Why Teens Should Understand Their Own Brains (And Why Their Teachers Should, Too!)

Pourquoi les adolescents devraient connaitre et comprendre leur cerveau (tout comme leurs enseignants!)

ARTICLE DE VULGARISATION / OUTREACH ARTICLE

par / by : Elissa Nadworny - National Public Radio

 

Introduction:

"A teenage brain is a fascinating, still-changing place. There's a lot going on: social awareness, risk-taking, peer pressure; all are heightened during this period.

Until relatively recently, it was thought that the brain was only actively developing during childhood, but in the last two decades, researchers have confirmed that the brain continues to develop during adolescence — a period of time that can stretch from the middle school years into early adulthood.

'We were always under the assumption that the brain doesn't change very much after childhood,' explains Sarah-Jayne Blakemore, a professor of cognitive neuroscience at University College London.

But that's simply not the case, she says, and educators — and teens themselves — can learn a lot from this.

Blakemore has a new book, Inventing Ourselves, The Secret Life of the Teenage Brain — where she dives into the research and the science — and offers insights into how young adults are thinking, problem-solving and learning. Our conversation has been edited for length and clarity."

Click here to read more / Cliquer ici pour lire l'article

Chronic effects of exercise implemented during school-break time on neurophysiological indices of inhibitory control in adolescents

Effets chroniques de l'exercice intégré lors des temps de pause à l'école sur les indices neurophysiologiques du contrôle inhibiteur des adolescents

SCIENTIFIC ARTICLE / ARTICLE SCIENTIFIQUE

Ludyga, S., Gerber, M., Herrmann, C., Brand, S., & Pühse, U. (2018). Chronic effects of exercise implemented during school-break time on neurophysiological indices of inhibitory control in adolescents. Trends in Neuroscience and Education, 10, 1-7.

DOI: 10.1016/j.tine.2017.11.001

Abstract

The present study investigated the effects of an exercise intervention, which was implemented during school-break time, on the P300 component of event-related potentials and inhibitory control. Adolescents aged 12–15 years were allocated to an exercise and control group. The exercise group performed 20 min of aerobic and coordinative exercise per school day over a period of 8 weeks. Before and after the intervention, stimulus-locked event-related potentials were recorded during a Stroop task using electroencephalography. Cluster-based permutation testing revealed a greater increase of the P300 amplitude in the exercise compared to the control group, most pronounced for the parieto-occipital region. Additionally, increases in P300 amplitude were associated with decreases in incompatible reaction time on the Stroop task. An exercise program implemented during school-break time enhances adolescents' inhibitory control. This benefit seems to be due to an improved allocation of attentional resources towards the cognitive task.

Keywords
P300; Event-related potentials; Stroop task; Coordinative exercise; Executive control; Physical activity; Inhibition

Structural plasticity of the social brain: Differential change after socio-affective and cognitive mental training

Plasticité structurelle du "cerveau social": changements suite à un entrainement socio-affectif et cognitif

SCIENTIFIC ARTICLE / ARTICLE SCIENTIFIQUE

Valk, S. L., Bernhardt, B. C., Trautwein, F. M., Böckler, A., Kanske, P., Guizard, N., ... & Singer, T. (2017). Structural plasticity of the social brain: Differential change after socio-affective and cognitive mental training. Science Advances, 3(10), e1700489.

DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.1700489

Abstract

Although neuroscientific research has revealed experience-dependent brain changes across the life span in sensory, motor, and cognitive domains, plasticity relating to social capacities remains largely unknown. To investigate whether the targeted mental training of different cognitive and social skills can induce specific changes in brain morphology, we collected longitudinal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data throughout a 9-month mental training intervention from a large sample of adults between 20 and 55 years of age. By means of various daily mental exercises and weekly instructed group sessions, training protocols specifically addressed three functional domains: (i) mindfulness-based attention and interoception, (ii) socio-affective skills (compassion, dealing with difficult emotions, and prosocial motivation), and (iii) socio-cognitive skills (cognitive perspective-taking on self and others and metacognition). MRI-based cortical thickness analyses, contrasting the different training modules against each other, indicated spatially diverging changes in cortical morphology. Training of present-moment focused attention mostly led to increases in cortical thickness in prefrontal regions, socio-affective training induced plasticity in frontoinsular regions, and socio-cognitive training included change in inferior frontal and lateral temporal cortices. Module-specific structural brain changes correlated with training-induced behavioral improvements in the same individuals in domain-specific measures of attention, compassion, and cognitive perspective-taking, respectively, and overlapped with task-relevant functional networks. Our longitudinal findings indicate structural plasticity in well-known socio-affective and socio-cognitive brain networks in healthy adults based on targeted short daily mental practices. These findings could promote the development of evidence-based mental training interventions in clinical, educational, and corporate settings aimed at cultivating social intelligence, prosocial motivation, and cooperation.

