Neural regenerative training

“The number and size of neural-pathways and the integrity of myelination are important for rapid conduction in the nervous system. They are especially important for the accurate coding and transmission of speech signals.” ~ Dr Paula Tallal (left)

Continued from a previous entry ~> [link]  I leave Esalen and head north on Highway One to UC San Francisco where Paula Tallal and Mike Merzenich are developing neural retraining programs for dyslexia. I have to admit that it felt a little surreal being here after spending 14 days on the Big Sur coast. But I’m thankful to Portia for giving me this opportunity. Anyway, I listen as they explain how dyslexia is caused by “ ..under-developed neural-connections in the auditory system.” [link]. This makes it difficult for children to detect “..the subtle cues that signal the onset of phonemes.” Phonemes are the shortest and most ephemeral units of speech. They require high-speed network-connections to detect. Although they may not be as important for speech recognition ..phonemic awareness is definitely required for reading comprehension. This is especially true when children are trying to decipher words for the first time. They tell me that, by testing children’s’ ability to recognize properties of speech, it is now possible to detect dyslexia as early as the first year of life. Well ahead of reading instruction. They have developed a training program that can re-activate the growth of neuro-pathways for phonemic awareness. They have found that intervention later in life can also help regenerate neural growth if the training approximates the early learning environment of a child. In other words, neuro-regenerative training can be successful through adolescence and possibly adulthood if it is presented in a manner that’s both socially interactive and engaging

Training: They have developed a program of intense ‘sensory discrimination’ training to re-activate neural-growth. Training begins by presenting phonemes in an exaggerated manner. This means they sound louder, last longer and arrive farther apart than phonemes in regular speech. During a typical training session, they ask students to identify which phoneme they recognize from a series they’d previously heard. As students progress, the phonemes are softened, shortened and presented at a rate that more closely resembles the flow of speech. To make it both engaging and rewarding, they hosted training on an interactive computer game. Improvements were verified using standard reading tests and brain imaging. MRI scans actually showed progressive differentiation of neurons in the language centers of the brain [link]. I was stoked (because I’m weird like that). However, the next question I have to ask is whether or not these results hold-up outside the lab, where events in life can quickly overtake the best-laid plans of neuroscience practitioners.

to be continued ..