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The "Doogie" Mouse, LTP and Learning |
About ten years ago scientists from Princeton University gave us the "Doogie" mouse (http://www.princeton.edu/pr/pictures/other/smartmouse/index.html). Named after Doogie Howser, TV's phenom "kid" medic, Doogie Howser M.D. Doogie, you see, is a transgenic mouse. He has been scientifically converted into perhaps, the smartest mouse on the planet! Genetically engineered to have better than average LTP or Long Term Potentiation. When our neural connections or synapses undergo LTP, we, quite simply, learn. Here's more on LTP.
 It is the classic aha effect. The instructor lectures and provides some information but it does not sink in. The instructor offers a metaphor to help students grasp the information but still to no avail. The instructor plays a fun TGI Game to further review the information and suddenly….. aha, the student gets it, and LEARNS. Okay, so I got in a commercial.
This LTP phenomenon has everything to do with a wonderful neurotransmitter called glutamate. Glutamate is unique as neurotransmitters go. It is extremely excitatory, and has this dual receptor system (sounds like some kind of hotrod huh). Typically neurotransmitters float from one neuron to the next, and in a "Lock and Key" way, link with receptors on the membrane of the receiving neuron. This is the way our nervous system sends messages which travel through our neural networks. Ah, but glutamate in the brain's cortex and hippocampus exhibits two types of receptors. And although a little glutamate may get a rise out of receptor number one, this connection, this synapse, is not potentiated until enough glutamate is introduced into the system to explode that second receptor. Once this occurs, the synapse undergoes this magnificent change with all kinds of special stuff happening like more receptors coming out of storage with even greater receptivity and all lining up on a newly structured dendritic spine specially designed so that this excitatory wavelet's of energy can spread further. The synapse has changed, the connection is stronger, and an idea, a thought, a fact, has been learned.
So barkeep, pour me another cup of glutamate, RIGHT? Well it's not that easy. But there are things that enhance this thing called LTP. Happy neurons are energized neurons. So learning has a lot to do with your physical state and energy levels. Your brain uses about 1/5th of your available energy everyday. This is why you don't want to go into your next exam, an interview, or a fight with your wife, physically depleted. Secondly, a little stress is good; in fact, another name for a little stress is stimulation. You're attentive, you're focused, and you're ready to learn. A lot of stresses however, say a couple of hours of stressing, reeks havoc with our ability to learn and remember. That is why the environment that we learn in is important and impacts our ability to learn. So instructor, keep on using music, icebreakers, and engaging exercises to keep energy levels high, stress levels low, and learners learning. |
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