Finally, I have come to say goodbye to you. As you probably know, there is a saying “Leave the best till last.” I am the greatest of all the organs and systems that have described themselves to you so far. I am an integrative system that forms a chain between every organ in your body. Just as your veins are spread out to carry nutrients and oxygen to every part of your body, I also embrace your entire system like a network, without leaving the tiniest space; I am informed of everything that goes on inside your body. Even if a tiny insect settles on your arm, you sense it immediately. I make you aware of a tiny drop of sweat on your body. I induce pain in suitable measures to inform you of any illnesses in your inner organs. In fact, I not only inform you, I also warn you to seek help.

However, it is hard for me to describe myself. When you hear the words “nervous system,” what comes to mind is a cluster of cells called neurons. But this is a great mass of cells, and we should always remember that we are referring to the most complex matter in all of creation. The very important main nervous systems, which are very close to one another, are the huge masses positioned beneath the skull, the extensions of my system and secondary nervous system; this latter is spread out through various regions of the body. It would take up too much of your time to describe each region and branch of my system individually to you each month, but in this way I could prove what a perfect and incredible duty each of them performs within your body. However, I will try to explain the subject briefly to avoid boring you. Nevertheless, please forgive me if I ramble on too much; we are describing the most excellent organ created by God so it is inevitable that there will be some complicated matters that need clarification.

Instead of allowing each of my sections to describe themselves to you individually, I will speak on their behalf as the “brain.” It may be easier for you to understand the system if we divide it into two. One of them is me and the nervous system which I lead; we can briefly describe this as the thalamus, hypothalamus, cerebellum, the medulla, and the spine. The other part is the peripheral nervous system, which emerges from the central nervous system and is distributed, rather like fiber optic telephone cables, throughout the entire body. In addition to me, the brain, and my two large cerebral hemispheres, there is another smaller section, which is known as the brain stem. The brain and its cerebral hemispheres and the sections of the brain stem which are protected beneath the skull (the cerebellum, medulla, thalamus, and hypothalamus) are very important. The spinal cord, which is also a part of the central nervous system, however is not in the skull, but positioned within the vertebrae that constitute the spine. Due to its connection with the central nervous system, any damage to the spinal cord can endanger life.

Although damage to regions of the body where the nerves are distributed from the central nervous system may cause paralysis, or functional disorder for the specific organ, such an incident is not life threatening.

If you recall, when the heart and circulation system described themselves they boasted – indeed the veins also seemed to brag a bit when they stated that they measured 75,000 miles (long enough to go around the world almost three times). But the nerves are approximately 477,000 miles, long enough to stretch from the earth to the moon, and back again… the nerves which are distributed throughout the various parts of your body measure 250,000 miles, and the total length of the central nervous system is 228,000 miles. Almost 200,000 signals pass through just one cell at a time, which means that every moment thousands of signals pass through millions of my cells all throughout your body, and flow from the central nervous system to the whole body and then back to the central nervous system. There are about 30 billion cells in my system. 10 billion of these cells are in the cortex, 10 billion in the cerebellum, and the remainder forms the structure of the nerves and other sections. As a comparison, a fly’s brain contains 100 thousand cells, and a rat’s brain has 10 million cells. The total number of connections and contact points (synapses) that my 30 billion cells use to send and receive signals is 100 trillion. The number of combinations that these connections can establish to send signals to one another is greater than the number of atoms in the universe. At the beginning of a thinking process, the number of cells activated is between 10 and 100 million, and according to the depth and intensity of the activity, these figures can increase to astounding numbers. Every second 4 billion signals are exchanged between the left and right hemispheres. When you were an embryo, just a few weeks old, I consisted of 92% water. When you were first born, the ratio of water was 90%. And when you were fully developed, the water ratio remains at 77%. Peter! Can you imagine, a heap of mass consisting of 77% water, the remainder made up of various element. Our Lord, the bearer of eternal power places me in you, in the head of the most honorable creation, and with me you form civilizations; you invent and discover. And even more important, with my mediation you have the ability to contemplate and reach your Creator. What we are learning about here is how with me you are able to recognize the wisdom of the entire universe. The electric signals of the various sense organs, such as the eyes, ears, nose, tongue and skin, all of which have previously described themselves, are transmitted by the receptive cells on various wavelengths; these are then conveyed to you in the form of sight, noise, smell and taste. In fact I am inducing you to write these words at this very moment. The evaluation of everything you do passes through me, but you are not even aware of it. When you walk, eat, talk, speak or sleep, the information I receive from every part of your body is reviewed and responded to in a suitable manner. Dear Peter! Could a single nucleus of a single one of my cells possibly position itself alone?

