So how do we learn?

And why does some of us learn things
more easily than others?

So, as I just mentioned,
I'm Dr. Lara Boyd.

I am a brain researcher here
at the University of British Columbia.

These are the questions that fascinate me.

(Cheers) (Applause)

So brain research
is one of the great frontiers

in the understanding of human physiology,

and also in the consideration
of what makes us who we are.

It's an amazing time
to be a brain researcher,

and I would argue to you

that I have the most interesting job
in the world.

What we know about the brain
is changing at a breathtaking pace.

And much of what we thought we knew
and understood about the brain

turns out to be not true or incomplete.

Some of these misconceptions
are more obvious than others.

For example, we used to think

that after childhood the brain did not,
really could not change.

And it turns out that nothing
could be farther from the truth.

Another misconception about the brain

is that you only use parts of it
at any given time

and it's silent when you do nothing.

Well, this is also untrue.

It turns out
that even when you're at a rest

and thinking of nothing,
your brain is highly active.

So it's been advances
in technology, such as MRI,

that's allowed us to make these
and many other important discoveries.

And perhaps the most exciting,

the most interesting
and transformative of these discoveries

is that, every time you learn
a new fact or skill,

you change your brain.

It's something we call neuroplasticity.

So as little as 25 years ago,
we thought that after about puberty,

the only changes that took place
in the brain were negative:

the loss of brain cells with aging,

the result of damage, like a stroke.

And then, studies began
to show remarkable amounts

of reorganization in the adult brain.

And the ensuing research has shown us

that all of our behaviors
change our brain.

That these changes are not limited by age,

it's a good news right?

And in fact,
they are taking place all the time.

And very importantly,

brain reorganization helps
to support recovery

after you damage your brain.

The key to each of these changes
is neuroplasticity.

So what does it look like?

So your brain can change
in three very basic ways

to support learning.

And the first is chemical.

So your brain actually functions
by transferring chemicals signals

between brain cells,
what we call neurons,

and this triggered a series
of actions and reactions.

So to support learning,
your brain can increase the amount

or the concentrations
of these chemical signaling

that's taking place between neurons.

Because this change can happen rapidly,

this supports short-term memory

or the short-term improvement
in the performance of a motor skill.

The second way that the brain
can change to support learning

is by altering its structure.

So during learning, the brain can change
the connections between neurons.

Here, the physical structure
of the brain is actually changing

so this takes a bit more time.

These type of changes are related
to long-term memory,

the long-term improvement
in a motor skill.

These processes interact,
and let me give you an example of how.

We've all tried to learn
a new motor skill,

maybe playing the piano,

maybe learning to juggle.

You've had the experience
of getting better and better

within a single session of practice,

and thinking "I have got it."

And then, maybe you return the next day,

and all those improvements
from the day before are lost.

What happened?

Well, in the short-term,
your brain was able to increase

the chemical signaling
between your neurons.

But for some reason, those changes
did not induce the structural changes

that are necessary
to support long-term memory.

Remember that
long-term memories take time.

And what you see in the short term
does not reflect learning,

It's these physical changes

that are now going to support
long-term memories,

and chemical changes
that support short-term memories.

Structural changes also can lead
to integrated networks of brain regions

that function together
to support learning.

And they can also lead
to certain brain regions

that are important
for very specific behaviors

to change your structure or to enlarge.

So here's some examples of that.

People who read Braille

have larger hand sensory areas
in their brain than those of us who don't.

Your dominant hand motor region,
which is on the left side of your brain,

if you are right-handed,
is larger than the other side.

And research shows
the London taxi cab drivers

who actually have to memorize a map
of London to get their taxi cab license,

they have larger brain regions devoted
to spatial, or mapping memories.

The last way that your brain
can change to support learning

is by altering its function.

As you use a brain region,

It becomes more and more excitable
and easy to use again.

And as your brain has these areas
that increase their excitability,

the brain shifts
how and when they are activated.

With learning, we see

that whole networks of brain activity
are shifting and changing.

So neuroplasticity is supported

by chemical, by structural,
and by functional changes,

and these are happening
across the whole brain.

They can occur in isolation
from one or another,

but most often,
they take place in concert.

Together, they support learning.

And they're taking place all the time.

I just told you really
how awesomely neuroplastic your brain is.

Why can't you learn anything
you choose to with ease?

Why do our kids sometimes fail in school?

Why as we age
do we tend to forget things?

And why don't people fully recover
from brain damage?

That is: what is it that limits
and facilitates neuroplasticity?

And so this is what I study.

I study specifically how it relates
to recovery from stroke.

Recently, stroke dropped

from being the third leading cause
of death in the United States

to be the forth leading cause
of death.

Great news, right?

But actually, it turns out

that the number of people
having a stroke has not declined.

We are just better at keeping
people alive after a severe stroke.

It turns out to be very difficult
to help the brain recover from stroke.

And frankly,

we have failed to develop
effective rehabilitation interventions.

