I wonder whether using brain too much (i.e. mental kind of activity like reading, thinking about weird stuff, studying, solving problems etc.) would in the long run lead to positive or negative changes performance wise. From one point of view, using it a lot will kind of train it to operate more effectively, analogy would be lifting weights: it increases strength and muscle mass. But on the other hand, it may lead to wear, strain, cluttering even. Analogy would be driving your car very frequently, over time it will wear down.
So what do you guys say? Is there such a thing as using it too much, to the point of it being detrimental on the long run?
Certain people with certain points of view using their brains too much can be detrimental to society.
You’re using your brain no matter what you’re thinking about at the moment. There isn’t any such thing as using your brain too much or overworking it. What you’re talking about is getting practice doing at solving problems, etc., which may indeed help you doing the same thing in the future. That’s no extra strain on the brain though.
I’m not sure. Try watching some reality show all day long, and then try studying rocket science all day long. In other words, one activity may not produce new connections in brain (even though your brain is active), while the other would produce insane amount of new connections.
I believe there’s data suggesting that people who keep their brain engaged have reduced incidence of dementia in old age. As far as I know, most of that data is correlative. For example, professors or writers who remain intellectually active after normal retirement age have less cognitive decline than people who stop most intellectual stimulation after they retire. Similarly, there’s an inverse correlation between dementia onset and how much reading or playing games an older person does.
It’s hard to prove causation in situations like this though – perhaps people with brains that are prone to dementia just aren’t as interested in intellectual activities. You could set up a properly controlled study where one group of seniors is given a set of daily intellectual tasks as an intervention. This would have to be a pretty big study, lasting decades, and subject compliance could mess with any causal effects. For example, people with brains prone to dementia might be less interested in participating in the study, and give up on their assigned tasks over the years.
Still, the standard thinking assumes a causal link between intellectual activity and prevention of dementia. In other words, “use it or lose it”. At least in this case there’s no harm in encouraging seniors to keep reading, or get out and play cards more often, so why not?
Watching reality TV all day would certainly produce some amount of insane connections. I’d probably grab the chainsaw from the basement.
Only in really extreme circumstances. I’ve read that post traumatic stress disorder for example can cause long term brain damage, because the neurons involved are worked so hard for so long that they die. But something like that is far more intense than something like reading or puzzle solving.
From my own faltering memory, i read a piece on the world memory champion who could remember the sequence of five packs of shuffled cards. He seemed a pretty ordinary guy but cautioned that one might risk “adult onset asbergers syndrome” if one trained to hard. I’ve looked on the net for examples etc but the whole thing seems hedged around with vested interests and “self help” so i have no idea if it is a real condition etc.
I don’t think we really understand enough about neural function to make this kind of categorical statement. Certainly, in normal daily activity, using the brain in reading, interpretation, et cetera isn’t particularly stressing and it is relatively easy to switch from one task to another. However, extremely focused activities certainly produce a stress in the brain, as can be attested by anyone studying for an advanced calculus final or memorizing a four page soliloquy. The result is often emotional impairment (agitation), impairment of language or physical perception, physical stress (headaches and adrenal response), et cetera. The same is true in conditions in which the brain is hyper-stimulated, such as combat or trauma (combat stress reaction, which should not be confused with post-traumatic stress disorder).
Neurologically, areas of the brain are using neurotransmitters like acetylcholine at a higher rate, which both may stimulate synthesis and recarve the way the brain actually functions in ways that we don’t really understand. But focusing on one type of mental activity excessively definitely produces a pronounced neurophysical result; if you’ve ever worked on a complex technical problem for hours on end, it produces a definite sense of exhaustion and often dislocation. Doing this frequently, at least for some people, does seem to result in odd, forgetful, or obsessive behavior; the prototypical “absent-minded professor” is not just a Hollywood archetype, as anyone who has worked in a technical academic environment can probably attest to (although the cause and effect are always uncertain). There are clear examples of people suffering mental or emotional dysfunction simply by excessive and highly focused mental activity (albeit usually compounded by neglecting physical maintenance such as eating, sleeping, and exercise).
The brain is not anything like a computer in the conventional sense of a fixed logical architecture. It is an extremely complex organ that perpetuates a series of self-referential of “strange loops” (in the words of Douglas Hofstadter) which in turn changes the way the brain actually functions by physically modifying preferred neural pathways. As such, how you use it, and how much you use it, can and will change the way it functions; in some cases, perhaps detrimentally. Like any other part of your body, it is best if you try to use it in as many different ways as you can; analytically, creatively, linguistically, et cetera. Using it in only one fashion may understimulate and underdevelop it in some ways, and overusing it to an extreme may exacerbate that neglect.
By analogy, you don’t go to the gym and just to bench presses; you want to to squats, lunges, overhead presses, oblique and plyometric exercises, and a moderate amount of intense cardio.
Stranger
You may find this article interesting.
London cab drivers must pass a test, know as “The Knowledge”, that requires them memorizing every single street and point of interest in the city. From the article:
I don’t think this is quite an example of taxi drivers “overworking” their brains, as a case of acquiring an ability at the cost of another. You can’t be a successful weightlifter and marathon runner at the same time.