The Lord has created me so magnificently that you are still only aware of a very few of my mysteries. Each of the sections that I mentioned above has a distinct and important vital function. On their behalf, I will briefly explain their duties: The cerebellum is the nerve center from which the harmony of balance and muscle movement is controlled. As this section of me has no sense of perception, it is impossible to voluntarily change the functions of this region. The pyramid shaped medulla oblongata, which connects the spinal cord to the midbrain and the pons; the latter constitutes the other end of the brainstem through a hole in the back of the skull in the form of the spinal cord and enters into the vertebral column. Here, there are many nerve centers which regulate autonomic nervous system activity, such as the heart rate, breathing, and digestion process. This is also the center from which the reflexes are controlled, the body’s inner environment is regulated, and this center, working with the cerebellum also controls movement and coordinates signals received from the nerves of inner organs. Moreover, activities such as excitement and sleep are also controlled here in collaboration with the thalamus.

The thalamus lies between the brainstem and the hemispheres of the brain, performing a function rather like a junction or relay station. This section gathers all the signals sent by the sense receptors, except for those from the olfactory (smell) receptors, and conveys these signals to the cortex reflecting the information; there is also a role played in consciously identifying sensations such as pain, touch and noise. There is also a role played in the sensory changes that occur with the perception of senses in our consciousness and awareness, as well as in the regulation of sleep and paying attention. The hypothalamus, which is located below the thalamus, is an important center that controls sexual senses; the sensations of pain, pleasure, hunger, and thirst, as well as blood pressure, temperature and other functions of the inner organs. It also performs the important duty of regulating hormone release. The nerve fibers that enter this center, which is the location of a very complex network of nerves coming from the olfactory bulb, thalamus, and the frontal lobe, reach the autonomic nervous system, the reticular formation in the stem section, and the posterior lobe behind the pituitary gland (hypophysis). The pituitary gland, one of the most important systems that earlier described itself in the endocrine system, produces hormones that stimulate secretion in the anterior section, as well as the oxytocin and antidiuretic hormones which are stored and released from the posterior pituitary.

On the base of the deep grove that separates the two hemispheres of the large brain there is a callus-like body; this is a bundle of axon (nerves) called the corpus callosum which connects the two hemispheres. Because the nerve fibers cross and change direction in the medulla, the left side of the brain controls your right side, and the right controls your left. Although my two hemispheres may look like a reflection of one another, there are some variations in their duties; for example, the left hemisphere controls speech, but the section which controls the perception of location is in the right hemisphere. Whilst you use the left hemisphere for duties that must be performed in a specific order (activities such as adding and subtracting or buttoning a shirt), you use the right hemisphere in thinking with images (for example, mapping the route from your home to the market). If the callus substance that connects my two hemispheres did not exist, there would be no communication between the two, therefore, you could read the word “fish,” but you would not be able to picture the image of a fish in your mind without the right hemisphere to achieve this.

