The document discusses the concept of neuroplasticity, or the brain's ability to change and adapt as a result of experiences. It describes how neural pathways are formed and strengthened through mechanisms like axonal sprouting and synaptic pruning. Experiences drive which connections are kept and which are pruned away. The brain remains plastic into adulthood, as evidenced by cases of recovery from brain damage and phantom limb pain. Thinking itself can induce neuroplastic changes, as cognitive therapies have been shown to alter brain activity patterns similarly to medications for conditions like OCD. Overall, the document outlines how learning, experiences, and even thoughts can physically change the brain's structure and connections throughout life.

1. Neuroplasticity
Tutorial
By: Dr Madhumita Sen

2. Introduction
• What is brain plasticity?
• Does it mean that our brains are made of
plastic?
• Of course not!
• Plasticity, or neuroplasticity, is the lifelong
ability of the brain to reorganize neural
pathways based on new experiences.
• As we learn, we acquire new knowledge
and skills through instruction or experience

3. • Definition: Neural plasticity, which is also
known as neuroplasticity, brain plasticity,
cortical plasticity, is the changing of the
structure, function, and organization of
neurons in response to new experiences.
• Neural plasticity specifically refers to
strengthening or weakening nerve
connections or adding new nerve cells based
on outside experiences.

4. How
Paths
are
created

5. • In some cases, patients with brain damage
have healed naturally because healthy nerves
took on the tasks of damaged or destroyed
nerves, allowing for at least some level of
functionality.
• There are a variety of mechanisms by
which neural plasticity can occur; axonal
sprouting and synaptic pruning are among the
most common of these mechanisms.

6. Axonal Sprouting
• In axonal sprouting, healthy axons
sprout new nerve endings that
connect to other pathways in the
nervous system.
• This can be used to strengthen
existing connections or to repair
damaged parts of the nervous
system by repairing damaged
neural pathways and restoring
them to full functionality.

7. Synaptic Pruning
• Following birth, the brain of a
newborn is flooded with
information from the baby’s sense
organs.
• This sensory information must
somehow make it back to the
brain where it can be processed.
• To do so, nerve cells must make
connections with one another,
transmitting the impulses to the
brain.

8. • Over the first few years of life, the brain grows
rapidly.
• As each neuron matures, it sends out multiple
branches (axons, which send information out,
and dendrites, which take in information),
increasing the number of synaptic contacts and
laying the specific connections from house to
house, or in the case of the brain, from neuron
to neuron.

9. • At birth, each neuron in the cerebral cortex
has approximately 2,500 synapses.
• By the time an infant is two or three years old,
the number of synapses is approximately
15,000 synapses per neuron (Gopnick, et al.,
1999).
• This amount is about twice that of the
average adult brain.
• As we age, old connections are deleted
through a process called synaptic pruning.

10. • Synaptic pruning eliminates weaker synaptic
contacts while stronger connections are kept
and strengthened.
• Experience determines which connections will
be strengthened and which will be pruned;
connections that have been activated most
frequently are preserved.
• It is plasticity that enables the process of
developing and pruning connections, allowing
the brain to adapt itself to its environment.

11. • Because of axonal sprouting and synaptic
pruning that lend to neural plasticity, damage to
the brain or other aspects of the nervous system
is not always permanent.
• This process is part of what makes humans so
able to adapt to a broad range of circumstances;
the very physiology of the brain changes in
response to a given set of conditions.
Contrary to common ideas as
expressed in this diagram, brain
functions are not confined to
certain fixed locations.

12. Network of our Brain
• The communication network in our brain is a
multi-trillion maze of connections capable of
performing 20 million-billion calculations per
second.
• How does this network operate?
• There are three major players:
• Neurons, which power the message,
• Neurotransmitters, which create the message
and
• Receptors, which receive the message.

13. • A single one of our neurons can produce
almost a tenth of a volt, and the total
electrical activity in our brain is easily
measurable with an electroencephalogram
(EEG).
• The impulse then travels at a speed of up to
150MPH away from the cell body through its
antennae, the axon.

14. Neurotransmitters – Chemical Transmission
• Dopamine is the neurotransmitter needed for
healthy assertiveness and sexual arousal, proper
immune and autonomic nervous system function.
• Dopamine is important for motivation and a sense
of readiness to meet life's challenges.
• Age-related cognitive decline is associated with
dopamine changes in the brain.
• People whose hands tremble from Parkinson's
disease have a diminished ability to synthesize
dopamine, which is crucial to fine muscle
coordination.
• Attention deficits are also connected to dopamine.

