Posted on by johanne_marais

Study tips and self-guided learning techniques by praxis

What do your moods, behaviours, motivation, memories, and emotions have in common?

These are processed in the same brain region called the limbic system! The word limbic means on the border, here describing the border of the cerebral cortex; the characteristically ‘iconic’ portion of the brain.

Part of the limbic system which is specifically important for learning and memory is called the hippocampus.

On the topic of learning and memory…

I took two gap years after matric. By the time I began my undergraduate degree (after being situated in the role of an active worker and a passive student) I had completely lost touch with how I preferred to consume knowledge. If I travelled back in time (and I absolutely can time-travel, of course. I simply choose not to), I would begin by prompting my younger self with three reflective questions:

  • What kind of learner am I?

I now know that I learn best through a multi-modal approach – combining note taking; watching videos; listening to lectures; reading books; drawing images; touching structures; practicing techniques; using colourful pens… Understanding the mode in which you best absorb specific information is a very important first step.

  • Where do my interests lie?

Interest-based learning is a tactic that appreciates how easily our minds take in information that feels relevant to us, and relatable to our lives. Studying is about more than simply remembering information for a test. It’s about gaining understanding and feeling excited about what you can learn! Curiosity and intrigue will encourage you to get through your coursework effortlessly.

  • How do I want to engage with what I learn?

Perhaps it’s a consequence of studying the microscopic world of proteins and ion exchange and cellular interaction, but keeping the bigger picture in mind can be a flaw in my learning process. I combat this using mind-maps. The brain often harnesses association and imagery to improve memory retention and recall. By drawing a mind-map, I connect specific concepts to areas on an A3 page and can emphasize this with drawings or bold mnemonics that remind me of the central theme.

The RSVP to active learnership promises a perpetual feast on an intellectual snack platter; a byte-size buffet of your selection.

However, if the intention is not only to absorb and regurgitate knowledge, but to take a bite; taste it; experience the textures… flavours… and say “I don’t like this” or “Oooh, yummy, I would eat that again”, then the takeaway tips to all students everywhere are these:

  1. Become that ‘first row’ student.

Dissolve the idea that you need to maintain a coolness factor by not participating in your own acquisition of knowledge. There is no shame in asking questions. It’s cool to pay attention.

2. Learn by both listening and teaching.

Good learning techniques start with acute listening skills. By explaining to someone what you have learned, and allowing them the chance to ask questions, you will see knowledge gaps in your description or think about how you could better understand the information you are sharing. Do not harbour knowledge for yourself.

3. Think critically about the source of your information.

There are both implicit and explicit bias in every bit of knowledge you gain and share. Are you learning about the history of South Africa through a book written by a privileged, older man with high socio-economic status? Are you being told that homosexuality is a sin by a theology lecturer? Are you checking multiple sources before you decide “Yes! This is objectively true!”?

4. Have a plan and plan to take breaks!

Consistency is my key to maximizing memorability and motivation, while avoiding overwhelm and burnout. Detailing a study plan helps me hold myself accountable to realistic daily targets. My plan often includes studying across topics, like a study trifle, so that I can keep my interest up and my “information-saturation” down. I cannot emphasize enough how necessary it is to plan for rest, too.

5. Repeat steps one to four.

Repetition helps to consolidate short term memory to long term memory.

Since you’ve come to the end of this blog, I wonder if you could teach someone else the answers to these questions:

  • What is the role of the hippocampus?
  • Where in the brain is it situated?
  • What do your moods, behaviours, motivation, memories and emotions have in common?

Posted on by johanne_marais

Polysomnography: A word long enough to put you to sleep!

So, how did you sleep?

I ask with a greater level of intrigue than simply for the commitment of connecting with you. I ask, because I care. I ask because I am a scientist.

A hundred or so years ago, what we knew about sleep was that we sleep to alleviate sleepiness. Considering that humans spend nearly a third of our lives in the sleeping state, it should come as no surprise that I (and many sleep researchers before me) remain unsatisfied with that deduction. The velocity of sleep research had been exponentiated by Hans Berger’s measurements of the brain’s electrical activity, depicted as waveforms, which he called an electroencephalogram.

Since the tool of electroencephalography (or, EEG) came to the slumber party in the 1920’s, sleep scientists began inquiring into the effects of sleep deprivation on the body, the role of sleep on cognitive power and, remarkably, observing that different stages of sleep occur in cycles through the night. All this is possible with the understanding of the brain as a battery – a component in a circuit that has a finite capacity for work with the inevitable outcome of needing a recharge.

When you are in a state of wakeful awareness, following demands of “to-do” lists and preparing for meetings, your brain may be functioning at maximum capacity. Daydreaming on a walk through a park during lunchtime requires the brain to be far less acutely involved in paying attention. As you read, meditate, or begin drifting off to dreamland, the output of your brain slows down sequentially and allows the initiation of sleep.

A person’s sleep and wakefulness is partially at the mercy of the usual “sleep-hygiene” factors:

  • timing and amount of caffeine intake
  • the stimulation of light exposure and humidity of the sleep environment
  • stressful events in one’s day
  • the body’s apparent chronobiology
  • what was eaten before bed…

The phenomenon of sleep is as unique to your body and lifestyle as the print on your fingertips!

Yet, there are numerous internal decision-makers for adequate or disturbed sleep – some of which the sleeper may not even be aware of.

I work as a collaborator with a team of remarkable clinicians at Ezintsha, a research centre located adjacent to Wits Health Sciences campus, for patients with illnesses like TB or HIV that drive major public health issues in South Africa. The HIV epidemic is currently rather well managed by the early-stage intervention and widespread distribution of antiretroviral therapies across South Africa. This follows nearly three decades of devastation. However, with the prolonged life expectancy and improved quality of life available to people living with HIV, epidemiologists observed the inflation of other devastating epidemics like hypertension, diabetes, metabolic syndrome, and heart attacks.

Cardiometabolic risk indicators like high blood pressure, sugar intolerance and cholesterol imbalances are on the rise, and researchers in HIV-related trials begin to engage with a new class of reported symptoms: those of obstructive sleep apnoea. Obstructive sleep apnoea describes the short-lived but repeated pauses in breathing during sleep, often indicated by snoring. This is frightening to both the patient and housemates who have heard the gasping snores that accompany the breathless event but fear not! Obstructive sleep apnoea is treatable.

So, why is this story important?

Sleep apnoea remains underdiagnosed in the general South African population, despite as many as 30% of people being at risk for this sleep-related breathing disorder. Its side effects include daytime sleepiness, chronic inflammation, reduced motivation, brain fog, changes in mood and of course a further rise in those nasty cardiometabolic risk factors. Cardiometabolic diseases are responsible for one out of every five deaths in South Africa. This is a public health crisis, which we can aim to mitigate with routine diagnostics for obstructive sleep apnoea.

Without the foundation of an EEG, an even more comprehensive sleep measurement tool would never have been possible. Cue, polysomnography! Polysomnography measures brainwaves in various sleep stages, but the addition of other physiological measurements like heart rate, chest and belly movement, blood oxygen levels and air moving through the nose opens the door to diagnosing obstructive sleep apnoea through overnight sleep observation – which is exactly what I do! Polysomnography tells the story of how we sleep – I am simply the reader.