The brain, the grey-colored mass of folds and grooves that covers the top of my anatomic hemispheres, the region where the main stems of my cells are found, is called the cortex or grey matter; the lighter colored matter that lies beneath this, the region where the axons (stems of neurons) are found, is called the white matter. My cortex region, which is composed of six layers of cells, is the center where the sensory signals are received and analyzed and where voluntary muscle movement is controlled, while also being the center of activities, such as learning, reasoning, and remembering. My two hemispheres, the focal point of conscious activity and thought that forms the large brain, constitute 85% of the whole brain. When you were first born I weighed 400 grams, but I grew very quickly, and by the time you were a year old I weighed 800 grams. When you were four years old, I weighed 1,200 gr. However, my growth began to slow down after the age of seven, and when you reach twenty, I will weigh approximately 1,379–1,434 grams. When you begin to pass your first youth, my weight begins to decrease every year by 1 gram, so when you reach seventy-five, I would have shrunk in comparison to when you were twenty. The reason for this decrease in weight is that approximate 50,000 neurons die, or cease to function daily, after you reach the age of twenty. The body cells of the cartilage, bone, skin, ligaments and the liver divide, regenerate and increase in number; however, the nerve cells that are part of me continue to increase until they reach the figure set out for you when you were formed in your mother’s womb; they then lose the ability to segregate. So if there is any damage, relative functions fail because the cells in that region have died. Then the question arises: As there is no increase in the numbers of cells, how does the weight continue to increase until the age of twenty? Well, there is not an increase in the numbers of cells; rather, there is an increase in the number and growth of connections between the cells and this is how my weight increases. Of course, nutrients are added to build and stimulate these connections. Subsequently, with age these connections begin to decrease. With ever experience you have, all the things that you learn or see during your youth these connections increase, and in turn this increases my capacity for thought and reasoning. If you continue to activate your brain by reading, writing and other social activities in old age, these connections continue to increase. Even if there is a decrease in my cells, you are able to continue your usual activities without losing any functions of the brain. But as soon as you say that is enough, it is time for a rest, my cells begin to withdraw their connections immediately, and in time you will certainly see the difference in my capacity. If the cells in my central nervous system are injured or damaged, they cannot repair themselves. However, if the cell bodies of my cells in the peripheral nervous system are not damaged the stems are repairable.

Thanks to this special feature if a severed arm, leg or finger can be carefully replaced with microsurgery, the nerves can repair themselves, and the limb will continue its normal functions. The visible cause of this characteristic is found in the nerves of the arms and legs, but not in the brain or spine, is the casing that surrounds this bundle of nerves that transmits signals for the cells to grow. Even with the greatest of techniques, no surgeon could sew the severed nerve fibers. However, thanks to the nerve casing that holds these fibers together (like the plastic that covers the electric cable, consisting of thin wires) the severed limb can be replanted. Then with guidance from this outer casing, each of the hundreds of fibers found inside grow 1 mm every day, and in a period of between 1 month and a year, they will begin to function again.

Irfan Yilmaz is a professor of biology at Dokuz Eylul University, Izmir. 

“… there is a stable order in the world as well as a well-established connection, constant norms and fundamental laws. In this sense, the world is analogous to a clock or a well-designed machine. Every single wheel, every single screw, every single nail not only has a role in order of a machine and an impact in its final benefit but also positive consequences for all living beings, especially for humans.” (Signs of Miraculousness, Seven Heavens, p. 186)

