How neuroplasticity helps us shape who we become | André Vermeulen | TEDxJohannesburg

NOTE FROM TED: This talk, which was filmed at an independent TEDx event, appears to fall outside TEDx’s content guidelines. The speaker’s claims around neuroscience and energy are not supported by credible scientific evidence. The guidelines we give our TEDx organizers are described in more detail here: http://storage.ted.com/tedx/manuals/tedxcontentguidelines.pdf

Is it possible for us to rewire our brains? Yes, says neuroscientist André Vermeulen. Take his example of a woman in China who was admitted to hospital because of a neurological condition. Tests revealed that, astonishingly, her brain was missing a cerebellum – a part of the brain that gives us balance, coordinated movement, and controls certain aspects of our speech. The cerebellum is also home to fifty percent of the brain cells of humans, so it’s clearly not an insignificant part of our physiology. Amazingly, other than some persistent nausea and vertigo, the woman led a functionally normal life. So, how did her brain compensate? How was it possible that someone could have a relatively full life with half of their brain cells missing? Well, according to André, the brain has a remarkable ability to rewire itself, and it does so specifically so that we can survive and thrive in our worlds. All we need to do is put in the time and intensity that it takes to carve new neurological pathways, that will lead to our desired outcomes, and allow us to out-think our circumstances. This phenomenon, called neuroplasticity, means that it is possible for our brains to replace old negative behaviour patterns with new constructive alternatives, whatever they are. André drives the point home with a list of the three things we need to do to change our brains. By taking control of our thoughts, he says, we can shape who we become.

Dr. André Vermeulen is founding member and CEO of Neuro-Link, a boutique consultancy utilizing applied neuroscience to develop talent, increase performance and maintain wellness. He is a global thought leader in how neuro-agility can improve performance. André has developed and patented cutting edge neuro-agility assessments and applied neuroscience learning solutions that are used by children in education, and adults in business and sports across the globe. He has published more than 43 leading articles on the development implications of the brain and mental health.

This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx

I have some good news for you today.

And that is that you can
rewire your brains

and be great in your own right
if you really want to.

I'm going to give you
a brain-based perspective

on why we say that.

Your brain will look
different on the inside

when you go home tonight

than what it looked like
before you came here this morning.

Nelson Mandela was known for saying,
"I was in jail for 27 years,

but my mind was never in jail."

So we're going to have a little bit
of a neuroplasticity perspective

on how we can become great
in our own right.

Now, when we look at this slide,

that's what a normal brain
is supposed to look like.

And specifically, I'd like you
to focus on an area there

which we call the cerebellum.

When we look at
a live model of this brain,

this is what your brain looks like,

and the cerebellum
is this area at the bottom.

The cerebellum's function
is to give you balance,

coordinated movements,

it controls certain aspects
of your speech,

but it's also the home
of 50% of your brain cells.

So obviously, one would assume

that that's a very important
part of our brain.

Now, a woman in China
was admitted to a hospital,

complaining of nausea

and just having vertigo and imbalance.

When they did a CAT scan,

it revealed that this woman's brain

looked like this.

Please note that black area there

is only cerebrospinal fluids.

Her cerebellum was missing.

Are you freaking out yet?

(Laughter)

How is it possible
that you can go to hospital,

you act like a normal person,

you speak, you walk, you talk?

Yes, dizziness, nausea,

but no one expected this.

Now, our whole talk
is about how your brain compensates.

And it's going to be very important

that we need to understand how that works.

The principle is called neuroplasticity.

Now, this lady,

despite mild mental impairment
and some imbalance,

she managed to marry, have children,

and have a fairly normal life.

And scientists were fascinated,

How is this possible that someone
can live a life like this

and be seen as normal,

yet half of her brain cells are missing?

And that's the significance of this case.

How is it possible
that the brain can adapt

so that people can still have
a fairly normal life

without half of their brain cells?

And this case is a testimony
for this principle called neuroplasticity.

Now, to give you an example again,

this woman's brain, literally -

if we now looked at a model of the brain,

said this whole area was gone,

and she adapted.

