

Mental function improves after certain kinds of socializing - widgetycrank
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/10/101028113817.htm

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bloomshed
"This fits with evolutionary perspectives that examine social pressures on the
emergence of intelligence, and research showing a neural overlap between
social-cognitive and executive brain functions."

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OK, so research shows a link between being successful socially and developing
higher level brain functioning. This reminds me of a lot of training I've had
since I've been working in education. The brain is like a muscle and there are
ways to make it stronger.

I heard a professor give a great talk about the brain and the connection
between our emotions and our ability to learn. Basically, stressful/negative
emotions trigger our lower brain (our "alligator" brain controlling fight or
flight) and keep us from operating at a high level of executive functioning
like reasoning.

He had a great illustration for what happens to our brains when we feel
emotionally safe and we begin to operate in our frontal lobe. He called it
"flow" and described the feeling as when we get lost in something and forget
what time it is and we stop paying attention to what's going on outside our
immediate vicinity. It's a feeling I think we all recognize and enjoy.

This prof also said it could take somewhere around 3 hours for a student to be
emotionally ready to "flow" after his/her lower brain has been triggered due
to an alarming stimulus.

Our brains are constantly creating and destroying neurological connections. By
understanding how our brain works best, we can strengthen our ability to
access that "flow" which allows us to operate most effectively.

On a lighter note, I wonder how much smarter Americans would be on a national
level if they watched fewer "gripping/exciting/scary" TV shows where they're
constantly being bombarded with alarming stimuli?