There is a strong parallel between the general principles to be observed for a healthy social structure in a society and the necessary conditions that enable cells to make up a healthy tissue. The laws prevalent in the universe present amazing parallels since they derive from the same divine source. In order to have healthy development in societies, it is necessary to have healthy connections, reciprocal understanding, and correct information transfer between people. Similarly, having healthy cells, which can be considered as micro-societies, also depends on the cells’ continual use of complex signal connection networks and their maintenance of connections with their environments. In order to maintain a harmonious and healthy life in the cell, there must be dense information transfer (through chemical molecules) at all levels with neighbor cells. Thanks to the connection networks that start at their membranes, cells can recognize warnings coming to them and produce responses. Through such information networks, a continuous connection is established in living organisms, starting from their lowest level mechanisms (i.e. molecules in cells and organelles) to their highest level mechanisms (i.e. organs, systems, organisms, populations, ecosystems), in order to ensure a healthy and harmonious processes of development, reproduction, differentiation and aging. Organized as a tissue (micro-society), one of the most amazing features of cells is the way they behave in accord with the society they live in, rather than acting as individualistic beings. Cells behave in a way to make micro-societies possible. In cytology (study of cells), this feature is known as “contact inhibition” (i.e. maintenance of healthy and harmonious operation and development that is based on connection), and its damage may lead to cancer. Every cell is sensitively programmed to receive all signals, coming from inside and outside, and to manage the proper responses to them. Here, the question arises whether a lack or disorder of connection is caused by pathological conditions in cells or whether the emergence of pathological conditions is caused by connection problems. It is generally assumed that, molecular changes in the cell occur first (i.e. mutation) and then this mutation leads to abnormalities and connection problems at the levels of tissue, organ, and even organism. Damage to communication or connection and disorders in this system are a very important reason for the appearance of some pathological conditions (such as an abnormal increase of cells, cancer and death). Thus, diagnosis and treatment of many diseases today depends on knowledge of how biological communication and connection are harmoniously established.

Cells are designed to control their behavior through special signal molecules that can themselves function as stimulatory. For instance, using signal molecules, cells can establish colonies or biofilms. Moreover, plant cells, through channels known as plasmodesmata, maintain their connection with neighboring cells and trade certain materials. In the state of illness, the density (among cells) of signal molecules that are transferred in the plasmodesmata changes.

Hormones, reproduction factors and neurotransmitters are charged with ensuring transportation and communication at different levels. Cell and tissue elasticity and their adaptability are increased by this diversity in signal operations. Different ways are used to transmit signals into the cell depending upon the characteristics of the signals. For example, hydrophobic (water-avoiding) molecules like steroid hormone pass directly through the cell membrane and connect to their receptors in the cell. The receptors that are responsible for decoding genes stimulate the decoding of related genes. If a problem (mutation) occurs in the molecules that are responsible for transportation and communication, the transportation and communication breaks down and the cancer process is triggered. The existence of continuously reproducing cells in inappropriate times and places is an important symptom of cancer initiation. For example, in colon and rectum cancer, if a mutation occurs on the Ras protein, which is one of the signal proteins that takes the “Reproduce!” message from the cell membrane the cutting off of the GTP molecule, which is responsible for turning the signal molecule on and off, is blocked, and since the molecule stays permanently active a signal like “Reproduce!” is permanently sent inside the cell. Thus, the benefits of the medicines that are used in cancer treatment and that show their effects by hindering signals on the cell membrane level are observed in the non-existence of this mutation on Ras proteins. If the mutation happens the medicines mentioned above cannot be effective. Today, the presence of the mutation can be determined by a biopsy taken from the patient, thus, it has become possible to choose the type of therapy that will be most helpful to that person.

Communication inside the cell can be carried out through ion channels (such as sodium, potassium, and calcium). These channels in membrane behave selectively for every different ion. For example, while voltage-gated channels open and close according to electric charge ligand, (key)-gated (receptor) channels let ions transfer when ligands are tied up. Sodium and potassium ions and the molecular channels that these two passes are responsible for organizing the changes that effect the communication of nerves in the membrane potential. The calcium channel, on the other hand, plays an important role in muscle contraction, and biological incidents like the formation and deformation of bone.

In recent years, the proteins (matrix) that fill the vacancies among cells have been shown to be the main actor in the general control of communication between cells and in the integration of signals coming from their surroundings by hundreds of proofs. It has been pointed out that CCN proteins, which are one of the adaptors, as well as proteins with multiple modules that are responsible for the connection between cell membranes and matrix proteins have a regulatory role at different levels in the control of signal transfers in ion channels, cell differentiation, adherence of cells to each other, cell collapse, programmed cell-death, cartilage formation and the synthesis of new veins. The multi-dimensional and dynamic communication and connections mentioned above related to cells also apply to people. When individuals develop a healthy connection between their inner world and other people, a healthy society emerges. Every individual is granted these potential connection points, which make the existence of an individual possible. The development of a healthy person depends upon activating these connections, organizing them dynamically and keeping them active.

