Page 52 - Monocle Quarterly Journal Vol 3 Issue 2 Spring

MONOCLE QUARTERLY JOURNAL | DEEP LEARNING
And a surprisingly
important factor that influences
care or to remain in institutions, following baseline assessments. Further assessments were conducted at key age intervals, with results compared between the two groups, as well as with a group of children who had never been institutionalised. The study found that the children who remained in orphanages had significantly lower IQ scores than children of the same age who had been brought up by either their biological parents or in foster families – often the orphans’ scores were in the 60s and 70s, falling well short of the average score of 100. Moreover, children in orphanages often exhibited behavioural and learning problems, as well as delayed language development.
Brain scans of the institutionalised children further revealed abnormalities in the white matter that forms the connective pathways between different brain regions, as well as drastically reduced electrical activity in their brains. In short, the study revealed that an environment of neglect had a direct effect on the structural neural development of the children’s brains. Perhaps even more fascinating was the fact that the brain could recover from this neglect, to a certain extent. When exposed to a nurturing foster-family environment, the children’s neural development improved – and with it their cognitive abilities and psychological state.
Subsequent research has led scientists to estimate that the brains of newborn babies have approximately a hundred billion neurons, which is about the same number
Brain scans of the institutionalised children further
revealed abnormalities in the white matter that forms the
connective pathways between different brain regions ...
as adults. As the baby grows and its brain is flooded with input from the external environment, neural connections are formed and those that are repeatedly activated are physically reinforced. Fatty tissue called myelin covers the neurons in these pathways, insulating electrical impulses and speeding up the rate at which messages are transmitted. Connections that are used infrequently are dismantled through a process known as synaptic paring or perceptual narrowing, streamlining the brain’s development around those pathways that have proven
the brain’s ability to wire itself correctly is positive
social interaction.
most useful. The brain comes ready-made with some amazing capabilities – it can keep our hearts beating and our lungs breathing; it can execute reflex actions that ensure our safety; it enables us to convey emotion and interpret facial expressions; and it is equipped with the tools needed to learn language. But it seems the brain’s innate capabilities are only the building blocks of human intelligence – the brain relies heavily on input from the external environment to physically develop further. And a surprisingly important factor that influences the brain’s ability to wire itself correctly is positive social interaction.
A 2003 study by US neuroscientist Patricia Kuhl provided further proof of the importance of social interaction in learning. The study showed that babies from English-speaking families who interacted with caregivers who spoke Mandarin were able to differentiate between similar phonetic sounds in Mandarin as well as a native listener would, after only twelve interactive sessions. Meanwhile, babies that were exposed to videos of the caregivers, but not given an opportunity to physically interact with them, showed no learning at all. This led Kuhl to propose a social gating hypothesis, which posits that social experience acts as a powerful portal for linguistic, cognitive, and emotional development. Without this interaction, learning is stunted and the ability for the person to access the full range of thoughts, emotions, perceptions and behaviours that make us human, is compromised.
Just like computers, humans rely on vast amounts of information, or data, to learn. Just as a computer hones its algorithms over time to produce better results, so human babies strengthen the neural pathways in their brains that produce patterns of thought that are useful or rewarding. But children also require something more – they depend on social interactions with adults who are loving and nurturing to develop the skills that enable them to become truly intelligent, in a human sense. Without this element of learning, people become psychologically dysfunctional. They become something not fully human. ■
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