Take a minute to picture two competing professional racecar drivers. They both practice every day and both dream of becoming the best driver in the world. Day in and day out they each spend hours on the track perfecting turns, feeling the power of the engine, and accustoming themselves to speed as they whip around the track.

As they both finish training for the day, the first driver leaves his car with the pit crew and heads home to eat dinner and catch up on the latest episode of his favorite TV show. The second driver leaves the track right after practice as well. The only difference is that when he gets home, he spends the evening in the garage working on a project car he is currently restoring. He takes apart the engine, cleans each of the components, and replaces any parts that are worn out.

Both drivers know how to drive a car, but the second driver understands how his car works. He has memorized the individual parts of an engine. He knows what it sounds like when his transmission is struggling. He can even tell you which electrical components are controlled by what circuit board in the dash. You will find it no surprise that with equal practice and skill, the second driver (who understands his engine) outperforms the first one every time they go head-to-head.

We might laugh at the idea of a fictional racecar driver who doesn’t know how a car engine works. However — except for neuroscience majors — most university students spend hours trying to ‘learn’ their assigned course content without really understanding how their engine (their brain) even works.

Like the second driver with his engine, when you understand how your brain works, you have a huge advantage in your ability to study, learn, and memorize information. So, funnily enough, whether you are an English major or an Economics major, it’s helpful to know a little bit about neuroscience. In this article, we will touch on one aspect of your brain that you need to understand if you want to become the “best racecar driver in the world.”

What’s worse: a shark or a crocodile?

I am going to be honest with you, I have always been a little afraid of the water. My worst nightmares often entail me swimming in murky water — sensing that a crocodile or shark is swimming underneath me — yet knowing that I would be totally helpless if it attacked. Unfortunately, I am also not the strongest swimmer. No wonder I was dead last coming out of the pool when I decided to compete in my first triathlon as a kid.

Fortunately, not everyone is as bad as me when it comes to aquatic activities. In fact, in 1999 one group in Thailand caught the attention of a Swedish researcher for their unique ability to see underwater. Now, I know what you’re thinking — you can open your eyes and see underwater at the public pool (at least until they start to sting from the chlorine). The difference is, when the Moken children do this, their vision is not blurry like ours is.

See, in normal circumstances, a structure in our eyes called the cornea refracts light in a way that allows our brain to interpret light waves as images and pictures. When we are underwater, our cornea cannot correctly refract light — causing our vision to get blurry. Somehow, the Moken children have learned how to change the way their eyes work underwater, allowing them to see twice as well underwater compared to a group of European children. This comes in really handy when fishing underwater for clams, sea cucumbers, and shells. ¹

So what does this have to do with succeeding in school? You see, the researchers concluded that these children were able to see underwater, not because of a genetic difference in their eyes, but rather because they learned how to manipulate the lens of their eyes to see better underwater. This is a prime example of an interesting phenomenon called neuroplasticity.

Neuroplasticity: your brain’s secret weapon.

“Once you become an adult, your brain is finished developing & your brain can’t generate new brain cells.” Has anyone ever told you this? I remember hearing that as a kid, probably from someone who was trying to remind us why we shouldn’t smell paint.

While it is true that we should never expose our brains to toxic chemicals, the statement that our brains can’t generate new cells is not completely accurate. The truth is, our brains are incredible at building new pathways, adapting to changing circumstances, and in some cases, building new neurons — throughout our entire lives. Our brains can even change structurally to help us accomplish a task.²

This means that whether your brain feels like the engine of a 1970 Volkswagon beetle or is more like that of a brand new Ferarri — because your brain is ‘plastic’ (can be molded and changed), you can restructure your brain in a way that helps you learn better, remember more accurately, and think more clearly. It simply takes time, dedication, and a clear understanding of how your brain works.

Do we have a connection?

Neuroplasticity comes down to the fact that our brain relies on connections. Individual neurons, which look sort of like alien hands, form networks of connections with other neurons inside our brain. These connections are strengthened, at least in part, when myelin (the white globs shown on the neuron below) insulates the axon — allowing the signal to be passed more quickly from one neuron to the next.³

Consider of a ping pong player who effortlessly hits a ball back at faster-than-thought speed and efficiency. This happens because of neuroplasticity. Her brain can process that pathway — see the ball, calculate its direction and speed, move her hand into position, and hit it back — because of neuronal connections that have been created and strengthened over years of practice.

How does this apply to me?

I hope that by now I have convinced you that your brain is capable of learning and improving beyond just memorizing a few vocabulary words for a test you have tomorrow. You can fundamentally change how your brain is able to learn, process information, and remember information.

In a future article, we will dive deeper into how you can leverage your new understanding to learn & memorize information more efficiently and effectively.

For now, think of one task that you have become quite good at. How do you think neuroplasticity affected this? What allowed your brain to adapt & become more efficient at that task? How do you think this applies to an aspect of school that you have struggled with in the past?

Now that you’ve learned a bit more about your brain, you are one step closer to being like the second racecar driver who understands their engine. In future articles, we will dig deeper into specific ways you can learn how your brain works so you can learn more effectively and efficiently — and hopefully find it a bit more enjoyable.

See you next week.

Citations:

1. Thomson, H. (2022, February 24). The “sea-nomad” children who see like dolphins. BBC Future. https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20160229-the-sea-nomad-children-who-see-like-dolphins

2. Cherry, K. (2022, November 8). How brain neurons change over time from life experience. Verywell Mind. https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-brain-plasticity-2794886

3. Farley, P. (2023, August 2). Long-term learning requires new nerve insulation. Long-Term Learning Requires New Nerve Insulation . https://www.ucsf.edu/news/2020/02/416621/long-term-learning-requires-new-nerve-insulation

How to become the best racecar driver in your class