Transference
Neuroplasticity Rule #9
Wow, we are almost at the end of the ten rules of neuroplasticity! I hope you have enjoyed this as much as I have! This week we look at the Neuroplasticity Rule of ‘transference’. Transference can be described as follows: “Plasticity (change) in response to one training experience, can enhance acquisition of similar behaviors.” (Neuroskills.com, 2023). This means that a change or alteration as a result of a particular learning experience may lead to the enhancement of connections of those skills in other areas (cfimove.org).
Cfimove.org describes this with an example of motor function: “after a group of people underwent training for a skill that involved the use of just one finger, neural pathways for use of the whole hand were strengthened”.
If we take the idea and look at it through a Dyslexic lens, then the neuroplasticity rule of transference could state that skills learned in one context can be transferred to another context, allowing for more efficient learning.
Perhaps for Dyslexic learners with weak fine motor skills, strengthening the arm, wrist, and finger muscles may support the learner with their letter formations, and thus writing. Perhaps for Dyslexic learners with a weak vocabulary, enhancing their understanding of vocabulary and exposing them to both common and uncommon vocabulary will support the ability to use interesting words within written or dictated work, as well as their comprehension of written or spoken text or language.
It could even be a dyslexic student who excels in say for example music may be able to use their skills in rhythm and pattern recognition to improve their spelling abilities as we know that the English Language (albeit an orthographically complex language) contains many spelling patterns and syllable types that follow particular rules.
Reading, writing, and spelling are inextricably linked, and through gains in one particular area (either reading, writing, or spelling), a learner will experience a strengthening in neural pathways for all three.