There is no age to learn!

Yes, you can learn at any age!

“I am too old to learn,” many people have had this reflection at key times in their adult lives. But what is it really like? Do our learning abilities really have an expiration date?

From birth, we mobilize a large part of our mental functions, such as attention, perception, memory, and motor skills, in order to acquire new knowledge and new skills. Learning means constantly processing new information, storing it in our memory and being able to request it at our convenience. This phenomenon occurs with each new experience we live and involves complex processes, which must first be understood before considering how they change with age.

Concretely, how does that happen in the brain?

After each new experience, our brain's activity is slightly modified, as if it were keeping an imprint. More precisely, neurons, in connection with experience, change the way in which they “communicate” with each other: the communication points between neurons, called “synapses”, are strengthened or weakened [1]. At the level of the entire brain, these modifications cause major changes in activity and organization, we then speak of brain plasticity [1]. This dynamic is relatively rapid; in just a few weeks of learning, it is possible to observe structural (network reorganization) and functional (activity level) changes in specific regions of the brain. It is also reversible, since at the definitive end of the learning in question, the traces of it “disappear” [2].
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All equal when it comes to brain plasticity

The question then is to understand whether the brain remains malleable at all ages, and this question has been studied extensively by research.

During childhood and adolescence, learning is rich and consistent (walking, speaking, reading, writing, counting...) and our brain makes plasticity work at full speed. For this reason, researchers in developmental psychology have long believed that brain plasticity is only limited to childhood and adolescence and that as we age, the more our neural networks become frozen and our brains lose their ability to be malleable [3]. But more recently, thanks to technical tools such as brain imaging, this theory has been questioned. Several dozen studies on the subject have reached the same conclusion: nothing is fixed in our brain, it is endowed with plasticity regardless of our age! No, there is no age to learn!

Of course, we cannot deny the impact of normal cognitive aging, which has consequences on attentional, memory, and motor processes in particular. In some contexts, it will take longer for people aged 65 compared to people aged 20 for the same apprenticeship in order to reach the same level of performance [4].

Valuing learning for all

Unfortunately, the belief that you can't learn as an adult is widely held. Its first danger is that it makes us abandon all learning efforts after a certain age. The second is that it impacts how we think about lifelong learning in our society.

La cognitive science research However, it shows us that learning is a lifelong process. The plasticity of the brain is such that even seniors are still able to learn and acquire new knowledge; their sharper judgment and reasoning skills are even beneficial for them to engage in new learning [4, 5].

Thus, the main principles of learning are not effective exclusively during schooling, but they also apply throughout adult life: in higher education, in their profession, in their personal life. There is no age to learn! Base adult education [6] on major principles demonstrated by the cognitive psychologymeans effectively promoting sustainable learning... at any age!

To value and stimulate learning for all within your organization, it goes without saying that choosing a good e-learning platform will be essential. For example, an LMS with a caring environment and a choice of teaching methods adapted to the challenges, as we do with Didask. To go further on this subject, you can consult our article LMS: how to use them well in professional training? and Developing and implementing online training: the guide to getting started.
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REFERENCES

1. Mangin J., Dehaene S. (2014) Brain plasticity, an asset that is still underestimated. KEY THAT, 62, 36-37.
2. Draganski B, Gaser C, Busch V, Schuierer G, Bogdahn U, et al. (2004) Neuroplasticity: Changes in Grey Matter Induced by Training. Nature 427:311.312
3. Boyke J, Driemeyer J, Gaser C, Gaser C, Buchel C, May A (2008) Training-induced brain structure changes in the elderly. Journal of Neuroscience 28:7031—7035.
4. Marcotte, K. & Ansaldo, A.I. (2014). Age-related behavioural and neurofunctional patterns of second language word learning: Different ways of being successful. Brain and Language. 135, 9-19.
5. Ramscar, M., Hendrix, P., Shaul, P., P., Shaul, C., C., Milin, P., & Baayen, H. (2014). The myth of cognitive decline: Non-linear dynamics of lifelong learning. Topics in Cognitive Science, 6, 5-42.
6. Taddei F., Becchetti-Bizot C., Houzel G. (March 2017). Towards a learning society: report on research and development in lifelong education. Submitted to the Minister of National Education, Higher Education and Research.