Video gamers have an advantage in learning / Jouer à des jeux vidéos favoriserait l'apprentissage

OUTREACH ARTICLE / ARTICLE DE VULGARISATION
(see related scientific article below / voir l'article scientifique source plus bas)

Science Daily
Click here to access outreach article / Cliquer ici pour accéder à cet article de vulgarisation

Summary
Neuropsychologists let video gamers compete against non-gamers in a learning competition. During the test, the video gamers performed significantly better and showed an increased brain activity in the brain areas that are relevant for learning.

Résumé
Dans une tâche compétitive d'apprentissage, des neuropsychologues ont confronté des adeptes de jeux vidéos à des "non joueurs". Pendant cette tâche, les adeptes de jeux vidéos ont significativement mieux performé et ont fait preuve d'une activité cérébrale plus grande dans les régions associées à l'apprentissage. 

---

SCIENTIFIC ARTICLE / ARTICLE SCIENTIFIQUE

Games people play: How video games improve probabilistic learning

Schenk, S., Lech, R. K., & Suchan, B. (2017). Games people play: How video games improve probabilistic learning. Behavioural Brain Research, 335, 208-214.

DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2017.08.027

Abstract

Recent research suggests that video game playing is associated with many cognitive benefits. However, little is known about the neural mechanisms mediating such effects, especially with regard to probabilistic categorization learning, which is a widely unexplored area in gaming research. Therefore, the present study aimed to investigate the neural correlates of probabilistic classification learning in video gamers in comparison to non-gamers. Subjects were scanned in a 3 T magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanner while performing a modified version of the weather prediction task. Behavioral data yielded evidence for better categorization performance of video gamers, particularly under conditions characterized by stronger uncertainty. Furthermore, a post-experimental questionnaire showed that video gamers had acquired higher declarative knowledge about the card combinations and the related weather outcomes. Functional imaging data revealed for video gamers stronger activation clusters in the hippocampus, the precuneus, the cingulate gyrus and the middle temporal gyrus as well as in occipital visual areas and in areas related to attentional processes. All these areas are connected with each other and represent critical nodes for semantic memory, visual imagery and cognitive control. Apart from this, and in line with previous studies, both groups showed activation in brain areas that are related to attention and executive functions as well as in the basal ganglia and in memory-associated regions of the medial temporal lobe. These results suggest that playing video games might enhance the usage of declarative knowledge as well as hippocampal involvement and enhances overall learning performance during probabilistic learning. In contrast to non-gamers, video gamers showed better categorization performance, independently of the uncertainty of the condition.

Keywords
Probabilistic categorization learning; Video games; Hippocampus; Enrichment of environment

Effect of abacus training on executive function development and underlying neural correlates in Chinese children

Effet d'un entrainement avec boulier sur le développement des fonctions exécutives et corrélats neuraux sous-jacents

SCIENTIFIC ARTICLE / ARTICLE SCIENTIFIQUE

Wang, C., Weng, J., Yao, Y., Dong, S., Liu, Y., & Chen, F. (2017). Effect of abacus training on executive function development and underlying neural correlates in Chinese children. Human Brain Mapping.

DOI: 10.1002/hbm.23728

Abstract

Executive function (EF) refers to a set of cognitive abilities involved in self-regulated behavior. Given the critical role of EF in cognition, strategies for improving EF have attracted intensive attention in recent years. Previous studies have explored the effects of abacus-based mental calculation (AMC) training on several cognitive abilities. However, it remains unclear whether AMC training affects EF and its neural correlates. In this study, participants were randomly assigned to AMC or control groups upon starting primary school. The AMC group received 2 h AMC training every week, while the control group did not have any abacus experience. Neural activity during an EF task was examined using functional MRI for both groups in their 4th and 6th grades. Our results showed that the AMC group performed better and faster than the control group in both grades. They also had lower activation in the frontoparietal reigons than the control group in the 6thgrade. From the 4th to the 6th grade, the AMC group showed activation decreases in the frontoparietal regions, while the control group exhibited an opposite pattern. Furthermore, voxel-wise regression analyses revealed that better performance was associated with lower task-relevant brain activity in the AMC group but associated with greater task-relevant brain activity in the control group. These results suggest that long-term AMC training, with calculation ability as its original target, may improve EF and enhance neural efficiency of the frontoparietal regions during development.