15. • It is one of the most vulnerable key
neurotransmitters in the brain.
• Dopamine levels are depleted by stress or
poor sleep.
• Alcohol, caffeine, and sugar all seem to
diminish dopamine activity in the brain.
• It's also easily oxidized, therefore we should
eat plenty of fruits and vegetables whose
antioxidants help protect dopamine-using
neurons from free radical damage.

16. • Norepinephrine, also called noradrenalin, is
the primary excitatory neurotransmitter
needed for motivation, alertness, and
concentration.
• A hormone, it travels in the bloodstream to
arouse brain activity with its adrenalin-like
effects.
• Our brain requires norepinephrine to form
new memories and to transfer them to long-
term storage.

17. • Both nor-epinephrine and dopamine are
manufactured from the amino acids
tyrosine or phenylalanine in the presence
of adequate oxygen, vitamins B3(Niacin),
B6(Pyridoxine), and C, folic acid, iron, and
copper.
• Food sources of tyrosine include
almonds, avocados, bananas, dairy
products, lima beans, pumpkin seeds,
and sesame seeds.

18. • Serotonin is a calming neurotransmitter
important to the maintenance of good mood.
• It promotes contentment and is responsible
for normal sleep.
• In addition to the central nervous system,
serotonin is also found in the walls of the
intestine (the enteric nervous system) and in
platelet cells that promote blood clotting.

19. • Low serotonin levels produce insomnia and
depression, aggressive behaviour, increased
sensitivity to pain, and is associated with
obsessive-compulsive behaviour and eating
disorders.
• Serotonin is synthesized from tryptophan in
the presence of adequate vitamins B1, B3, B6,
and folic acid.
• The best food sources of tryptophan include
bananas, brown rice, cottage cheese, meat,
turkey, spinach, peanuts, and sesame seeds.

20. • Glutamate and GABA :
• These two are the most common
neurotransmitters in the brain.
• Glutamate acts on several different types of
receptors, and have effects that are excitatory
and modulatory.
• Excessive glutamate can cause neural apoptosis.
• GABA also acts on several different types of
receptors that are inhibitory.
• GABA is synthesised from glutamate.
• Glutamate rich foods are milk, eggs, meat, fish,
cheese, soya and walnuts.

21. • Acetylcholine is the primary chemical carrier
of thought and memory.
• This excitatory neurotransmitter is essential
for both the storage and recall of memory, and
partly responsible for concentration and focus.
• It also plays a significant role in muscular
coordination.
• A deficit in acetylcholine is directly related to
memory decline and reduced cognitive
capacity.

22. • Its primary building block is choline, which belongs to
the B family of vitamins and is a fat-like substance that's
necessary to metabolize fats.
• It is found in lecithin as phosphatidyl choline.
• Foods high in lecithin include egg yolks, wheat germ,
soybeans, organ meats, and whole wheat products.
• Vitamin C and B5 (Pantothenic acid) are needed for the
brain to synthesize acetylcholine, in the presence of
choline acetyl-transferase, a key brain enzyme.
• Acetylcholine levels tend to decline with age, in part
because of a decreased ability to synthesize this
enzyme.

23. Receptors-Open the Doors
• A receptor is essentially a geomagnetic lock
designed to accept only the right key – the
neurotransmitter whose molecular shape
and polarity are a precise fit.
• The typical receptor is a large molecule. The
exposed section, the 'lily pad,' floats on the
surface of the cell membrane, while the
'roots' extend deep into the cell.

24. • There are as many kinds of
receptors as there are
neurotransmitters.
• Receptors are Protein
molecules.
• Although each receptor is
supposed to recognize and
accept only a particular
neurotransmitter molecule,
certain medicines and plant
compounds are also able to
mate with some receptors.

25. • Receptors Decline with Age
• The neurotransmitter serotonin interacts with
at least 15 different receptors in the body.
• After age 20, one of serotonin's most common
receptors starts to decline in the human brain.
• Receptors for the neurotransmitter dopamine
also decline with age.

26. Neurons
• Neurons are the core components of
the nervous system, which includes
the brain, spinal cord, and peripheral ganglia.
• Neurons do not undergo cell division.
• In most cases, neurons are generated by
special types of stem cells.
• Astrocytes, a type of glial cell, have been
observed to turn into neurons by virtue of the
stem cell characteristic pluripotency.
• This is called “recruitment.”

