Mindfulness and Neuroplasticity
When I was in my doctoral studies for psychology, the accepted belief was that the brain was fully formed in late adolescence or early adulthood. Unlike every other part of the body, scientists at that time believed that when the brain fully formed you had all the nerve cells that you would ever have in your life. When nerve cells died, you gradually lost function until you began to be impaired in thinking skills, memory, etc. But new research that is available, through the development of better brain imaging tools, has demonstrated that the brain continually produces new cells to replace those which have died throughout the lifespan. This process is called neuroplasticity. What seems to happen that results in the loss of cognitive function is that we too often stop using parts of our brain as effectively as we did when we were younger. Like the muscular system, that gradually weakens with disuse, the cognitive system also needs use to be maintained. Mindfulness is an effective way to use the breadth of abilities available through the brain. As a result, it fosters neuroplasticity. Scientific research being done at the University of Wisconsin, Duke, Emery, and the Salk Institute are just some of the research that is confirming this potential for maintaining our psychological health. John Weaver, Psy.D.