If we place human beings at the center of creation, the first connection that the individuals should make between their Creator and their ego (nafs) is called worship. The ego is both a help and a hindrance to the construction of this connection. The second connection, which is between individuals and their friends, is ensured by good morals, good conduct, and personal virtue. The construction of a healthy social life depends on how many people have good morals, good conduct and virtuous character in a society. If virtue is not accompanied by knowledge, it is highly unlikely that knowledge will raise an individual to a standard of human perfection.

The third essential, the individual’s healthy connection with their surroundings is established through the “ecological dimension of ego,” which is sensitive to the external world. It is very difficult for people whose dimension of ego, which is sensitive to ecological problems and the environment, has not developed to keep the environment clean and take precautions against pollution. The fourth connection that individuals should establish is the connection with their internal world (heart-consciousness, transcendental ego, real self). “O Man! Know yourself first!” and, “The one that knows himself knows his God,” are expressions pointing out the importance of this connection.

For individuals, groups, and societies to have a healthy life as well as to maintain their health at all levels depends on activating these four connections, in other words, establishing coordination and harmony among them and then maintaining this state. When one ignores one of the connections or some of them, or when the coordination between these connections is defective, troubles and illnesses at various levels emerge. Hence, the links that a healthy individual establishes may include those in civil society organizations, and through these further networked and reciprocal communications. Like our cells, which maintain their connection with their environment and neighboring cells via the “contact inhibition” mechanism so that we feel healthy, for people to become healthy at personal and societal level, individuals should actively join civil society organizations and service-centered communities that can enable activation of these four connections and ensure harmony and coordination among them. The Islamic scholar, Bediüzzaman Said Nursi paid special attention to connection in the letters he wrote to his students (the Kastamonu letters) and highlighted it as a point of progress that should be reached:

Since, in today’s world, saving people’s belief for the sake of God is a very important mission that is above everything; since quantity is not very significant compared to quality; since transient and changing political worlds are trivial compared to everlasting, constant, stable services in the name of God-they should not be even compared; they can never be objectives; therefore, we should be satisfied with valuable positions that are granted in the circle of Risale-i Nur. Instead of having extremely well-thoughts about other people or seeing them at high positions superfluously, we need to have extreme loyalty and steadfastness, and utmost connection and sincerity. We should have progress on these points.

Hamza Aydin has a PhD in bio-medicine. He is a freelance writer from Izmir, Turkey.

Increasing brainpower

We can improve our brain’s memory, creativity, and intelligence by our own conscious effort and free will. Even though our brain is made of nerve tissues, it can grow if it is used, just like a muscle. Scientists are constantly amazed at its plasticity “ the ability to grow. Even for people over 80 years old, significant life-quality improvements can be achieved through intellectual activity.

Researchers at the University of California-Los Angeles studied the brains of 20 dead people. After examining the dendrites (tree-like communicating arms between muscles), they discovered that their length increased proportionally with a person’s education and lifestyle. Those with a college education and a mentally active lifestyle had longer dendrites than those with less education and an intellectually inactive lifestyle.

Animal studies seem to confirm the same result. For example, rats exposed to maze learning show an increase in dendrite growth and enhanced problem-solving ability. They form new synapses between neurons, which facilitates further learning. When they are moved to dull, non-challenging environments, dendritic material decreases and synapses regress. Neurons can grow and change throughout one’s life.

French philosopher and mathematician Rene Descartes (1596-1650) once said: It is not enough to have a good mind. The main thing is to use it well.(1) In this ever-changing information society, successful adaptation depends on expanding our minds through learning and creativity. Knowledge helps us advance to happiness, because happiness usually is tied to less stress (in our career or daily life), gives us greater travel and leisure opportunities, more autonomy and even more money. Love grows in a relaxed and happy atmosphere, so even emotional well-being depends on improving our brainpower.