27. • The key to neural function is the synaptic signalling
process, which is partly electrical and partly
chemical.
• The electrical aspect depends on properties of the
neuron's membrane.
• Every neuron is surrounded by a plasma
membrane, a bilayer of lipid molecules with many
types of protein structures embedded in it.
• To build brain cells we need fatty acids.
• A lipid layer also coats the axon (Myelin), acting as
insulation for electrical impulses.
• One of the most common fatty acids in myelin is
oleic acid, which is also the most abundant fatty
acid in human milk.

28. • From ALA and LA, the 2 essential FAs, our
brain can make (docosahexaenoic acid) DHA
and (arachidonic acid) AA, the longer chained
fatty acids that are incorporated in its cell
membranes.
• The brain's ability to assemble these fatty
acids can be compromised by stress,
infections, alcohol, excess sugar, and vitamin
or mineral deficiencies – factors common
today.

29. • Also, the oxidative damage that comes with
age causes a decline in membrane DHA
concentrations, and with it, cognitive
impairment.
• Essential Fatty Acids have been shown to
actually boost intelligence and an imbalance
of fatty acids may be linked to hyperactivity,
depression, brain allergies, and schizophrenia.

30. Blood Vessels
• Any discussion of the brain must include the
vast network of blood vessels that serve it.
• There are 400 miles of capillaries in the human
brain having a surface area of approximately
100 square feet.
• And, the health of these vessel walls is
paramount to proper brain function. Hence
avoidance of trans fats.

31. • Not only is the bloodstream a river of life
constantly delivering oxygen, glucose, and
nutrients to the brain – and removing toxins –
it also cools the brain.
• One of the bloodstream's important functions
is to keep brain cells from overheating.

32. History
• During most of the 20th century, the
general consensus among neuroscientists
was that brain structure is relatively
immutable after a critical period during
early childhood.
• This belief has been challenged by findings
revealing that many aspects of the brain
remain plastic even into adulthood

33. • In 1793, Italian anatomist Michele Vicenzo
Malacarne described experiments in which he
paired animals, trained one of the pair
extensively for years, and then dissected both.
• He discovered that the cerebellums of the
trained animals were substantially larger.
• But, these findings were eventually forgotten.
• The first person to use the term neural
plasticity appears to have been the Polish
neuroscientist Jerzy Konorski.

34. • A tragic stroke that left his father paralyzed
inspired Prof. Paul Bach-y-Rita, an American
neuroscientist, to study brain rehabilitation.
• His brother, a physician, worked tirelessly to
develop therapeutic measures which were so
successful that the father recovered complete
functionality by age 68 and was able to live a
normal, active life which even included mountain
climbing.
• "His father’s story was first hand evidence that a
‘late recovery’ could occur even with a massive
lesion in an elderly person.

35. Phantom limbs
• The experience of Phantom limbs is a
phenomenon in which a person continues to
feel pain or sensation within a part of their
body which has been amputated.
• This is strangely common, occurring in 60-
80% of amputees.

36. • An explanation for this refers to the concept of
neuroplasticity, as the cortical maps of the
removed limbs are believed to have become
engaged with the area around them in
the post-central gyrus (sensory cortex).
• This results in activity within the surrounding
area of the cortex being misinterpreted by the
area of the cortex formerly responsible for the
amputated limb.

37. • In the early 1990s V.S. Ramachandran
theorized that phantom limbs were the result
of cortical remapping.
• However, cortical remapping occurs only in
patients who have phantom pain.
• Research showed that phantom limb pain
(rather than referred sensations) was the
perceptual correlate of cortical reorganization.
• This phenomenon is sometimes referred to as
maladaptive plasticity.

38. A diagrammatic explanation of the
mirror box.
• The patient places the good limb
into one side of the box (in this
case the right hand) and the
amputated limb into the other
side.
• Due to the mirror, the patient
sees a reflection of the good
hand where the missing limb
would be.
• The patient thus receives
artificial visual feedback that the
"resurrected" limb is now moving
when they move the good hand.

39. • In 2009 Lorimer Moseley and Peter Brugger
carried out a remarkable experiment in which
they encouraged arm amputee subjects to use
visual imagery to contort their phantom limbs
into impossible configurations.
• Four of the seven subjects succeeded (as
recorded on fMRI scans).
• This experiment suggests that nerves can still
be used to execute impossible movements in
the absence of feedback from the body: “the
brain truly does change itself."

