{"id":15577,"date":"2018-03-07T09:00:52","date_gmt":"2018-03-07T17:00:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/?p=15577"},"modified":"2018-03-06T09:55:38","modified_gmt":"2018-03-06T17:55:38","slug":"mind-matters-exploring-the-brains-neuroplasticity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/2018\/03\/07\/mind-matters-exploring-the-brains-neuroplasticity\/","title":{"rendered":"Mind Matters<\/em>: Exploring the brain\u2019s neuroplasticity"},"content":{"rendered":"

March 12 to 18 is Brain Awareness Week, a global campaign to increase awareness about brain research. So, taking that into consideration, I thought I\u2019d let you in on a little secret: our brains are plastic. It\u2019s a special kind of plastic called \u201cneuroplastic,\u201d which doesn\u2019t actually refer to its source material, of course, but, rather, to what the brain can do. Because the brain has \u201cneuroplasticity,\u201d it can adapt, and it can change.<\/p>\n

Whispers about this ability began in the 1950s, but the idea didn\u2019t really take off until 1998, when researchers were finally able to prove that our brains could develop new cells. Further studies concluded that the brain changes throughout its lifetime, which was contrary to the belief that we\u2019re stuck with the brains we\u2019re born with, that they are fixed and unchangeable.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Mind Matters<\/em> is a column about mental-health issues appearing in every issue of Nexus<\/em>).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Since this discovery, the field of research into the brain has exploded, with researchers constantly presenting new findings that provide insight into how our brains respond to different stimuli. As a result, we now have a plethora of information we can use to protect and improve our brain\u2019s ability to function.<\/p>\n

There are some things we\u2019ve already learned about because they concern our physical health, like cutting out junk food, getting adequate amounts of sleep, and drinking enough water. But we may not know that excess fat and sugar can cause inflammation in the brain; some researchers now believe that inflammation may be linked to depression and anxiety. Our brains also clear out toxins, such as the ones that cause Alzheimer\u2019s, when we sleep. And for further motivation to find the nearest glass of water, consider that research has linked dehydration to increased mood disturbances, memory impairment, and even sensitivity to pain.<\/p>\n

It turns out that brain adaptability can be positive or negative, which is good and bad for mental health. So, yes, when you think happy thoughts over and over again it actually can impact and change your brain.<\/p>\n

Likewise, negative events and thoughts can create patterns that act as a default setting for your brain, as is now suspected to be the case with depression.<\/p>\n

But it\u2019s not all doom and gloom: the brain\u2019s ability to change is powerful, and we can tap into that power just by challenging our thoughts.<\/p>\n

In the end, it seems it really is mind over matter.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

March 12 to 18 is Brain Awareness Week, a global campaign to increase awareness about brain research. So, taking that into consideration, I thought I\u2019d let you in on a little secret: our brains are plastic. It\u2019s a special kind of plastic called \u201cneuroplastic,\u201d which doesn\u2019t actually refer to its source material, of course, but, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":14941,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,208],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15577","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-columns","category-march-7-2018"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15577","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15577"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15577\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15578,"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15577\/revisions\/15578"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/14941"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15577"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15577"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15577"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}