Dear friend of CIFAR,

I am visiting somewhere I haven’t been since I was a child – I am exploring plastic, sponge-like brains.

The sponge-like brain is a phenomenon unique to a critical period in childhood when we can absorb skills – motor, language, cognitive, etc. – at an unparalleled rate. This is a time when the brain is furiously making the new neuronal connections that give us capacities we keep for the rest of our lives. Understanding the mechanisms behind the sponge-like brain could improve an adult’s chances of recovering from brain injury, acquiring Russian or mastering the banjo. It could also put children with developmental disorders such as autism on the right path for learning.

I recently discovered a key to retaining this super absorbent brain: a protein that acts as a messenger that tells the brain: “Wake up! It’s time to learn.”

My research team and I found this protein by studying the visual system of mice. Mice are often used as models of how brain wiring grows in response to outside stimuli. We discovered that the retina sends this protein to the brain, signaling that the eye is ready for stimuli. When the brain receives the message, a special type of cell in the visual cortex matures, initiating the critical period where the brain is more plastic – meaning it can dynamically rewire and transform its internal architecture.

Now I am looking for other similar proteins at work in other sensory systems in the body, such as auditory and olfactory systems.

Children with autism and other learning disorders can have their critical learning periods accelerated or delayed. By understanding the mechanisms behind these periods, it can help us adjust the timing of certain types of education accordingly. This means that we could better help children to acquire key skills at the time when their brains are best able to rewire to acquire.

There is also a possibility that by identifying these messenger proteins, we might be able to trigger sponge-like qualities in adult brains. This could help people at any stage in life to absorb new skills from learning languages to mastering musical instruments.

Best wishes from the frontiers of human knowledge.

Takao Hensch

Fellow, Experience-based Brain and Biological Development program,
Canadian Institute for Advanced Research

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