40. Thinking About Thinking
• As scientists probe the limits of neuroplasticity,
they are finding that mind sculpting can occur
even without input from the outside world.
• The brain can change as a result of the thoughts
we think.
• This has important implications for health:
thought can affect the very stuff of the brain,
altering neuronal connections in a way that can
treat mental illness or, perhaps, lead to a greater
capacity for empathy and compassion.
• It may even dial up the supposedly immovable
happiness set point!

41. • In a series of experiments, Jeffrey Schwartz
and colleagues at the University of
California, Los Angeles, found that cognitive
behavior therapy (CBT) can quiet activity in
the circuit that underlies obsessive-
compulsive disorder (OCD), just as drugs do.
• Schwartz had become intrigued with the
therapeutic potential of mindfulness
meditation, the Buddhist practice of
observing one's inner experiences as if they
were happening to someone else.

42. • When OCD patients were plagued by an obsessive
thought, Schwartz instructed them to think, "My
brain is generating another obsessive thought
thrown up by a faulty circuit."
• After 10 weeks of mindfulness-based therapy, 12
out of 18 patients improved significantly.
• Before-and-after brain scans showed that activity
in the orbital frontal cortex, the core of the OCD
circuit, had fallen dramatically and in exactly the
way that drugs against OCD affect the brain.
• Schwartz called it "self-directed neuroplasticity,"
concluding that "the mind can change the brain."

43. Plasticity of Learning and Memory
• Learning, as defined by Tortora and Grabowski
(1996), is the ability to acquire new knowledge
or skills through instruction or experience.
• Initially, newly learned data are "stored" in
short-term memory, which is a temporary
ability to recall a few pieces of information
• After a period of time, information may be
moved into a more permanent type of memory,
long-term memory, which is the result of
anatomical or biochemical changes that occur in
the brain.

44. • The human brain now faces a challenge never
before encountered in its thousands of
generations of development. Modern food
processing techniques have actually altered a
basic building block of the brain.
• Trans fatty acids found in foods disrupt
communication in our brain. By modifying
natural fats, we have altered the basic building
blocks of the human brain – weakening the
brain’s architecture.

45. Factors that control neurogenesis:
• Experiences:
• Enriched environment increases promotion of
cell survival
• Exercise increases rate of cell division
• Learning tasks increase synapse formation
• Stress reduces neurochemicals
• Growth factors increase: Epidermal growth
factor favours differentiation into glial cells,
whereas fibroblasts growth factors promote
neuronal production.

46. • Serotonin increases axonal sprouting and
synapse formation.
• Estrogen, testosterone increases brain
neurotropic hormones.
• Glucocorticoids (stress) reduce synapse
formation and axonal sprouting. Chronic stress
can reduce the number of dendritic spines
• Damage: Epileptic seizures and Stroke cause
permanent nerve tissue damage but also
stimulate an increase in nerve regeneration.
• Genetics

47. Injury-induced
Plasticity: Brain Repair
• During brain repair following injury, plastic
changes are geared towards maximizing
function in spite of the damaged brain (animal
studies).
• Although this phenomenon has not been
widely studied in humans, data indicate that
changes occur in human brains following injury.

48. • An important aspect of neuroplasticity
involves the monitoring of neurotransmitter
activities.
• Specific receptors help neurons sense the
environment and turn the genes which cause
production of neurotransmitters and their
receptors on or off.
• For example, if an individual has just
experienced a stressful situation, the brain
senses the rise in stress level and may turn off
or turn down the genes that make
neurotransmitter receptors.

49. • Acute and chronic stress can
have quite different effects
on learning:
• Acute stress can potentiate
learning ( Shors, 2001),
• Chronic stress leads to
deficits in hippocampus-
dependent memory
reminiscent of those seen in
major depression.

50. Neuroplasticity and Depression
• Evidence has accumulated that structural
changes in the limbic system may be related
to major depression.
• Duman suggests that major depression and
other affective disorders could result in loss of
neuroplasticity.

51. • Scientists at the University of Toronto had 14
depressed adults undergo CBT, which teaches
patients to view their own thoughts differently--
to see a failed date, for instance, not as proof
that "I will never be loved" but as a minor thing
that didn't work out.
• Thirteen other patients received paroxetine (the
generic form of the antidepressant Paxil).
• All experienced comparable improvement after
treatment.
• Then the scientists scanned the patients' brains.

52. • Surprise !
• Depressed brains responded differently to the
two kinds of treatment--and in a very
interesting way.
• CBT muted overactivity in the frontal cortex,
the seat of reasoning, logic and higher thought.
• Paroxetine, by contrast, raised activity there.
• CBT raised activity in the hippocampus of the
limbic system, the brain's emotion center.
• Paroxetine lowered activity there.