The net result of this
is that stroke is the leading cause

of long-term disability
in adults in the world;

individuals with stroke are younger

and tending to live longer
with that disability,

and research from my group actually shows

that the health-related quality of life
of Canadians with stroke has declined.

So clearly we need to be better

at helping people recover from stroke.

This is an enormous societal problem,

and it's one that we are not solving.

So what can be done?

One thing is absolutely clear:

the best driver of neuroplastic change
in your brain is your behavior.

The problem is that the dose
of behavior, the dose of practice

that's required to learn
new and relearn old motor skills,

is very large.

And how to effectively deliver
these large doses of practice

is a very difficult problem;
It's also a very expensive problem.

So the approach
that my research has taken

is to develop therapies that prime
or that prepare the brain to learn.

And these have included brain simulation,
exercise, and robotics.

But through my research,
I've realized that a major limitation

to the development of therapies
that speed recovery from stroke

is that patterns of neuroplasticity
are highly variable from person to person.

As a researcher,
variability used to drive me crazy.

It makes it very difficult
to use the statistics

to test your data and your ideas.

And because of this,
medical intervention studies are

specifically designed
to minimize variability.

But in my research,
it's becoming really clear

that the most important,
the most informative data we collect

is showing this variability.

So by studying the brain
after stroke, we've learned a lot,

and I think these lessons
are very valuable in other areas.

The first lesson is

that the primary driver of change
in your brain is your behavior,

so there is no neuroplasticity drug
you can take.

Nothing is more effective than practice
at helping you learn,

and the bottom line
is you have to do the work.

And in fact, my research has shown

increased difficulty, increased struggle
if you will, during practice,

actually leads to both more learning,

and greater structural change
in the brain.

The problem here is that neuroplastcity
can work both ways.

It can be positive,
you learn something new,

and you refine a motor skill.

And it also can be negative though,
you forgot something you once knew,

you become addicted to drugs,

maybe you have chronic pain.

So your brain is tremendously plastic,

and it's been shaped both structurally
and functionally by everything you do,

but also by everything that you don't do.

The second lesson
we've learned about the brain

is that there is
no one-size-fits-all approach to learning.

So there is no recipe for learning.

Consider the popular belief
that it takes 10,000 hours of practice

to learn and to master a new motor skill.

I can assure you
it's not quite that simple.

For some of us,

it's going to take a lot more practice,
and for others it may take far less.

So the shaping of our plastic brains
is far too unique

for there to be any single intervention
that's going to work for all of us.

This realization has forced us to consider
something call personalized medicine.

This is the idea that to optimize outcomes

each individual requires
their own intervention.

And the idea actually comes
from cancer treatments.

And here it turns out that genetics
are very important in matching

certain types of chemotherapy
with specific forms of cancer.

My research is showing that this
also applies to recovery from stroke.

There're certain characteristics
of brain structure and function

we called biomarkers.

And these biomarkers
are proving to be very helpful

and helping us to match

specific therapies
with individual patients.

The data from my lab suggests
it's a combination of biomarkers

that best predicts neuroplastic change
and patterns of recovery after stroke.

And that's not surprising, given
how complicated the human brain is.

But I also think we can consider
this concept much more broadly.

Given the unique structure
and function of each of our brains

what we've learned about neuroplasticity
after stroke applies to everyone.

Behaviors that you employ
in your everyday life are important.

Each of them is changing your brain.

And I believe we have to consider

not just personalized medicine
but personalized learning.

The uniqueness
of your brain will affect you

both as a learner and also as a teacher.

This idea helps us to understand

why some children can thrive
in tradition education settings

and others don't;

why some of us can learn languages easily

and yet, others can pick up
any sport and excel.

So when you leave this room today,

your brain will not be the same
as when you entered this morning.

And I think that's pretty amazing.

But each of you is going to have changed
your brain differently.

Understanding these differences,

these individual patterns,
this variability and change

is going to enable
the next great advance in neuroscience;

it's going to allow us to develop
new and more effective interventions,

and allow for matches
between learners and teachers,

and patients and interventions.

And this does not just apply
the recovery from stroke,

it applies to each of us, as a parent,
as a teacher, as a manager,

and also because you are
at TEDx today, as a lifelong learner.

Study how and what you learn best.

Repeat those behaviors
that are healthy for your brain,

and break those behaviors
and habits that are not.

Practice.

Learning is about doing the work
that your brain requires.

So the best strategies
are going to vary between individuals.

You know what, they're even going
to vary within individuals.

So for you, learning music
may come very easily,

but learning to snowboard, much harder.

I hope that you leave today

with a new appreciation
of how magnificent your brain is.

You and your plastic brain are constantly
being shaped by the world around you.

Understand that everything you do,

everything you encounter, and everything
you experience is changing your brain.

And that can be for better,
but it can also be for worse.

So when you leave today,
go out and build the brain you want.

Thank you very much.

(Applause)