Neuroplasticity

is about the brain's ability
to adapt and rewire itself

so you can survive
and thrive in your world.

Except for regulating
basic bodily functions,

what we have to remember
is the main function of your brain

is to help you survive.

And that's good news
because your brain will help you adapt.

If you do the hard work
to build new pathways,

the brain can adjust and adapt
to help you not just survive

but to actually thrive.

What I'd like you to do
as you are sitting there,

I'd like you to clap your hands

and cross over,
touch your nose and your ear,

and switch over to the other side.

So just do this simple
movement activity with me, please.

Aha!

(Laughter)

So how are we doing here with regards
to feeling how brain fit we are?

This is a simple bilateral
or cross-lateral movement activity

that we do to improve our brain fitness.

The good news about this

is if you're going
to continuously try this,

the harder you try

and the more intensely you repeat this,

the quicker you'll learn to do this.

Again, it shows you
how powerful your brain is

and how quickly we can improve
our neuro-agility.

Now, our world is changing very fast,

and we are facing
an era of disruptive change,

and we are going to need
to be really neuro-agile people

to not just survive
but to thrive in that world.

And that means that we are going
to have to flex our mental muscle.

Now, let's quickly talk
about how neuroplasticity works,

and what does it look like.

There are three levels
that we need to understand

on the way neuroplasticity works.

Right now, at this moment,
as you are listening to me,

your brain cells
are making those connections.

But if we cut the brain open,

you will see that your brain
has white and grey matters;

in other words, that's where the learning
and the thinking really takes place.

So your brain on its most basic level
functions electrochemically.

And if we talk about
electrochemical functioning,

it literally means that the brain
produces 20 to 25 watts of electricity,

and that these impulses are transmitted
from one cell to another.

So what you will see on the screen

are those impulses being transmitted

through the dendrites
of a neuron, a brain cell.

But what you are looking at now

is that you will see there are also
some chemicals being released

that transmit these messages
from one cell to another.

So the best way to illustrate this is -

I want two people who I have asked
before we started this session

to just come on stage,

and I want to illustrate to you
the electrical functioning of your brain,

and I want you to think
about the impact of that.

So in my hand, I have a thing
called an energy ball.

It's just a little ball with a flashlight,
and it's got two poles,

a positive and a negative.

When these two poles
are connected with each other,

the little flashlight goes off.

Guys, can you come on stage, please?

So all this proves is my body
conducts electricity,

but it gets a little bit
more interesting than this.

Can you just join me
on stage here, please?

André, you stand on that side -
and there, there we go.

Now, when we touch hands,

all I'd like you to do,
just put your finger on that pole there.

Nothing is happening now.

Just touch hands.

Break up.

Touch hands.

Break up.

Okay, now, André, keep this in your hand

so the camera can see.

Hold my hand.

Again, just touch
where you touched previously,

and -

Thank you.

Now, keep it there.

If I break up here -

What this illustrates -

Thank you so much. Much appreciated.

(Applause)

What this illustrates

is that my energy
influences other people's energy.

And the implication of this
is we need to think,

What energy did you bring
into this room here today?

Often when people meet
Nelson Mandela,

they often would refer to him
being charismatic.

And on its most basic scientific level,

this man transmitted
tremendous constructiveness,

positive energy.

You see, we should think
about energy and electricity

like dropping a stone into water.

When we drop a stone into the water,

it has a ripple effect,

and so your and my energy
influence each other

all the time.

So that just illustrates
the electrical functioning.

So the moment we choose to change
our thinking and our emotions,

we change the energy
that we radiate into our world.

But if we look at
the chemical functioning,

very important that everything
in your body is always about chemicals.

And maybe the best way
to illustrate this again -

when we look at the next picture,

you will see that they are chemicals

that help to transmit messages
from one brain cell to another one.

We call them neurotransmitters.

Now, I want to illustrate this
through a story.

When Nelson Mandela was president,

he once visited an old age home,
and he was in the Alzheimer's ward,

speaking to people there.

And he walked up to an old lady,

and he asked her,
"Do you know who I am?"