By stimulating our brain more intensively, a curious thing happens: The inter-connections between neurons increase by developing new dendrites. These surplus connections make our brain work better, improve our memory, and protect us against diseases like Alzheimer’s by providing alternative connections.

Learning and brainpower

An increased sense of self-confidence and awareness originates from a large fund of knowledge. Even the number and variety of friends we have is directly proportional to the number of topics of interest and discussion we acquire. Knowledge also improves our ability to foresee future political, economic, and historical trends. Moreover, an improved understanding of history and cultures help us avoid the hazard of prejudice.

Understanding the world is like a jigsaw puzzle. The more pieces that we can fit in, the clearer the image and the greater the urge to learn and fill in more pieces. The more we learn, the more we wish to continue learning. Increasing knowledge is like an avalanche; for it gains a momentum of its own once it starts. Perseverance and some initial prompting are required, but the rewards soon pay off. Minds are kept young by continual use, and mentally active people tend to live longer. Learning is as important to our brain as exercise is to our body. Hence the process of learning should not cease right after graduating from high school or college.

Students are presented with an enormous amount of information to learn and memorize during the academic year. During vacation time, however, they shy away from reading or learning even about non-curricular topics because of the mistaken notion that the brain has a limited capacity and that new information will overwrite previous information. The brain has a virtually unlimited capacity to absorb, sort, and retain information. But stimulation is required. An athlete improves by exercise and training; the brain gets into shape the more it is used.

According to Life magazine’s July 1994 feature article on Brain Calisthenics, Golden claims that exercising your brain may do as much for your health as exercising your body. Research on an elderly group of nuns in Minnesota revealed that a daily diet of brain games kept them healthy, youthful, and relatively free from Alzheimer’s and other degenerative brain disorders. And, they were happy, active, and mentally sharp well into their nineties. Researchers attribute this to the brain’s capacity to grow new connections after receiving the proper kind of stimulation. Although the connection between continued brain activity and health remains unclear, we can say that neural stimulation seems to have a direct role in keeping the brain and body balanced, energetic, and healthy. And, it is surmised that increased brain stimulation provides more pronounced and long-lasting benefits.

We can increase our dendrites by engaging in newer activities. When we learn something, we use our whole brain and build new brain circuits. But once something becomes a routine, we only use a small portion of our brain, leaving the rest to atrophy. To prevent the loss or actually to increase the number of dendrites, they must be stimulated. In a Life magazine interview published in July 1994, Arnold Scheible, head of UCLA’s Brain Research Institute, suggested: The important thing is to be actively involved in areas that are unfamiliar to you. Anything that’s intellectually challenging can probably serve as a kind of stimulus for dendritic growth, which means it adds to the computational reserves in your brain.

However, the article pointed out a caveat for the occasional brain developer. It seems that although learning a new skill creates more neural dendritic connections, the growth stops once the skill is learned and the new connections may actually atrophy. Thus, the brain needs random and interactive exercise so that it cannot learn the exercise so well that it becomes a routine and so that it can better learn new things continually.

Learning is an art that requires practical tools to gather a broad knowledge base. For example, Dr. S. Ray has an interesting suggestion: Look up unfamiliar words in the dictionary and then write a reminder by the word indicating where you encountered it, whet-her in a book, a newspaper, or a conversation. If you saw it in Newsweek, write NW beside the word. If your professor mentioned it, write his name next to the word. If you come across a word in this article, put a smiling face near it. Next time you encounter this word, your previous annotation will help you form a better association and you will remember the word better.

Once you start learning new words, it is a pleasant surprise to encounter them again. Each new word becomes a personal friend that reinforces a memory. Consider the dictionary one of your most interesting friends. The more words we learn, the more we become aware of our surroundings. Words enrich our memory. Words form the thread on which we string our experiences, said the British philosopher Aldous Huxley (1894-1963).

