TEST 1

For questions 1-10, listen to a recording about the process of learning and
complete the summary below using words taken from the recording. Write NO
MORE THAN THREE WORDS in each blank.
- Neurons that work together for a specific purpose are called (1) ‘__________’.

- When you start learning something, your brain can be compared to a forest that is
full of (2) __________ and trees.

- In the process of learning the (3) __________ of shooting a free throw, you make a
trail that goes through the forest.

- As you continue to practice, the trail slowly becomes a (4) ___________ between
point A and B.

- With every (5) __________ you do, you become even better at free-throwing, and
information is (6) ___________ at a more rapid rate.

- Eventually, when what was initially a trail transforms into a (7) __________, free-
throwing is (8) __________ for you.

- The process described is known as (9) _____________ and is defined as the brain’s
(10) __________ to create and strengthen neural connections.

ANSWER KEY
1. functional pathways
2. dense foliage
3. mechanics
4. dirt road
5. (practice) rep
6. transmitted
7. full-blown highway
8. second nature
9. plasticity
10. innate ability
AUDIO TRANSCRIPT
What's going on in the brain when you learn? In order to learn anything, whether it's
math, a foreign language, guitar or how to dribble a basketball, you need to create
and strengthen pathways in your brain.

Think about shooting a free throw. Know that feeling when you've got it down and
don't even have to think about it? That's muscle memory. Here's the thing: Muscle
memory lives in the brain, not the muscles. Your brain controls everything your
muscles do and it does this by activating specific neural pathways for each and every
movement. These are functional pathways, neurons working together to achieve a
goal. Say you're learning how to shoot a free-throw, if it's your first time doing it, you
don't yet have a pathway for that movement in your brain. You need to create it.

Let's use an analogy but look at what's happening in the brain during this time. When
you're first learning, your brain is like a forest full of trees and dense foliage with no
clear pathway between point A and point B. As you learn the mechanics of shooting
a free throw, you create a trail through the forest.

Now you can shoot the free throw because you've created that pathway in your brain.
But you probably don't make many shots because it's so new. The pathway isn't very
clear yet. In order to improve your free-throw, you need to refine and strengthen the
free-throw pathway in your brain. The way you do that is through practice. Practice
gradually widens the trail through the trees, turning it into a dirt road between A and
B.

You're starting to get pretty good. Now you're making more free throws than not. You
don't have to think about the mechanics as much. That's because the pathway gets
stronger after each practice rep, and you've done a lot of reps. With even more
practice, that dirt road turns into a paved road connecting A and B, allowing
information to be transmitted at a faster rate.

Now you're a 70% free-throw shooter and when you step up to the line you don't
even have to think about it. Eventually, with enough practice, what started as a trail
has become a full-blown highway. Now, you're a master, training almost every free-
throw and the movement is completely second nature. Scientists call this plasticity
and it's your brain's innate ability to create and strengthen connections between
neurons. These connections are the paths through the forest.