The Secret Life of the Grown-Up Brain by DrRobbins

Dana Stiner

stiner5151 — 2017-05-24 15:11:02 UTC

This was pretty cool. My boss is 65. He just texted me asked me the name of something. He was upset that he couldn't remember and responded with the following text. "Duh, I think I am losing my brain cells at an ever increasing rate."
That comment sure aligns with Strauch's point. He worries that because he is getting older his brain doesn't recall things like it used too. I would argue the opposite on his behalf. He can juggle a thousand things at once. Half the time his vocabulary is so advanced that I have to stop him and ask him to define words for me because I don't get it. I think its amazing that our brains can continue to grow as we age< I also think it is super cool that we can learn to use both hemispheres. (I had to share this video with him. :)

Barbara Bendrick

2017-05-25 03:48:13 UTC

This video made my day. I believe Strauch is on target in her challenges to assumptions about the aging brain. The examples that she provided support the assertion that declines are not inevitable. She mentioned nutrients, nutrition and exercise as critical to supporting brain health but I was surprised not to hear her mention sleep. I need 7 hours of sleep/night, otherwise I am forgetful and unfocused.
Strauch's comments about the importance of pushing the brain out of its comfort zone has implications for the future of adult education. I see more people in my generation looking to round out or expand on their education through both informal and formal learning experiences.
I was fascinated by Strauch's comments on the amygdala and how that part of the brain reacts less to the negative and more on the positive as we age. I think this "positivity affect" is responsible for the zen master qualities that I'm slowly acquiring with age. :)

Ryan Marek

2017-05-26 00:00:37 UTC

This video is great! It definitely seems like the brain is getting more attention. The brain exercise game lumocity comes to mind as I was watching this video. Lumocity is all about doing game activities to give your brain a workout. I have seen commercials for a couple of years now discussing brain exercises. It is good to see that more focus is on the brain. Diet and exercise are again the critical factor in long term health. My colleagues tend to focus on how they forget things when they get older. I'll have to send this video to them..

Lucas Ruiz

2017-05-26 04:23:50 UTC

I found Strauch's presentation about the middle-aged brain to be fascinating. Her supporting arguments for the unique strengths the middle-aged brain possess quickly squashed any assumption that "it's all downhill from here" once you turn a certain age. The studies she presented showing the brain to be at its peak between ages 40-65 prove that middle-age brings about a certain rhythm which has the power to shape a finely tuned brain. I also appreciated her emphasis on brain health via a well-rounded diet, exercise, and stretching the brain beyond its "comfort zone". To me this implies that we never quit being a learner, and the lessons learned in middle-age are representative of a much broader spectrum than ever before in life. To me, the next step in promoting learning among this particular population is through applying their lived experiences to new/different scenarios. By encouraging them to reflect on their personal journey and apply it to the greater scope of the world, I believe that middle-aged learners can gain a deeper understanding in regard to their individual areas of expertise.

Thu Vo

2017-05-28 05:27:15 UTC

The video is fascinating and it indeed makes me think a lot about how our brain works as we age. At this point I guess the "middle-age brain" is, more or less, just a myth. I guess the main reason we think we're getting oblivious is because we are told so by so many people. In other words, we grow up assuming that when we reach a certain age, we start to lose memory. Truth is, when put under pressure and in the right situation, we are perfectly capable of performing just as well as our younger selves. Strauch mentions the importance of diet and exercise for brain health, and I believe it is indeed crucial. Not only does our body need a good diet and activities, but also does our brain.

Jason Reynolds

2017-05-28 22:32:12 UTC

I really liked the ideas described in this video, and I think it does a particularly great job of describing the processes of wisdom and experience within older brains. I think the one of the challenges in considering this in everyday life is how elements in society are quickly changing, to which it was noted about how older brains have trouble being flexible and reacting to newer situations, but I really liked how the speaker highlighted how years of experience and the ability to tap into different sections of the brain allows for older brains to be on equal ground or even more effective than younger brains. I was also interested in the comments about how diet and exercise affect the brain and how study results are changing perceptions on how the brain is affected by those. I think that as more studies progress, there will be more information that helps to support older brains and their processes instead of focusing on the flexibility of younger brains.

Jalen Smith

2017-05-28 23:45:19 UTC

I really think watching this video allowed me to tap back into some previous modules and topics we have covered in this class. For example, when Strauch referenced the experiential learning of the doctor approaching the hospital door and "being able to see the future in a second" due to previous experiences, I connected this with Kolb's model of experiential learning. Strauch also noted that while people can age and have experiences, they can still be surprised. When we began this course and we wrote our individual Learning Life History assignment, I remember having to do a similar assignment for another class a few years ago in my undergrad. However, after viewing this video, I went back and re-read both papers and realized that while, yes, my experiences did change, so to did how I interacted with these changes.
I agree with Thu; I am very fascinated by this topic of how the brain ages. Now I am beginning to question everything. Our textbook by Merriam and Bierema is written to provide us with theory and helps us articulate these theories, but how we apply these can vary depending on our worldly experiences and, yes, our age! Amazing!
Finally, I want to address the topic of how ageism (especially against women!) is so salient within the field of academia and society writ large. I would like to see more qualitative studies done with women who age and how they have documented their experiences to provide more concrete data that was presented by Strauch!

Alejandra Sullivan

2017-06-01 21:17:44 UTC

I really enjoyed watching this video about the brain. I think it has always been a topic that has interested me throughout school. When thinking about this video I immediately thought about my grandparents and how they have had to adapt to technology. It was difficult for them because nothing like that had been invented before. But if you now put a piece of newer technology in front of them they are able to use their past experience and understand the technology a bit easier. i think this topic has implications for higher education in general because maybe people will use online learning to continue their education or to get a certificate of some kind. Like most things in the body the brain only works if it is nourished properly, so I think the more information that comes out the better education will get especially for adult learners.