The legacy of the Olympics has been one of
the most heavily promoted aspects of the London games, which even has its own
development corporation based on using the infrastructure created to regenerate
the iconic East End of London.
A legacy is defined as ‘a gift of property,
or anything handed down from the past, as from an ancestor or predecessor.’
This particular definition of legacy is what most of the focus is upon, that is
how this local area, given a much needed injection of investment, will utilise
these resources in order to flourish. But that is a fairly limited view of the
legacy, which doesn’t really address the majority of the UK population.
Legacy is also defined as ‘of or pertaining to old
or outdated computer hardware, software, or data that, while still functional, does not work well
with up-to-date
systems.’ This definition on the other hand
applies to a legacy that can affect us all regardless of our locale. The reason
the location is irrelevant is because we all carry this particular
infrastructure within us, it is the only place you can truly call home. That
place is your brain.
Unlike a computer infrastructure which
cannot keep pace with technological development, the Human brain has a neat
trick; it can update its hardware and software in response to the information
put into it. However, in order to do this it has to be given the right
information, at the right time, in the right way. Without these specific
conditions the updates cannot occur. This upgrade is known as neurogenesis,
which is the growth of new neurons in the brain. It’s a fairly new science;
only really gathering pace around 1997, but substantial amounts of knowledge
has been gathered in these 15 years.
So what has this got to do with the
Olympics? Well, like myself, you probably have found yourself being a voracious
spectator of the amazing displays of skill the Olympians provided over the 2
weeks of the games, whether at the venues or simply in front of your TV. Whilst
viewing the sports you probably would’ve felt at least some kind of stimulation
from witnessing some of the most magnificent performances ever produced by a
Human. However, this level of stimulation does nothing to promote growth of
your mind. But real sport participation, that’s a completely different animal.
I use the word ‘real’ purposely, as in the
last few years video games using motion sensing technology have become very
popular. Although enjoyable, these simulations do not engage the brain in the
same way as actual participation, and do not stimulate growth of the brain. In
fact there’s mounting evidence, especially in regards to sporting performance, that
they may actually hinder it.
Taking part in physical activity,
especially those that require higher degrees of skill and the necessary focus
and mental application to be successful, are key to promoting growth of new
neurons, especially in the areas of the brain that are particularly vulnerable
to degeneration; the striatum and the hippocampus. The striatal cortex is the
area of your brain responsible for balance, movement and decision making. The
hippocampus is where your memories are formed. Loss of neurons and functioning
in these key areas are central in development of Parkinson’s (Striatum) and
Alzheimer’s (both Striatum and Hippocampus).
As is becoming readily apparent, our
increased longevity is opening the doors to disease states that were in less
long-lived days fairly rarely seen. These longer lived diseases will primarily affect
the brain, whereas we can patch up or replace many body-parts; with the brain
it’s not quite so simple. You have to create what’s called a cognitive reserve,
which is essentially a buffer, so that even when the inevitable neuronal
die-off occurs, you have hopefully built up enough neurons to see you through
your days intact. And this is where sports and physical activity come into
play; they help build this cognitive reserve infrastructure. Two of the ways it
does this is through increased blood flow to vital areas of the brain, and
stimulation of Brain Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF) which we know is key
for improvements in learning and memory.
If you already participate in sport or
physical activity, that’s great, but to take advantage of your brains ability
to grow new neurons, activity must tick a few boxes.
It needs to voluntary. It’s likely that
forced activity creates an excessive stress response, which among other things
elevates levels of Cortisol. Chronic levels of Cortisol are a known cause of
neuron loss in the Hippocampus.
As previously suggested it needs to demand
your attention, if it’s so easy that there is no active involvement then there
is little stimulation to your brain. Challenge is key, which leads onto the
next requirement, adrenaline.
Although an excessive stress response is
detrimental, a lower level of stress is needed to illicit a response. So sports
and activities that cause excitement are definitely order of the day. Again,
this leads onto a further requirement; success and failure. You have to
perceive whether you’ve been successful or unsuccessful in order for your brain
to set up the correct environment for growth. And key to this, is how closely
the signal follows the execution. The more immediate the signal for success or
failure is to the action, the more effective the stimulation. This is related
to an axiom in neuroscience known as Hebbian theory which is summed up as
‘neurons that fire together, wire together’.
To further up the ante in regards to
success/ failure, alongside the signal there needs to be immediate reward or
punishment for success or failure respectively. In regards to this
success/failure outcome, the sport or activity should be sufficiently adjusted
in difficulty so that failure occurs approximately once every 6-10 times.
So if you’ve found yourself inspired by a
sport from the games, or you’ve seen a sport that you may not even known
existed, make use of your current excitement and go and get involved.
Regenerate your own infrastructure and become
part of the Olympic legacy, it’s the best investment you’ll ever make.
