Language development, for instance, has a critical period that begins in infancy and ends between eight years and puberty. After this critical period closes, a personโs ability to learn a second language without an accent is limited. In fact, second languages learned after the critical period are not processed in the same part of the brain as is the native tongue.
Norman DoidgeLanguage development, for instance, has a critical period that begins in infancy and ends between eight years and puberty. After this critical period closes, a personโs ability to learn a second language without an accent is limited. In fact, second languages learned after the critical period are not processed in the same part of the brain as is the native tongue.
Norman DoidgeAll of us have worries. We worry because we are intelligent beings. Intelligence predicts, that is its essence; the same intelligence that allows us to plan, hope, imagine, and hypothesize also allows us to worry and anticipate negative outcomes.
Norman DoidgeWe must be learning if we are to feel fully alive, and when life, or love, becomes too predictable and it seems like there is little left to learn, we become restless - a protest, perhaps, of the plastic brain when it can no longer perform its essential task.
Norman DoidgeNot all activities are equal in this regard. Those that involve genuine concentrationโstudying a musical instrument, playing board games, reading, and dancingโare associated with a lower risk for dementia. Dancing, which requires learning new moves, is both physically and mentally challenging and requires much concentration. Less intense activities, such as bowling, babysitting, and golfing, are not associated with a reduced incidence of Alzheimerโs. (254)
Norman Doidge