Page 59 - Microsoft Word - The Future of Learning April 2017.docx

We can remember concepts more easily and quickly as astrocytes can sense hormone levels in the brain. The brain responds to those hormones by creating memories depending on the intensity and the type of hormones that are released in the brain. The more intense the hormonal reaction, (that we interpret as ‘feelings’) the more quickly we store and the more easily we recall those memories.
Feelings and emotions trigger the release of hormones. When associated with the learning process, emotions such as excitement, awe, fear, tension as well as curiosity, all contribute to a hormonal response and this in turn, accelerates the learning of concepts. Unfortunately, as astrocytes appear to not be involved in the rote learning process, hormone release has little effect on increasing this learning systems efficiency other than ensuring the learner may focus on the learning task for a longer time.
Teaching and learning programmes within education and learning organisations tend not to differentiate clearly between each of our learning processes. It turns out, however, that the brain clearly does, but also neatly integrates our four+1 learning systems, giving us the impression that we have one overarching and seamless learning and one memory system.
We hypothesise, based on their distinct morphology that these cells (astrocytes) are specialised for long-distance communication across cortical layers or even between grey and white matter... On this basis, we posit that this astrocytic complexity has permitted the increased functional competence of the adult human brain.91
Nancy Ann Oberheim et al.
The table below summarises each of our learning and associated memory systems.
Resource 23: Associating Learning and Memory Systems
91 Nancy Ann Oberheim et al. (2009) Journal of Neuroscience. 2009 Mar 11; 29(10): 3276. Uniquely hominid features of adult human astrocytes. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2819812/
47
Probable time scale we have been applying each learning system
Learning system
Dominant cell types
Memory system(s)
Efficiency
>2,000,000 years
Senses
Neurons
Temporary & short-term (episodic/epigenetic?)
Long-term (memristive/holographic)
Excellent
60 -100,000’s years
Sequencing (speaking/listening)
Very good
<100-400 years (for most people)
Rote learning
As above but due to its relatively short history it is very poor.
Very Poor
>80,000 years
Ideas
Neurons & Astrocytes
Semantic (memristive/holographic)
Excellent
>50,000 years
Concepts
Excellent
40-60 000,000 years
Creativity
Brainwaves
Very good