![]() Predictable rewards lose their motivational impact quickly. This is what casinos do to keep people gambling. The question of how often to reward ourselves or others in order to keep motivation high is simple: make it random and intermittent. The neural circuits that control rewards (all of which are brain chemical rewards, by the way) are closely tethered to the circuits that control motivation and the desire to pursue things, including learning. A ratio of approximately 1 pause per every 2 minutes of learning is good but remember, distributed at random, so not every 2 minutes on the minute. The takeaway: randomly introduce 10 second pauses during learning. These “gap-effects” are similar to what happens in a deep sleep. but 10X faster-meaning you get 10X neural repetitions completed during the pause. Studies (in humans) have shown that when we are trying to learn something, if we pause every so often for 10seconds and do nothing during the pause , neurons in the hippocampus and cortex-areas of the brain involved in learning and memory, engage the same patterns of neural activity that occurred during the actual activity of reading, musical practice, skill training, etc. ![]() This is a non-obvious way to increase repetitions and learn faster. Instead, keep doing repetitions and when you mess up, capitalize on it by doing another attempt (and another) while your forebrain is in that maximally attentive state. But don’t worry too much about those specifics. Computational modeling data suggests that an error rate of ~15% may be optimal and can help determine how difficult we should make a task. It makes sense, right? If you perform something correctly, why should your brain take notice? When we make errors, it feels “stressful,” but that is just an increase in attention that puts us in a much better place to perform and execute learning-related behaviors the next trial-meaning on the next attempt. Provided they don’t comprise safety, errors during learning are terrific because they increase activation of the neural circuits that increase alertness. Will you make errors? Of course, which leads to #4. This helps the mind from drifting off task and naturally keeps you alert. Regardless, the same principle holds work to repeat the process a bit faster than is reflexive for you. We progress linearly for other types of learning by repeating the same process, such as reading or doing math problems. For some types of learning, “repetitions” will be actual repeats of something- learning scales of music, for instance. Perform the maximum number of repetitions you safely can in a given learning bout. Expect your mental focus to flicker on and off, especially at the start of a work/learning bout. You’ll be surprised how this takes a bit of effort-that ‘effort’ you feel is “top-down” attentional engagement and reflects the activity of neural circuits involving acetylcholine release in the brain, and other mechanisms too of course. To increase your level of focus on the task you are about to do, stare at a point on a wall or screen, or object for 30-60 seconds before starting (You can blink as needed). Whether you rely on caffeine or not (I certainly do in the early portion of the day), try this prior to a learning bout. But don’t force the breath hold start to breathe normally immediately once you feel the impulse to breathe. Then exhale your air and hold your breath with lungs empty for 15-60 seconds. One simple way to become more alert is 25-30 deep breaths (inhales through the nose, and exhales through the mouth). Getting alert involves many mechanisms but mainly the release of epinephrine (adrenaline) in the brain and body. We must be alert to trigger neuroplasticity (later, sleep completes the neuroplasticity/learning process). If you want a description of the specific scientific references that support the steps listed below, please watch this video. Note: This version of the “Neuroplasticity Super-Protocol” focuses on behavioral tools. ![]() Share a “Neuroplasticity Super-Protocol” based on those discoveries, so that anyone can teach and learn anything more efficiently. ![]()
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