The social component of environmental enrichment may also have an effect on neurogenesis, especially in the mediation of olfactory neurogenesis. Researchers discovered this effect through another study (Monteiro, et. al., Enriched environment increases neurogenesis and improves social memory persistence in socially isolated adult mice, 2014).
A Study About Environmental Enrichment and Stress-Related Systems
One study focused on the effect of environmental enrichment on stress-related systems (Moneck, et. al., Effect of Environmental Enrichment on Stress Related Systems in Rats, 2004). The main aim of this particular study was to find out if environmental enrichment changes the responsiveness and status of the sympathetic-adrenomedullary and pituitary-adrenocortical hormones in rodents.
In this study, researchers kept rats in an enriched environment. These rats demonstrated higher concentrations of resting plasma of corticosterone. Also, they had bigger adrenals and an increase in their corticosterone release to buspirone challenge as compared to the controlled subjects.
Also, the rats that were kept in the enriched environment had lower adrenaline, corticosterone and adrenocorticotropic hormone responses. As these rats were exposed to repeated handling, this resulted in a faster extinction of the corticosterone responses. This showed that environmental enrichment may result in significant changes in neuroendocrine regulation, as well as bigger adrenals and an increase in adrenocortical function.
Other Studies
There have also been other studies that have shown how environmental enrichment affects neuroplasticity in a positive way. Let's take a look at these studies:
● Education as an important factor
Some studies have shown evidence that people with more cognitive reserve are the ones who have attained a higher level of education (Borenstein, et. al., Early-life risk factors for Alzheimer disease, 2006; Horr, et. al. Systematic review of strengths and limitations of randomized controlled trials for non-pharmacological interventions in mild cognitive impairment: focus on Alzheimer’s disease, 2015; McDowell, et. al., Mapping the connections between education and dementia, 2007; Roe, et. al., Education and Alzheimer disease without dementia: support for the cognitive reserve, 2007).
These studies have also shown that, in addition to their education level, those who followed a healthy diet and maintained regular physical activity demonstrated increased neuroplasticity as well. These factors are components of an enriched environment, and they all contribute to the development of cognitive reserves, which are an important part of the brain's plasticity.
● Early environmental experiences
In another study, researchers focused on the role early environmental experiences play in the behavioral phenotype of animals (Salvanes, et. al., Environmental enrichment promotes neural plasticity and cognitive ability in fish, 2013). In the subjects’ natural environments, these experiences affect the navigational abilities and anti-predator responses of the animals.
On the other hand, animals that have grown up and developed in captive environments demonstrate a reduction in their behavioral flexibility. In this study and others, results have shown that animals that weren't allowed to grow in their natural enriched environments had compromised neural development and neuroplasticity.
● Long-term effect of environmental enrichment
Although neurons are constantly being born from the endogenous stem cells then become part of the dentate gyrus throughout our lives, adult neurogenesis tends to precipitously decline as we grow older. However, a study showed that short-term exposure to an enriched environment may result in a significant increase in the birth of new neurons, as well as a striking behavioral performance improvement (Kempermann, et. al., Neuroplasticity in old age: Sustained fivefold induction of hippocampal neurogenesis by long‐term environmental enrichment, 2002).
This neuroplasticity response may be important for explaining the benefits of brain pathology and function from leading an active lifestyle. In the study, the mice that lived in an enriched environment displayed adult neurogenesis in their hippocampuses that was five times higher than the mice in the control group. Comparatively, the increase that occurred in the neuronal phenotypes happened at the expense of astrocytes that had been newly generated.
This form of neuroplasticity happened within the context of relevant improvements in terms of locomotor activity, learning parameters and exploratory behaviors. The mice that lived in enriched environments also had a reduction in the lipofuscin load of their dentate gyrus, which indicated a decrease in nonspecific degeneration that's dependent on age. This means that the signs and effects of neuronal aging can be reduced by maintaining a challenging and active lifestyle, even when the stimulation starts at middle age. This stimulation has a sustained positive effect on neuroplasticity.
Environmental Enrichment Is Truly Important
Keeping your brain stimulated by having new experiences, learning new things and having new social interactions causes the brain to grow because of all the new synapses that are being created. Conversely, when you deprive your brain of these new experiences and bore it with the same old routine each and every day, your brain might actually start shrinking.
This is why environmental enrichment is so important. Your brain is always responding to how you interact with the world around you. The more complicated the interactions you have, the more novel your experiences are and the more synapses your brain will be able to create. This, in turn, increases your neuroplasticity, making the connections stronger and improving the overall health of your brain.
PART 2: EXERCISES FOR COGNITIVE FLEXIBILITY
“Any man could, if he were so inclined, be the sculptor of his own brain.”