53. Happiness and Meditation
• Could thinking about thoughts in a new way
affect not only such pathological brain states
as OCD and depression but also normal
activity?
• To find out, neuroscientist Richard Davidson of
the University of Wisconsin at Madison turned
to Buddhist monks, the Olympic athletes of
mental training.
• Some monks have spent more than 10,000
hours of their lives in meditation

54. • During the generation of pure compassion,
brain regions that keep track of what is self and
what is other became quieter, fMRI showed, as
if the subjects opened their minds and hearts
to others.
• Connections from the frontal regions, so active
during compassion meditation, to the brain's
emotional regions seemed to become stronger
with more years of meditation practice.

55. • But perhaps the most striking difference was
in an area in the left prefrontal cortex--the
site of activity that marks happiness.
• While the monks were generating feelings of
compassion, activity in the left prefrontal
swamped activity in the right prefrontal
(associated with negative moods) to a degree
never seen from purely mental activity.
• For the monks as well as the patients with
depression or OCD, the conscious act of
thinking about their thoughts in a particular
way rearranged the brain.

56. How the Brain is Mapped
• Positron Emission Tomography (PET) allows
scientists to determine the metabolic rates of
the brain by measuring oxygen and blood
sugar (glucose) utilization.
• Areas of the brain that are active use more
oxygen and glucose than areas that are not
active.

57. • Functional MRI (fMRI) also
allows us to determine which
parts of the brain are active.
• fMRI measures blood flow.
Magnets in the fMRI scanner
exploit the natural magnetic
properties of blood and water in
the body, and create a color-
coded image on a computer
screen.
• The fMRI image informs
researchers which areas of the
brain have the highest (more
activity) and lowest (low activity)
blood flows.

58. • The prefrontal cortex enables us to regulate
emotions, and more specifically, helps us inhibit
inappropriate or incapacitating emotions.
• If our left prefrontal cortex is less active, then
negative emotions (such as depressed mood) may
be expressed more frequently and more
intensely.
• An active Left PC indicates a happy mood.

59. “Brainswitching”
The use of simple repetitive mind exercises can
switch the neural activity from the emotional
part of the brain (the subcortex – limbic
system), where sadness originates, to the
thinking part of the brain (the neocortex) which
does not have the capacity for depression.

60. • Here's an example of an exercise.
• If you wake up depressed, instead of thinking
"I'm so depressed," think some neutral or
nonsense thought over and over, repetitively,
like "green frog, green frog" or "yes, yes, yes,
yes," or sing a nursery rhyme to yourself like
"Row, row, row, your boat."
• Scream it in your mind if you have to.
• Concentrate on the phrase you have chosen.
• Refuse to think the thought "I am depressed."

61. • This switch in neural brain activity from the
subcortex to the neocortex happens naturally,
sooner or later, even in the worst cases of
depression.
• This is the reason depression is cyclical.
• But brainswitching accomplishes the switch
as an act of will and a lot more quickly than
waiting for nature to take its course.
• Depression is like living in a room of pain.
• With brainswitching you can learn how to
leave the room.

62. FRS factor
• The Feelings Receptor Station in the
neocortex is where signals from the
emotional part of the brain (the subcortex)
must travel upwards and be acknowledged in
the thinking part of the brain (the neocortex)
before a human being is able to feel any pain
or emotion.
• The FRS factor is why a player can break a
bone during a football game and not feel any
pain until the game is over.

63. • His neocortical concentration on the game
has jammed the acknowledgment in the
neocortex that pain is being produced in the
subcortes.
• The limitation of the human attention span
is the scientific basis for mind modulation.
• The mind can only concentrate on one
thought at a time and you can think any
thought you want.

64. • More specifically, when two targets T1 and T2
are embedded in a rapid stream of events,
and presented in close temporal proximity,
the second target is often not seen.
• When many resources are devoted to T1
processing, too few may be available for
subsequent T2 processing (the magician –
rabbit experiment)
• This is the basis of mindfulness meditation
and MBSR.

65. Psychoneuroimmunology
• Psychoneuroimmunology is a specialized
field of research that studies the
interactions between the brain,
psychology, and the immune system.
• This field primarily centres on our body's
reaction to stress.

