Mistakes contribute to neuroplasticity

From the earliest age, neural networks or so-called “maps” responsible for analyzing various sensory information and carrying out behavioral actions are formed in our brain and throughout the nervous system. As a rule, these networks are at their natural, maximum plasticity—i.e., flexibility—during the earliest, childhood years of human life. However, there are now important research findings indicating that these maps can remain plastic even later in life. This means they can change even after early youth, provided specific principles are taken into account, enabling us to modify these maps. The most important experiments on this topic were conducted by Professor Eric Knudsen of Stanford University’s Department of Neurobiology and his students.

For example, Knudsen’s laboratory and his colleagues discovered that if a person wears prism glasses that alter visual perception (e.g., swapping right and left or flipping images upside down), changes also occur in the representation of auditory and motor maps.

Initially, experiments were conducted with young participants, whose visual world was altered by forcing them to wear prism glasses. For instance, if a book was located to the left of the participant—5 degrees to the left of center, which is relatively close—the prism glasses would make the participant see it much farther to the left. Naturally, the reason for this was the prism glasses.

What happens on the first or second day of the experiment when participants are asked to reach for the book? They extend their hand but spatially miss the mark, reaching where the book isn’t actually located. However, after one or two days, the participants’ motor behavior begins to adjust and adapt to the distorted visual image, such that they start reaching directly for the book.

This means that over time, their visual and motor maps adjust to the extent necessary for the individual to solve the task at hand. This might seem incredible, but the results of these experiments demonstrate that these naturally interconnected maps can change, and such changes occur most quickly in young individuals.

How does the brain of older individuals respond to similar experiments? Studies reveal that map-related changes happen more slowly in older adults, and for some, they do not occur at all. However, this is also dependent on the specific individual’s neuroplasticity. Most likely, a high or at least sufficient level of neuroplasticity can be maintained in old age if it is nurtured from youth by continually learning and exercising the brain.

In any case, this is a crucial empirical fact that shows our brain can change its representation of the world even in later years.

So, how can we achieve plasticity in old age comparable to the plasticity we have in childhood or early youth? Knudsen’s and other laboratories have studied this issue and found that the factor that enhances neuroplasticity is making mistakes. Put simply, making mistakes increases neuroplasticity.

This refers to those failures and errors that signal to the nervous system that “something is not right” or “isn’t working.” This becomes the very stimulus for change. This is a critical fact because many people, when making mistakes or facing difficulties, become discouraged and stop trying. However, it is the consistent and ongoing attempts that contribute to the continuous growth or maintenance of neuroplasticity.

For example, people may try to learn a piece on the piano but fail, or attempt to write a program code, or acquire a motor skill but fail. The resulting frustration throws them off course, leading to inaction or giving up. In these moments, they often don’t realize that the mistakes themselves are signaling the brain and the entire nervous system that “something is not working,” thereby activating a powerful system of development.

Of course, the brain does not understand phrases like “something is not working.” Nor does it perceive frustration as an emotional state. The brain only understands the language of neurochemicals, specifically neurotransmitters released in these situations, such as epinephrine and acetylcholine.

Thus, when we make mistakes, the nervous system begins producing neurotransmitters and neuromodulators that signal, “We need to change something in our pathways.”

This means that mistakes are the foundation of neuroplasticity and learning.

In conclusion, making mistakes contributes to acquiring experience and growth, but only when we persistently move toward our goal, solving the challenges encountered along the way.