- Santiago Ramon y Cajal, Spanish Neuroscientist and Pathologist
Chapter 6: What Is Cognitive Flexibility?
Cognitive flexibility refers to your mental ability to shift from thinking about one idea to another, as well as being able to think about several ideas all at the same time. Cognitive flexibility has two main subcategories (cognitive shifting and task switching), which depend on whether the change occurs consciously or unconsciously.
This skill varies throughout your life. Also, there are specific conditions that may cause a reduction in cognitive flexibility, such as obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Cognitive flexibility is an essential part of learning, and when you don't have enough of it, it may mean other things.
There are different ways of measuring cognitive flexibility. According to research, when you engage in tasks that require cognitive flexibility, specific regions of your brain are activated (depending on the task). Usually the activated regions of the brain are the posterior parietal cortex, the prefrontal cortex, the anterior cingulate cortex and the basal ganglia (Leber, et. al., Neural predictors of moment-to-moment fluctuations in cognitive flexibility, 2008). Other studies that involved subjects who had specific deficits have also added to the knowledge about how cognitive flexibility changes and develops within the brain.
The broader description of cognitive flexibility states that it is the ability of your mind to adjust your thinking from past situations to new ones, along with its ability to overcome thinking or responses that have become habits in order for you to adapt to new experiences and situations. This means that your brain actually has the ability to overcome habits or beliefs that you previously held as needed. If you're able to do this, it means that you are cognitively flexible. With this definition, you can see that cognitive flexibility is a lot like neuroplasticity. Both concepts support the fact that the human brain can grow, change and develop based on what you are experiencing throughout your life.
Aspects of Cognitive Flexibility
Cognitive flexibility is extremely useful because it allows you to adapt to new information and situations. Although there are several technical definitions of this concept, the simplest definition is that it's the ability of a person to shift his thinking as he adapts to new stimuli. To help you un
derstand cognitive flexibility more, let's take a look at some of its potential aspects:
● Deconstructing thoughts
When you're faced with a complex problem or thought, you can deconstruct it into smaller chunks through cognitive flexibility.
● Expanded awareness
To some, cognitive flexibility refers to a person's ability to be totally aware of all the possible alternatives and choices in a given situation. For instance, if you're playing poker, you may be aware of the cards in your hand, as well as the possible hands held by all the other players.
● Multi-faceted observation
In some cases, cognitive flexibility can also refer to your ability to consider several elements of observation at the same time. For instance, you may be observing an object and notice its color, but at the same time you also observe its shape, smell, and texture. If you're able to do this, some consider it to be cognitive flexibility as well.
● Transition "stream of thoughts" and attention
Often, cognitive flexibility refers to our ability to shift our thoughts between several concepts. For instance, you may be with a group of people and someone starts talking about the benefits of following a keto diet. Then, out of the blue, another person starts talking about the challenges that come with traveling to a different country. In such a situation, being able to shift from one concept to another without getting confused is cognitive flexibility in action.
● Updating cognition and beliefs
Sometimes, cognitive flexibility also refers to updating your own thoughts and beliefs as a way of adapting to new stimuli or information. People who are rigid when it comes to their beliefs and think that they cannot change because they're already "set in their ways" are people who possess poor cognitive flexibility. Such people aren't able to update their cognition and beliefs, even when presented with new information or new stimuli.
Chapter 7: Exercises to Improve Cognitive Flexibility
Cognitive flexibility is a skill that requires constant practice if you want it to improve. Think of yourself as a lifelong learner that is always learning, re-learning, and unlearning things throughout your life. In doing so, you will start developing an “innovator's mindset,” which allows you to easily come up with ideas while also being able to further develop and implement them as needed.
Cognitive flexibility is an important skill that's also related to neuroplasticity. To have this flexibility, you mustn't be afraid to reinvent yourself. The more you learn things, the easier it becomes for you to learn more. Of course, unlearning certain things can be extremely difficult, especially in terms of old habits and information that you have learned in the past and believed all your life. However, this doesn't mean that unlearning is impossible.
Remember how we talked about connections and synapses in our brains that can fade away into oblivion when you're not using them? Although some skills such as riding a bicycle or driving are never really forgotten, we might lose other kinds of skills, and even learned information if we don't keep practicing them. The good news is that when it comes to cognitive flexibility, there are exercises you can do to acquire this skill and improve it in the long run.
Before Beginning These Exercises
There are a number of cognitive flexibility exercises you can perform to strengthen your brain and help it grow. Whether you're trying to overcome a psychological condition such as depression, trying to get rid of bad habits or have some other personal reason for applying neuroplasticity to your life, acquiring the skill of cognitive flexibility will definitely help you out.
