Chapter 2 - Learning

Grow Your Brain Cells

The Revolution has begun, but correlation does not equal causation so let's dive in and find out the beginning as to why exercise not only helps our brains develop, but also assists with the actual growth of our brain cells. Thats right, your brain can keep producing new cells! Who knew?!...not my 4th grade teacher Mrs. Talbott, that's for sure. So let's begin.

We do know now that our brain is flexible, or plastic, as the chapter refers to several times and we can mold it as we provide new input. It's always being rewired, as opposed to only have one pathway to execute functions (which comes up many times in future chapters). Throughout this chapter, many neurotransmitters are named and we are initially given a few right off the bat. Glutamate, GABA (gamma aminobutyric acid), serotonin, norepinephrine, and dopamine are listed as crucial parts to learning. Glutamate stirs up activity to begin the signaling cascade and GABA clamps down the activity of the other three (and others too I believe). Serotonin is the "policeman" as it influences mood impulsivity, anger and aggressiveness (think Prozac). Norepinephrine amplifies the signals that influence attention, perception, motivation, and arousal. Dopamine is the learning, reward, attention, and movement neurotransmitter, but has different effects depending on which region of the brain uses it (a reference to Ritalin is made).  These neurotransmitters are primarily manipulated with different medications that are produced. Exercise, especially that which is of the aerobic endurance type, causes the body to produce these neurotransmitters in various amounts (possible runner's high?), but really it's the bodies way of balancing these neurotransmitters.

So we have the messengers now, different areas that carry message to the various areas of the brain. When we exercise, and learn, but more so when our brain grows, what happens? Well there is a group  of proteins loosely referred to as factors, the main one being BDNF (brain-derived neurotrophic factor). If neurotransmitters carry out the signaling, BDNF and its associates maintain the cell circuitry - the infrastructure. Overall it improves the function of neurons, encourages its growth, and strengthens and protects them against their natural process of death. 

If you don't know already each brain cell has a few parts. The picture below really clears it up much better than I can describe.

The first article that Dr. Ratey can remember that involved exercise and BDNF was actually found in the journal Nature. It was concluded in the article that exercise caused the mice to produce BDNF (the "Miracle Grow" for the brain), especially in the hippocampus. This was such a huge connection because it gave a direct link to exercise and cognitive function! And actually this evidence was found again when it was determined that people with the least cognitive decline as they aged shared three main factors: education, self-efficacy, and exercise. As both of these topics became more popular, it was determined that BDNF was important not merely for the survival of neurons but also for their growth.

This has allowed us to come to the more common understanding that the brain is a muscle so-to-speak, and you need to use it or lose it. We can essentially produce all the BDNF we want and let our brain create new cells all day long, but if we don't apply learning (complex skill either physical or cognitive) then these neurons are not used and "fizzle out." Which is also backed up by numerous studies about an environment rich in sensory and social stimuli, even with mice. Also, if anyone is familiar with any kind of Pre-School history (as I am), this is where we got the Head Start Program that allows for sending disadvantaged children to preschool.

This is where we start to make the Body-Mind connection, albeit comes with some more hormones and scientific names. These are IGF-1 (insulin-like growth factor), VEGF (vascular endothelial growth factor), and FGF-2 (fibroblast growth factor). IFG-1 is released by the muscles when they need more fuel during activity and assists insulin to deliver glucose (sugar) to the cells, even in the brain! VEGF works to build capillaries in the body and the brain, and FGF-2 helps tissue grow and in the brain assists with the production of LTP (did we cover that one?). As we'll cover in later chapters, stress and depression play roles in lowering the production of these factors (foreshadowing, English I term).

So, how're those apples?! We know that exercise improves learning by optimizing your mind-set to improve alertness, attention, and motivation; prepares and encourages nerve cells to bind to each other; and spurs the development of new nerve cells. But there's a catch...you can't learn difficult material while you're exercising at high intensity because blood is shunted away from the prefrontal cortex, and hampers your executive function. It's only after that our cognitive flexibility, where we can shift thinking and produce a steady flow of creative thoughts, wakes up and improves. We actually do this in our PE classes. We run twice a week for 20 to 30 minutes, very similar to a study done in Japan that determined that after 12 weeks participants were able to improve their executive function. Though a complex skill activity that demands coordination, reinforces neurogenesis and BDNF production in the cerebellum. Which is why I'm ending with this quote:

"This is why learning how to play the piano makes it easier for kids to learn math. The prefrontal cortex will co-opt the mental power of the physical skills and apply it to other situations."

Your brain is full of roads...whether you walk, run, cycle, or drive on it. But I prefer to run.

Timeline and Things you should Know

Below is the timeline that we'll follow for the book study and then some housekeeping items.

