Summary of V. Completa. "Somos lo que la educación hace de nosotros". Francisco Mora, doctor en Neurociencia

00:00:00 - 00:55:00

Francisco Mora, a doctor in Neuroscience, discusses various topics related to neuroeducation in this video, emphasizing the importance of understanding how the brain works in learning and teaching. He explains the role of emotions and attention in the learning process, the importance of making education interesting and appealing, and the need for instilling solid basic principles and habits to shape better citizens who value knowledge, respect, and progress. Mora also debunks neuromyths and discusses the significance of values such as freedom, dignity, equality, nobility, justice, truth, beauty, happiness, pleasure, and punishment. He concludes that education can positively shape an individual's behavior, and honesty and respect for privacy are fundamental values for better coexistence in society.

• 00:00:00 en aquesta secció del vídeo, Francisco Mora, professor de Fisiologia Humana a la Facultat de Medicina, narra la seva trajectòria professional relacionada amb la investigació del cervell i les seves capacitats. Mora comenta que va treballar en un hospital psiquiàtric on va aprendre molt sobre la naturalesa humana i també va fer investigacions en pacients esquizofrènics. Mora va realitzar una segona tesi doctoral a la Universitat d'Oxford on va implantar elèctrodes en un mico per observar la correlació entre conducta i una sola neurona. Aquesta investigació va ser pionera en el camp de l'estudi del cervell i els seus mecanismes.
• 00:05:00 In this section, Francisco Mora, a doctor in Neuroscience, discusses the field of Neuroeducation and the importance of understanding how the brain works in learning and teaching. He explains that the traditional approach to education is dying, and a new era of understanding the human brain has begun. Mora emphasizes the need for educators to apply this new knowledge to their teaching styles and practices to improve learning outcomes. He also discusses the benefits of Neuroeducation in understanding the importance of attention, values, and norms in the learning process, and the role of certain areas of the brain in tasks such as reading.
• 00:10:00 In this section, Francisco Mora, a doctor in Neuroscience discusses the importance of reading and the emotional impact on learning. Mora explains that children who learn to read around the ages of six or seven do so quickly and enjoyably because the relevant areas of the brain have finished developing, and their axons are sheathed in myelin for clarity of information. Younger children with less developed brains might not learn as quickly, leading to punishment and resentment for learning-related activities, which in turn can hinder their learning. When discussing emotional intelligence, Mora emphasizes that it helps individuals understand and navigate interpersonal relationships, leading to success in life. Emotions are the subconscious reaction of the brain to any situation, and understanding the basic principles of these reactions leads to a better understanding of how people learn.
• 00:15:00 In this section, Francisco Mora, a doctor in Neuroscience, explains the crucial role of emotions in human nature. According to Mora, emotions have been present in the evolutionary process for 200 million years and are deeply ingrained in our species, as even our cognitive processes are rooted in emotional understanding. Mora emphasizes that without emotions, there can be no coherent thought or decision-making, and our ability to memorize and recall information is also reliant on our emotional connections. Mora concludes that emotions are the root of all human consciousness and allow us to understand and experience feelings on a deeper level than any other animal.
• 00:20:00 In this section, Francisco Mora explains that the concept of beauty is created by our brain and doesn't exist in the world as we see it. He talks about the extraordinary nature of neuroeducation and how the brain creates beauty by allowing us to see order, situation, proportion, symmetry, and pleasure in things we find beautiful. He points out that emotion plays a vital role in this process, and it is what gives language its universal emotional gestural element, which can be used for education. Mora emphasizes the role of words in shaping the emotional language that we use to convey our emotions, especially the facial expressions we make, which are learned through socialization, watching others, and previous experiences.
• 00:25:00 In this section, Francisco Mora, a neuroscientist, explains how emotions shape human beings and how language is affected by emotions. Expressing emotions is a complex process that occurs in the brain and influences all human functions, including language. Depending on the age and the language being learned, people can express more or less emotional richness. Mora also addresses a teacher's question on how to improve students' attention. He emphasizes the importance of making classes and subjects interesting to awaken students' curiosity instead of using punishment to try and get their attention.
• 00:30:00 In this section, Francisco Mora, a doctor in neuroscience, explains how important it is to make what you teach interesting and appealing by tapping into students' curiosity. He offers a simple example of how a giraffe appearing in the middle of a lecture would immediately capture students' attention because it is something new and different. Mora emphasizes that this approach is essential because attention is necessary for explicit learning and memorization. He also discusses the topic of attention span, pointing out that it is essential to break up lectures frequently because people can only maintain attention for 10 to 20 minutes at a time. Mora explains that this is why the current university system with 50-minute classes and no breaks is ineffective and needs to be remodeled to suit students' needs, allowing them to remain engaged and focused throughout the day.
• 00:35:00 In this section, neuroscientist Francisco Mora discusses how important it is to have a real human teacher who can provide a transfer of knowledge, human values, and emotion that no machine can replicate. He asserts that while technology is useful in the classroom, a child's education should never be only through a tablet or computer, as they need to know poetry, literature, and how to selectively memorize information. Mora also notes that focusing on a student's mental performance is not the only measurement of success, as other factors such as development and values play a significant role in education as well.
• 00:40:00 In this section, Francisco Mora, a doctor in Neuroscience, discusses the importance of being well-rested and emotionally stable in order to perform at your best mentally. It is essential to also be aware of your circadian rhythms, as different people have different sleep patterns. In schools, it is important to take these factors into consideration when scheduling important subjects at the most effective times. Mora also discusses neuromyths, which he defines as false truths based on erroneous interpretations of scientific facts. These myths still exist today, but Mora emphasizes the importance of scientific methods in knowledge construction to debunk them. One common neuromyth is the idea that humans only use 10% of their brain, something that Mora unequivocally states is untrue.
• 00:45:00 In this section, Francisco Mora explains that the brain doesn't work with codes of space or location of functions, but with codes of time, meaning that all of our thoughts, feelings, beliefs, and actions are distributed in functions that are expressed through time through different areas of the brain. He also mentions the importance of physical exercise for brain health, stating that aerobic exercise increases the number of new neurons and blood vessels in the brain, resulting in better intellectual and cognitive performance, with benefits that can be seen in all age groups. Finally, he states that the concept of normality does not exist, as there is no "normal" brain among the more than 8 billion human brains on Earth.
• 00:50:00 In this section, Francisco Mora, a doctor in Neuroscience, explains that no two brains are identical and there is no design that allows humans to say that one is "normal" whereas the other is not. He goes on to explain how adolescence is a period during which the brain is re-adjusting to the connections in the neurons, and how the adolescent brain is constantly changing, with no deep anchorage to values. Mora emphasizes that good habits surrounding values and norms must be instilled from childhood so that teens can navigate this complex period of life with a strong moral foundation. Ultimately, he believes that the values that should be built into children include freedom, dignity, equality, nobility, justice, truth, beauty, happiness, pleasure, and punishment.
• 00:55:00 In this section, Francisco Mora emphasizes the importance of education and its tremendous impact on shaping our brains and behavior. He argues that human beings are what education makes us and that our genes have remained relatively unchanged for thousands of years, while our culture has evolved drastically. Mora stresses the need for parents and educators to instill solid basic principles and habits in children to create better citizens who value knowledge, respect, and progress, and to take advantage of the brain's plasticity to shape the individual's behavior positively. Mora also advocates for honesty and respect for each other's privacy to promote better coexistence as fundamental values in society.