The human brain increases in mass several-fold between birth and adulthood. The dendrites and axons and their protective cellular wrappings account for most of the increase in brain size between birth and adulthood (2). Dendrites are a mineral crystallizing in another mineral in the form of a branching or treelike mark. Axons can be defined as a long process of a nerve fiber that generally conducts impulses away from the body of the nerve cell. According to Leamnson, most neurons have been divided at birth, so the number of neurons we"re born with will probably be the most we"ll ever have. Neurons are the impulse-conducting cells that constitute the brain, spinal column, and nerves, consisting of a nucleated cell body with one or more dendrites and a single axon. Although a small number of neurons are undergoing cell division, most are inactive. This means that we may have fewer brain cells, we are still increasing the connections between the cells (2). One never has to stop learning.
What happens when we learn? Leamnson answers this question by explaining, while the process of learning involves the whole body, the brain acts as a way station for incoming stimuli. All sensory input gets sorted, prioritized, processed, stored, or dumped on a subconscious level as it is processed by the brain. The mature human brain is comprised of billions of neurons, which interact and create elaborate networks that communicate through neurotransmitters. Neurons that communicate at contact are called synapses (3). "The more times a synapse passes a signal, the larger it grows, and the more securely it links the two cells. The number of synaptic connections between the cells may increase as well. It is literally a case of use it or lose it" (3). The creation of neural networks and synapses are what constitutes learning.
The role of emotions in learning has a strong impact on the ability to learn.