66. • In humans, chronic stress seems to influence the
serotonin, norepinephrine, and dopamine
neurotransmitter systems, particularly in
individuals who are socially isolated and/or have
poor coping skills.
• Stress also causes a decline in the rate of
formation of new neurons (neurogenesis) in the
part of the brain known as the hippocampus.
• Autopsy evidence suggests that depressed people
who experienced chronic stress and then went on
to commit suicide showed reduced neurogenesis
in the hippocampus

67. CAM in Neuromodulation
• St. John's Wort has been used for
thousands of years, and is currently one
of the top selling herbs for depression.
• There are many active chemical
constituents in St. John's Wort.
• These chemicals, called hypericin,
pseudohypericin, and hyperforin, have all
been investigated for their anti-
depressant properties.

68. • Exercising as little as three hours a week can have
a profound effect on the symptoms of depression.
• Researchers are puzzled about the exact reason
for the benefits, but studies conducted with
animals suggest that exercise increases serotonin,
dopamine and norepinephrine levels.
• Exercise also releases endorphins, chemicals
naturally produced in the body, which reduce the
experience of pain and enhance neuroplasticity,
thus improving mood, learning capacity and
memory.

69. • Omega-3 Fatty Acids (oils), which include
eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and
docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), are found
primarily in fish (such as mackerel, lake trout,
herring, sardines, albacore tuna, and salmon)
and some plants.
• There is strong evidence from epidemiological
(population) studies that cultures which eat
large amounts of fish containing these oils
have a low incidence of depression,
Alzheimer’s and stress disorders.

70. • SAMe (pronounced "Sammy") stands for S-
adenosyl-L-methionine. SAMe is a compound
produced by the liver and used throughout the
body in a chemical process called methylation.
• Because there are no foods that have high SAMe
levels, our bodies must make this substance.
• Our liver usually creates SAMe from the amino
acid methionine, which is found in many foods,
with the help of vitamin B12 and folate.
• The brain use of SAMe is in the creation of the
neurotransmitters dopamine, serotonin and
norepinephrine.

71. • 5-hydoxytryptophan (5-HTP) is a compound made
from the amino acid (protein) tryptophan and is
primarily found in the brain.
• 5-HTP is one of the basic building blocks for
serotonin.
• Serotonin itself can be manufactured in the
laboratory, but when taken as a supplement, it
cannot reach the brain .
• Multiple research studies support the use of 5-
HTP as a natural way to increase brain serotonin
levels.
• Tryptophan rich foods are milk, bananas, spinach
and turkey.

72. • B-vitamins, especially B1 (thiamin), B6
(pyridoxine), B9 (folic acid), and B12
(cobalamin) have all been examined for their
contribution to neural plasticity.
• These B-vitamins play many important roles in
the body and are necessary for the
manufacture of GABA, serotonin, dopamine,
and other neurotransmitters responsible for
regulating mood.

73. • Acupuncture balances yin and yang, keeps the
normal flow of energy unblocked, and restores
health to the body and mind.
• A Western interpretation of acupuncture is
that the treatment stimulates the central
nervous system, releasing chemicals into the
muscles, spinal cord, and brain, promoting the
body's natural healing abilities.
• Acupuncture may also alter brain chemistry by
changing the release of neurotransmitters and
hormones that positively impact mood.

74. Meditation
• Meditation was conceptualized as a family of
complex emotional and attentional
regulatory strategies developed for various
ends, including the cultivation of well-being
and emotional balance.
• There are two common styles of meditation,
i.e.,
1. Focused attention (FA) meditation and
2. Open monitoring (OM) meditation.

75. • FA meditation entails voluntarily focusing
attention on a chosen object in a sustained
fashion.
• OM meditation involves non-reactively
monitoring the content of experience from
moment to moment, primarily as a means to
recognize the nature of emotional and
cognitive patterns.

76. • OM meditation initially involves the use of FA
training to calm the mind and reduce
distractions, but as FA advances, the cultivation
of the monitoring skill per se becomes the
main focus of practice.
• The aim is to reach a state in which no explicit
focus on a specific object is retained; instead,
one remains only in the monitoring state,
attentive moment by moment to anything that
occurs in experience.

77. The Take-away
• Our brains have the lifelong ability to adapt
and build.
• It's true! No matter how old we get, our brains
are always finding new and better ways to
reorganize neural pathways (information
highways, if you will) and even build brand new
ones.

78. • These neural "information highways" form the
basis of our cognitive skills.
• Cognitive skills not only make up IQ, they also
determine how efficiently we're able to process
information in every area of our lives.
• No matter how old we get, our mental abilities
(and even IQ!) are never "set in stone."
• Because the brain is always adapting and building,
our ability to think, remember and learn is never
static— it can always be upgraded and improved!

79. Q?
Thank you