Physical activity and brainpower

Physical activity increases mental function. Exercise induces the growth of capillaries (tiny blood vessels) in the brain. Aging can lead to the brain receiving less blood. Exercise throughout life works against the decreased mental functioning associated with old age. Yet, one must not overemphasize physical exercise.

In their book Healthy Pleasures, Ornstein (a psychologist) and Sobel (a physician) argue that our current health practices should be shifted toward a more intellectual approach. They claim that diets and physical exercises can punish and even harm the body, and that they might have side-effects and only a limited effectiveness. They opine that some of the rigorous body controls we tend to practice are more linked to the Protestant work ethic than real health benefits. Hence going to the gym is a work-out.

Stress and brainpower

One side-effect of stress is dullness in the brain. Therefore, whatever removes stress increases brainpower. There are several relatively new methods to improve brainpower (intelligence, creativity, learning ability). For example, listening to a precise combination of audio signals embedded on a cassette or CD beneath soothing music and environmental sounds can give the brain a very specific audio stimulus that gently creates deep meditation, removes stress, and creates emotional healing at a deep level. This causes new connections to be created in the brain.

This is accompanied by a deep, trance-like meditative state in which the brain produces a whole host of pleasurable neurochemicals, such as endorphins. Such a trance or meditation can be attained easily during deep and concentrated prayer. A soothing and relaxing atmosphere can be achieved during chanting, remembrance, or reciting holy texts and hymns.

The new pathways caused by these meditative states connect and synchronize the brain’s hemispheres, thereby causing whole brain functioning. The improvements in brainpower include learning, intuition, mental clarity, creativity, focus and concentration, and intelligence. This research is backed by Centerpointe Institute, which has a commercial product (Holosync) based on the above principle.

Stress also is tied to the burdens we are obliged to carry. Usually we think that we control our lives entirely and thus can control everything around us. As this is not even near the truth, the resulting condition is stress accompanied by depression. Again, a fine balance between faith in destiny and free will help us remove this stress and live an alleviated and spiritually relieved life. Said Nursi analyzes this concept in his Twenty-sixth Word.(2)

In addition to removing stress, the nervous system’s reorganization of itself to a new and higher level increases the stress threshold. At that point, many uncomfortable, dysfunctional feelings and behaviors go away, even if they might have been persistent until then. This is a deep and dramatic change in mental health: the release of anger, fear, and sadness, as well as the release of self-defeating behaviors, childhood traumas, and limiting decisions. Once these are gone, we can expect better relationships to emerge.

Thus it is like a virtuous cycle, because people who reach higher levels want to move to deeper meditation levels, just as athletes increase their mileage after mastering a certain distance. In these in-creased levels, the mind expands, grows, and becomes self-aware to a greater extent. Perhaps it also experiences a deeper meditative experience.

Health and brainpower

Adding years to your life and life to your years have always been challenging. The first one has been achieved for some, as life expectancy in developed countries increased by 30 years during the twentieth century due to improved food supply, housing, medicine, and many other factors. However, research in the last few decades proves that one can become even smarter by dendrite generation. At first, researchers told us that life-long physical training was one way to keep in good health. Now, since scientists know that the brain can be developed and enlarged, brain calisthenics have become even more important. The age-old dilemma of mind over matter has been resolved in favor of the mind.

A group of researchers has demonstrated that pleasure and positive states of mind are better for our health. This new intellectual approach to health is not only more powerful, but also has no side effects. Central to this claim are recent findings that even getting an education may add as much as 10 years to your health. That is why National Geographic featured John de Rosen in its 1986 book The Incredible Machine, which discussed old age. De Rosen, an artist, continued to paint until the week he died at age 91. The book notes: Some scientists believe that retirement to a sedentary lifestyle initiates or aggravates medical problems, thus shortening life. According to a study of retired people, adults over 65 can learn a creative skill, like oil painting, as readily as younger students. So retiring from a job in a sense means retiring from life unless supplemented by some other (preferably new) activity.

