Learning Difficult Tasks in Young Age Benefits Brain Cells: Study

Learning new tasks during adolescence helps preserve brain cells and their functioning in later years, according to a study.

Recent clinical trials found brains of young children undergo certain alterations that shape up their psychology, emotional tendencies and social behavior. Neuroscientist from the Rutgers University discovered newborn mice are quick at grasping new tasks and hence, remain protected against brain cell damage in later stages.

The current study examined the hippocampus region of the brain in mice, which controls learning. Experts injected the new brain cells of the young mice with colored ink.  For three weeks the mices were trained to voluntarily move or respond to sound cues. It was observed the brain cells of the mice that learned the task remained alive, while the neurons in others that were unable to master the same task perished. The authors explained the learning process triggers responses, which safeguard neurons that are already present in the brain.  Similar reactions also occur in human brains indicating that optimal learning at pubescence greatly influences brain functioning in later years.  

"In those that didn't learn, three weeks after the new brain cells were made, nearly one-half of them were no longer there," said Tracey Shors, study author and professor in the Department of Psychology and Center for Collaborative Neuroscience at Rutgers, reports the Psych Central.

"But in those that learned, it was hard to count. There were so many that were still alive."

These findings point to benefits of learning difficult tasks on overall brain health that young animals go through while facing adversities and survival challenges. Past researches suggest adult rats have lesser number of neurons that might have started declining in puberty. Young mice are able to produce two to four times more number of neurons, which can be saved by learning new skills and tasks.

New tasks are good exercise for the brains of adolescents, experts believe. It improves their  cellular level and may help determine their mental capacities and intellect in adulthood.

"Adolescents are trying to figure out who they are now, who they want to be when they grow up and are at school in a learning environment all day long," said Prof Shors, reports the Psych Central.

 "The brain has to have a lot of strength to respond to all those experiences."

More information is available online in the journal Frontiers in Neuroscience.