And she looked at him like this,

and she took him by the arm and said,

"Listen, if you don't know
who you are, go ask the nurse."

(Laughter)

Why I told you this story

was, simply, you experienced
a good feeling when you laughed.

You experienced a chemical
called serotonin being produced,

which is good fuel.

But we can also, if we stress too much,

produce chemicals that act
as inhibiting chemicals.

They block transmission between cells.

So our thoughts and our emotions

impact the chemicals
that regulate our mind.

If I drive down the road
and someone runs right in front of me,

and I hit the brakes,
and the car comes to a standstill,

I feel pins and needles in my legs -

an example of the inhibiting chemicals

that influences - the fuel
that's not good for me.

You control that.

So, neuroplasticity
on its most basic level,

is about your electrochemical functioning.

But when we look
at how your brain functions,

and we cut open the brain,

you look at your brain model like this,

and you look at the white
and grey matters.

At this moment,
as you are listening to me,

your brain cells are connecting
and making structural changes;

and if you sufficiently reinforce
those structural changes,

it becomes a permanent pathway;

and when it becomes a permanent pathway,

it means your behavior,
that emotion or that habit,

becomes second nature -
it becomes automatic.

This is good news.

You are the results
of these neuron pathways,

and if they are pathways
and habits you don't like,

you can change it,

but you need to carve a new pathway

into the white and grey
matters of your brain.

With intensity and repetition,

you need to replace
the old negative pathways

with new constructive ones.

But if you do,

you bring about a structural
change in your brain.

That's good news

because it says we never
have to be victims

of our "behavior" and our environment,

but we can outthink our circumstances.

But this case of the Chinese woman

is a case where even functional changes
take place in the brain,

where the functions of the cerebellum,

of balance and coordinated movements
and some speech functions

have been replaced
by the cerebral cortex -

this outer layer here.

Fantastic!

It means we can overcome adversity,

and miracles can happen.

Because from a scientific point of view,

I still think it must be a miracle

for someone to be born
without a cerebellum,

and she lives a fairly normal life,

and she's a mom,

and she understands
the world the way I do.

So, the implications are
we can change whatever we want

if we could rewire ourselves

and sufficiently spend time
with reinforcement and intensity

to replace old negative behavior patterns

with new constructive alternatives.

The other implication
is quite profound for me.

This woman never experienced
the label of being "disabled"

because they didn't know
that she didn't have a cerebellum.

Yes, she started only talking
at six years old.

Einstein started talking at five.

So what's the problem?

(Laughter)

But she started walking only at seven.

Yes, that's a bit late.

But not having had the burden
of a label that "You are disabled"

actually made her live
a fairly normal life.

We should be careful of the labels
we put on ourselves and on others.

So, if I want to, then, change my brain,

how do I do it?

One, assess all the bad habits,

the things that are bad for your brain,

the behavior you'd like to change.

Two, you make a conscious choice

to reinforce the new behavior
so much more than the old behavior,

so you focus on your solutions
so much more than your problems.

Three, it takes a lot of hard work
and reinforcement

to build those pathways.

Your brain works like a movie:

it has a soundtrack, it has visuals,

and it has emotions.

So the bottom line,

you want to reinforce new behavior,

you start speaking words of life

and speak positive,
constructive solutions.

Two, think forward.

Envision your solutions.

Feed your mind

with the pictures and the dreams

that will help you become that person
who is great in your own right.

Four, act upon it.

Just do it.

I love Nike statement: Just do it.

Because when we do it,

we seal the deal in the deepest
parts of the brain

called the limbic system.

So say it, see it, do it, experience it.

I'd like to conclude this session
simply by saying this,

You are the result of your thinking.

Your habits is how you think habitually.

So when your start
changing your thoughts habitually,

you start changing your emotions.

When you change
your thoughts and emotions,

the fuel you run on,

you change your behavior.

When you change your thoughts,
emotions and behavior,

you change your performance.

That puts you in the driver seat
of your own life -

master of your own destiny,

architect of your own life.

And that was an idea
I thought was worth sharing.

(Applause)