Before beginning these exercises, you must prepare yourself. Cognitive flexibility isn't something you learn and then forget after you feel like you've already learned and understood it. This is something that you need to keep on practicing if you want to get better at it. Cognitive flexibility will be highly beneficial to your life. As you train your mind, you're also making it stronger to protect it from age-related decline and degeneration. With that being said, let's start with the process of learning cognitive flexibility by learning how you can best prepare yourself for it.
How often should exercises be done?
With these exercises, there is no "recommended" frequency for doing them. However, you may want to perform the exercises whenever the opportunity presents itself. As a matter of fact, it would be better for you to view these exercises as part of your lifestyle, and not just a routine you “have to do regularly.”
As time goes by, the neurons in your brain that aren't stimulated will start losing their connections with each other. This is why it's extremely important to keep having new experiences, learning new things and performing cognitive flexibility exercises regularly. Think about it this way: If you never water the plants in your garden, they will start withering away until they die. And unless you nourish your plants, their roots will start dying, which will cause them to lose their ability to regenerate.
This same thing may happen to your brain as well. The nourishment comes in the form of learning, exercising and other forms of stimulation, such as having new experiences and interacting with new people. And it's never too late to start nourishing your brain once again. Recent research has shown that our brains have the ability to regenerate more than neural connections. They can also regenerate the neurons themselves! This is why it's so important to practice your skills and feed your mind continuously.
What are these exercises designed to do?
The main purpose of cognitive flexibility exercises is to stimulate your brain in response to new things, as well as to keep on challenging your brain. The exercises are designed to force you out of your comfort zone in order to promote both neurogenesis and neuroplasticity.
The exercises we will be discussing in the next section are meant to enhance your cognitive flexibility. They will be your foundation as you try to overcome a condition you're suffering from, or as you try to break bad habits that you have been doing all your life.
As you're performing the exercises, you may feel some resistance. Don't be discouraged, as this resistance is an indication that the exercises are serving their purpose. The more you stick with them, the better for you they will be. Think of these exercises as your own way to strengthen your brain. After some time, you can start coming up with your own exercises that will help you step out of your comfort zone and lead you to self-improvement.
Most of the time, the problems we face in life don't have easy answers, which is why cognitive flexibility is highly essential. With it, you will be able to analyze the situation you're in and think of different plans to meet your requirements or goals. Having this skill means that you won't have to worry about freezing up or panicking when faced with challenging situations.
Also, having cognitive flexibility allows you to become more aware of your actions so that you can consciously make a choice to change them. This is an important aspect of neuroplasticity, as it helps you change your behaviors when you learn new information. With all these benefits and more, you can now see the importance of cognitive flexibility and how it will help you improve your life. Let's now take a look at some exercises you can start off with to enhance your cognitive flexibility.
Interpersonal Exercises
When you hear the words “brain exercises,” you most likely think of crossword puzzles, meditation and other mental exercises that can help strengthen your brain and maintain its health. Of course, these exercises are very important. But in addition to these, interpersonal exercises are essential as well. This means that you must maintain relationships and social interactions in your life if you want to improve your cognitive flexibility and your brain's neuroplasticity.
According to neurologists, human beings are social creatures, and social interactions are a fundamental aspect of our lives. Throughout our lives, we play different roles based on our interactions with the people around us. Essentially, these relationships that we have define us. The more we maintain the roles we play as we grow older, the mor
e we can maintain the health of our brains.
Plenty of research has shown how social interaction can have a positive effect on our physical and mental health. One such study showed how the amygdala, a region in our brain that helps regulate our emotions, develops better in those who have a more complex and broader social network (Bickart, et. al., Amygdala volume and social network size in humans, 2011). This shows how our social interactions may affect the functions and structure of our brains. This also means that our brains are naturally wired for social interactions to keep them healthy and strong.
On the other hand, when you don't have enough social interaction in your life, this may have an adverse effect in your brain. Another study that mainly focused on neuroplasticity and social interactions showed how patients who suffered from anxiety disorders displayed excessive neural activity in their amygdalas (Mansson, et. al., Neuroplasticity in response to cognitive behavior therapy for social anxiety disorder, 2016).
In this same study, the researchers found that this neural reactivity in the brains of the patients had the potential to be normalized through cognitive behavior therapy and other types of effective treatments. Part of the analysis of the results from this study indicated that a reduction in the amygdala GM volume was directly related to the relationship between a decrease in the neural responsivity of the patients wand a reduction in their social anxiety after they received treatment. This suggests that there is an improvement in neuroplasticity when social anxiety is reduced.
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