Brain Damage and Learning

 In the history of neuroscience, two people have been the cause of much brain research. They are Phineas Gage and Henry Molaison who survived traumatic brain injuries in the prefrontal cortex and hippocampus, respectively. The prefrontal cortex is the area of the brain associated with social interaction, emotion, and decision-making. The hippocampus is associated with short-term memory. “Spontaneous brain activity during sleep, for instance, plays a critical role in the consolidation of memory, involving redistribution of memory representations from temporary hippocampal storage to neocortical long-term storage sites” (Karmiloff-Smith, 2012).

Constructivism is a knowledge-acquisition theory. It posits that knowledge is constructed through interaction with one's environment and what can be learned is based on stages of brain development. Constructivism’s stages of brain development originally focused on children then later included teenagers and young adults. “It is now well established that cognition continues to develop after early adulthood, and several “neo-Piagetian” theories have emerged in an attempt to better characterize adult cognitive development” (Girgis, Lee, Goodarzi, Ditterich, 2018). But what is the impact of the brain on learning when it is damaged?

What lead to Phineas Gage's becoming a part of science inquiry was an iron rod that passed through his prefrontal cortex as a result of an explosion at a railroad construction site. Mr. Gage’s injuries resulted in changes to his personality. Henry Molaison had a significant portion of his hippocampi removed in attempt by surgeons to reduce the number of seizures he was experiencing. Mr. Molaison, afterwards, lost his ability to form new autobiographical memories (McCormick, Ciaramelli, Maguirea, 2018).

A friend of this writer was hit with a brick by a step-parent when he was young. He was later diagnosed with a learning disability. I also remember a time in high school when a teacher asked me to do peer-tutoring. At some point I came to believe that my fellow student did not have the capacity to understand what his teachers and I had been trying to present to him. He could not retain the information. It makes me wonder whether he might have had an undiagnosed brain injury.

A criticism of the original constructivist learning theory was its lack of consideration of a person’s interaction with his/her social environment which some learning theories propose is essential to learning (and which lead to social constructivism). One of the changes that Mr. Gage’s friends and associates reported was that after the injury, his behavior was socially inappropriate. (McCormick, Ciaramelli, Maguirea, 2018).

The question is if much of what is learned depends on social interactions, how can one learn if one’s interactions with those around you inhibit collaboration? What is the remedy? The solution may have to be in neuroscience’s future research in how to repair a damaged brain.

The Prefrontal Cortex and the Hippocampus

For quick tutorials on the prefrontal cortex and hippocampus, watch the videos below from The Science of Psychotherapy.

The Prefrontal Cortex

The Hippocampus

REFERENCES
Girgis, F., Lee, D. J., Goodarzi, A., & Ditterich, J. (2018). Toward a Neuroscience of Adult Cognitive Developmental Theory. Frontiers in neuroscience, 12, 4. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnins.2018.00004

Karmiloff-Smith, Annette. (2012). From Constructivism to Neuroconstructivism: the activity-dependent structuring of the human brain. In E. Marti & C. Rodriguez (Eds), After Piaget. [Digital object]. 10.4324/9781315082899. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/264038135_From_Constructivism_to_Neuroconstructivism_Activity-Dependent_Structuring_of_the_Human_Brain

McCormick, C., Ciaramelli, F., Maguirea, A. (2018, March 15). Comparing and contrasting the cognitive effects of hippocampal and ventromedial prefrontal cortex damage: a review of human lesion studies. Neuroscience. (374) 295-318. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroscience.2017.07.066

The Science of Psychotherapy. (2016, August 14). The hippocampus in 60 seconds. [Video].
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=glVA6_4BXWE

The Science of Psychotherapy. (2016, November 3). The prefrontal cortex in 60 seconds. [Video]. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X5-Hdl0Z3VA


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