Investigating mental processes and brain efficiency

With their new imaging machines, scientists literally look into the brain and photograph the paths of mental processing to learn how the brain handles information. Each of the 100 billion neurons has dendrites (receptors), a central processor, and a cable to send the messages to the next neuron. Some years ago, scientists thought that these physical aspects were fixed at birth. Then Marion Diamond, a pioneer brain researcher who dissected Einstein’s brain, published Enriching Heredity. In it, she claimed to have found that the key areas of Einstein’s brain were very rich in dendrites due to the increased usage, and thus established that the brain is not fixed by heredity.

Another aspect of brainpower is efficiency. Dr. Richard Haier, a professor of psychology at the University of California, Irvine School of Medicine, used PET (positron emission tomography) scan images of brain metabolism to indicate mental efficiency. Newsweek (29 February 1988) reported his finding that smarter brains use less energy. Wired (May 1994) introduced to the general public his first works using PET to analyze the brain changes of Tetris players. In this article, he revealed the importance of neural efficiency. In other words, give a smart brain a hard cognitive task, like Tetris, and it will quickly learn to solve it using less of the brain and less rigorously. Less efficient brains seem to have difficulty localizing the task to the most appropriate processing centers. Therefore, there is wasted brain energy and needless redundancy (noise) in neural-net processing activity.

Newsweek (27 March 1988) featured Haier’s PET scans of SAT (Scholastic Aptitude Test) takers. The outcome seemed to differentiate be-tween sexes. Smart men who scored above 700 on the SAT math section worked their brains harder (less efficiently) than smart women. The PET images reveal how efficiently the brain works when processing a cognitive task. Therefore, before and after PET images may show how smart the brain, or neural-cognitive system, is as a function of how fast it learned how to minimize extraneous brain processing areas and focus energy on smaller, more productive areas.

We have been led to believe that we use very little of our brain. Ironically, the smarter the person is, the less of his or her brain seems to be involved in any particular task. It seems that dendrites use the shortest or most feasible path possible, and that the more numerous and longer the dendrites are, the more likely they are to have shorter paths between the nodes in the brain’s neural network. When the mind starts to process a task, it apparently engages a greater area of the brain to feel it out. However, the smarter brain-mind system will narrow in on the brain’s most appropriate processing area(s). Then, the rest of the brain is released to do something else, such as noisy chatter or just rest (which is rare). A less intelligent system might use more of the brain than is necessary. This may create a source of noise on the neural-net that distracts, disrupts, or derails the fast and efficient (consistent and accurate) data processing by the appropriate brain center(s).

Brain efficiency seems to be highly correlated with intelligence (or brainpower). Apparently, the less moving parts the less friction and noise! This would agree with certain research findings of meditators whose quieter and more alpha- and theta-dominant brains appear to be better at various cognitive and mental reflex tasks.

Conclusion

In conclusion, brainpower depends on many things: daily diet, physical and mental exercise, emotional state, stress, heredity and so on. It is not fixed or static, but has the ability to change and progress, so one can improve it by a combination of techniques that suit the individual. The discovery of new or improving existing techniques is open for further research in cognitive science.

Footnotes

1. http://serendip.brynmawr.edu/Mind/Descartes.html#Descartes.
2. The Words is available online at:www.sozler.com.tr/risnur/warning_word.htm.

References

• Centerpointe Institute, Holosync, http://www.trans4mind.com/holosync/.
• Diamond, Marion. Enriching Heredity: The Impact of the Environment on the Anatomy of the Brain. Free Press: 1988.
• Ornstein, R. and D. Sobel. Healthy Pleasures. Addison-Wesley, 1989.
• Poole, R. M. (ed.) The Incredible Machine. National Geographic Society: 1992.
• Report from the Biomedical Newsletter. Lippincott-Raven Publishers, n.d.
• Sahelian, Ray. Be Happier Starting Now: A Medical Doctor Explores the Fascinating Field of Happiness. Longevity Research Center: 1995. See Chapter 9.
• www.brain.com.