Was it during the lesson? Shortly after it? During the night?
The when and how of memory creation in human brains has been the subject of scientific debate for centuries. Today, the question of how the brain stores or discards memories still remains largely unexplained. However, Nobel Prize winner Bert Sakmann from the Max Planck Institute for Medical Research in Heidelberg and his colleagues demonstrated that those fresh impressions, the tango steps for example, are first stored as short-term memories in an area of the brain called the hippocampus. They are then said to move within hours or a few days - usually during deep sleep - into the cerebral cortex where they enter long-term memory.
This explains why people who have experienced sleep disturbances during the night who perform tasks requiring memory, do not perform as well as those who enjoyed a healthy and continuous sleep.
Can anyone share some personal experience in relation to memory creation?
Be wise and have fun
References:
http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/medicine/laureates/1991/
http://wbp.mpimf-heidelberg.mpg.de/
http://www.physorg.com/news84535821.html
IMPORTANT NOTE:
This article is for information only. For health advice specific to you, please consult your Health Professional.