What is neuroscience and why is it relevant to you?

- I have an important question for you. What do you already know about neuroscience and your brain? You probably know something already, so have a look at this picture of a brain that Otis is holding and see what comes to mind. Whether neuroscience is still a mystery or you know something, you're already creating handy hooks in your brain to learn more. This course has been designed using principles from neuroscience to make it sticky, and so, you can unpack the techniques to use later. This learning about learning is called metalearning. With just this question and the image, you've already started the physical process of learning in your brain. By the end of this video, when you're having coffee with a friend, you'll be able to tell them you're studying neuroscience, give them at least five reasons why that's useful, and explain why questions are a sticky learning tool. The Society for Neuroscience defines it as the study of the nervous system, including the brain, spinal cord, and networks of sensory nerve cells called neurons. It's interdisciplinary and includes psychology, biology, chemistry, even physics and artificial intelligence. I hope you'll become curious about many aspects of your marvelous brain. When you're training, you're already messing with people's brains. You're helping them change connections in their brains to improve their performance. Humans have evolved to learn brilliantly, but sometimes, learning feels hard. When you know how brains work, you can design and deliver more effective learning environments and experiences. You work with the brain so people enjoy the journey, remember, and use what they learn. It becomes easier to change their habits, behaviors, or skills, and improve their performance. Let's look at five reasons why applying principles from neuroscience will help you in your job. Number one: neuroplasticity is the natural process of rewiring networks of brain cells in response to different experiences. Designing in experiences takes advantage of that. Secondly, curious people learn for themselves. You lead them to the water and they'll drink it. The psychology of motivation and the chemistry of neurotransmitters gives you tools and techniques to reduce stress, fear, or boredom, and increase curiosity, persistence, and engagement. Thirdly, attention is the door to memory. Distraction reduces learning, so use brain hacks and techniques to grab attention and create stickier long-term learning. Fourth is forgetting. After 24 hours, most people forget 80% of what they've learned if they don't review, recall, and practice with intent. Neuroscience gives us evidence-based methods to ensure people remember for the long-term. Number five is your professional credibility. With measurable data and science, you can explain to the rest of the organization exactly why you don't have a magic training wand, why you can't just throw more content at people and expect it to stick, but how you can help to move people from learning to performance. Neuroscience gives us credibility to prove learning isn't soft and fluffy, despite the fact your brain really is pink. Why did I ask you at the start of this video what you already know? Because questions are the best brain hack. It's almost impossible to stop your brain connecting new knowledge with old, as relevant networks are fired up to link the new input, helping it to stick better.