• Chapter 1 & 2 - Finish by Sept. 26th
• Chapter 3 & 4 - by Oct. 10th
• Chapter 5 & 6 - by Oct. 24th
• Chapter 7 & 8 - by Nov. 7th
• Chapter 9 & 10 - by Nov. 21st

This is essentially broken down to a chapter a week (most are around 20 to 30 pages). If other commitments to your time prevent you from reading the whole thing in detail thats okay as the entries for the blog will be comprised of a summary of the chapters.

Also, we will need to meet a few times in person (take attendance, record topic of conversation, & how long we met for), keep a journal (blog), write a final reflection paper, and revamp a lesson (or something specific to your field) to teach either at the end of this semester or in the beginning of the second. 

That's it! Sounds simple enough, but we need to make sure that we keep up in our reading. I'll be finishing Chapter 2 in the next couple of days and provide a new entry on it probably over the weekend. Bookmark this blog and keep the comments flowing!...like Mt. Rushmore. Or did I mean Niagara Falls?...I'm not sure, I teach PE not History. 

Chapter 1 - The Revolution

Chapter 1 - Welcome to the Revolution: A Case Study of Exercise and the Brain

Introducing the reader to Naperville Central High School, Neil Duncan, and his PE class was the easy part. Understanding why their heart rate is supposed to average 185 beats per minute is the hard part. 

From the chart above you can see that is just a tad over 90% for a 20 year (actually 89% for a 14 yr old). This is Zero-Hour PE and from the first introduction it is not your typical PE class, other than running the mile for no apparent reason. But they do have a reason..."They're required to stay between 80 and 90 percent of their maximum heart rate...we're trying to get them prepared to learn, through rigorous exercise." 

These students that volunteered for Zero-Hour PE will improve 17 percent in reading & comprehension, compared with a 10.7 percent improvement by students who took the standard PE classes. There was still a larger improvement by the students that had a literacy class directly after Zero-Hour PE rather than those that took it during the last period of the day. 

The "New PE", as it was decided, came from a simple start of trying to fight the obesity epidemic. In their PE classes there was simply too much inactivity! IN PE CLASS!!! So students would be graded on effort rather than solely skill...gone are the days of the Varsity star getting an A in PE, and heart rate monitors provided the irrefutable evidence. Now don't get me wrong, I still feel it's important to understand how traditional sports are played, and there is a lot to be said about the crossover of strategies in similar games. Even the New PE model didn't rule out sports for a solely fitness based type of class. But they did begin to assess students on their efforts during that sport, which leveled the playing field when it came to achieving good grades. 

This isn't only about the students' grades in PE though, what about how they ranked on standardized tests in other subjects and how being physically fit may allow them to be more successful in the traditional classroom setting. Take, for example, California's 279,000 ninth graders in 2001 compare their scores on the Fitnessgram to that of the Stanford Achievement Test. Those who scored a 6 out of 6 on the Fitnessgram ranked, on average, 67th percentile in math and 45th percentile in reading compared to the 35th percentile and 21st percentile that students averaged, who scored a 1 out of 6 on the Fitnessgram. It's a correlation that can't be ignored. Two main areas of the FitnessGram which seem to be particularly important in relation to academic performance is body mass index and aerobic fitness. I'm often reminded however that correlation does NOT equal causation and that there needs to be more proof behind the observations. So a swim-cap type of headgear unit was outfitted with electrodes to measure electrical activity in the brain, otherwise known as an EEG (electroencephalogram). Low and behold the scans revealed that fit kids had more brain activity when performing memory and processing speed tasks than those that were unfit. 

Back to Naperville though, as that is where we started. In Naperville they have taken PE to something beyond only fitness. It has been used to have a positive impact on mood, attention, self-esteem, and social skills. There is even scripted conversations students have in the freshman PE square dance unit that allow them to practice proper social skills in a controlled setting. 

If better overall fitness facilitates learning for individuals, then its hard to argue, just from reading chapter 1, that PE classes shouldn't be revised. All standards and many traditional sports and activities can still be included in the curriculum with a little modification. Bring on the revolution!...lets grow some brain cells in PE!

Welcome!

Welcome to the Summit High School Book Study of the book "SPARK: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain" by the HPHPE Department. In future blogs we will recount the timeline for the Book Study as well as specific conditions that we as a group, and individuals, will need to accomplish.

During this introductory post I think it would be beneficial to identify ourselves, the department we represent, and our ultimate goal/objective we would hope to attain by participating in this book study. Let me go first...

Colton St. Peter - Human Performance, Health, & Physical Education - I'd like to incorporate specific physical activities in my everyday PE lessons that allow all students to increase their cognitive capacity in order to facilitate learning in all areas.

How about you all give it a go...and if you'd like a little extra reading, check out the study below.