I read somewhere else on LD4ALL that LDs come about because of neural impulses traveling along different neural pathways than they do in WL and adults have more difficulty achieving LDs because said pathways are weakened from lack of use over time. There is a Wii/Nintendo DS game called Brain Age: Train Your Brain that does just that through means of word associations, simple mathematics, memory training, and other exercises. By doing these exercises and strengthening my brain in conjunction with my LD induction routine, could I reinvigorate those neural pathways and make this easier?
Then I guess the question is which are the right ones? I don’t suppose you’re an amateur neurologist or something similar ? If not, you’ve been here longer than I have. Are there any posters in particular who might know more?
I think that what you read about was this. When you learn something new. or have a new thought, something along those lines, there are certain neural pathways that are active. When you repeat this thought, you stimulate the same pathway.
It is like a path in the forest. If you walk there once, the ground is a little disturbed, if you leave it alone it will return to normal. If you walk the same way every day, it will become a path.
When you are learning to lucid dream, you have to train yourself to think differently. An adult has over the years created a set of neural pathways, that are very well established. To stray from the path becomes difficult, becuase one is used to taking the ordinary path.
A child has not established so many paths, so its mind is more free.
You know the saying “you can’t teach an old dog to sit”. It is the same thing.
I don’t think it’s true at all that LD’ing is made possible by neural impulses traveling along different neural pathways than they do in WL. From what I know, the present hypothesis is that some area of the prefrontal cortex (which is active in WL and generally inactive during REM sleep) would be activated during REM sleep. Hence critical thinking and a strong feeling of the self would be introduced into dreams.
About the brain age problem, it mainly concern old adults. They generally don’t nothing new, just staying stuck in their routines, thus their brain does no more learn and their neural connections weaken, and this creates memory lacks, loss of attention, inability to be interested in something and concentrate, etc. As you’re 21, I hope you don’t experience the same problem.
Now whereas it’s right that LD’ing is more current in young people, it’s only true for very young people (that is before 10). This ability strongly weakens from this age and it quite disappears at 14. Thus it has nothing to do with the brain ageing problem above.
Moreover adults have not more difficulties in achieving LD’s than young people: though I started LD’ing when I was around 30, I got the main part of my LD’s (that is about 100) between 40 and 42.
In brief, most of the hypotheses this idea is based upon are unaccurate and I’m afraid it won’t work…
Basilius: The brain aging “use it or lose it” thesis can be applied to any adult age. The brain is like a muscle, in one way. I see what you mean about old people, but when we train and stop train, this is what happens even at young age.
I think Brain train could have very good results if it trained the “lucid” pathways. the question is if that’s rather not consciousness skill or something…
Interesting thought, because the prefrontal cortex is still under construction until you are about 21 years old. Perhaps this has something to do with it, or nothing at all. Just throwing it out there.
? If not, you’ve been here longer than I have. Are there any posters in particular who might know more?
