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However, Popovich comments: "Relationships with people
are what it's all about. You have to make players realize you care about them.
And they have to care about each other and be interested in each other. Then
they start to feel a responsibility toward each other. Then they want to do for
each other. I think that communication thing really helps them. It engenders a
feeling that they can actually be in charge."
This is reflected in the fact that veterans Manu Ginóbili and
Tony Parker could have chosen more lucrative contracts with other teams but chose
to re-sign with the Spurs knowing 'Pop' would still be their coach. [1][2]
Popovich in his unique way built a trusting relationship
between the coaching staff and players. His accomplishments in the NBA reflect
on his teaching style. Can elementary
and secondary school teachers gain from his methods? While his pedagogy is
specific for professional athletes we can still find words from his quote to be
relevant: relationships, care,
responsibility, communication, and
being in charge.
The amygdala as the
emotional gateway
Researchers in neuroscience have demonstrated that there are
biochemical processes related to socialization and trust. They have shown that
establishing trust between people leads to positive consequences and betterment
in communities.
The amygdala is sort of the emotional clearinghouse of our
brain. As we mature it, in conjunction with life's recorded experiences,
decides how to process events as they occur moment by moment. It will immediately
send the alarm if a car comes hurtling our way in the middle of an intersection
from the visual stimulus, and within a fraction of a second send signals to the
sympathetic nervous system.
First to get it is the hypothalamus, which then sends out
neurohormones to the pituitary gland, which then sends hormones through the
circulatory system to activate the adrenal glands to produce cortisol and
adrenaline. Both help in the production of glucose, the energy molecule. In an
emergency this sugar is needed to get the muscles poised to move. This fight or
flight response occurs along with rapid breathing, heart rate, and blood
pressure in order run from the potential accident.
In non emergency situations, however, the amygdala 'weighs'
the emotional cost/benefit ratio associated with the circumstance in
conjunction with the cortex, the place that has memories about the stimulus. Often
they are benign and we move on to the next task without tension. However, some of us experience
tension at work, home, or school. These encounters, while not emergencies, are
nevertheless filled with frequent stressful encounters and deadlines, and the amygdala-hypothalamus-pituitary
system keeps the flow of cortisol going. On a continuous basis the cortisol
production has consequences. One is to make sure there is a source of energy
around and the storage of fat is one way to accomplish this. Over a period
of time it ends up noticeably in the midsection and other regions of the body.
The other consequence is the flooding of the memory storage component,
the hippocampus, which under calm situations chemically lowers the cortisol after
a tense experience. The excess cortisol that floats around the circulatory
system in a chronically stressed person, however, floods the hippocampus,
resulting in its atrophy because the memory-developing dendrite formation to
the main axon cells is reduced. That lessens the person's overall memory capabilities.
[3]
Stressed people are
often anxious people.
Think of someone who jumps suddenly when another walks
behind them into a room or even those that have post-traumatic stress disorder,
and hits the floor and covers their head after hearing a loud noise. In
general, an anxious personality starts a metabolic snowball where chemicals are
produced that lead not only to the shrinking of the hippocampus but cell damage
throughout the body. The amygdala becomes hyper-sensitized resulting in a
socialization pattern that is mistrusting and unhappy.
There are a host of biochemicals that affect our thinking
and emotions but oxytocin, a hormone, has caught the attention of researchers
in the trust realm. It is released in association with maternal behavior such
as child birth and breast-feeding but also in both genders in the areas of
commitment, romantic attachment, and calm feelings. When teachers and coaches
call attention to their students' talents and humanity, they trigger a set of
biochemical reactions, particularly the secretion of oxytocin, and along with
it create trust. That is good because interpersonal relationships can be
fearful at times, but stimulating oxytocin flow reduces the activation of the
fear and social-sensitive amygdala.
Furthermore, the prefrontal cortex, a place for long-term
memory storage, will reduce that threatening signal if it remembers that
stimulus as being nonthreatening. Getting up in front of a group to speak, for
instance, is threatening, but after one or more opportunities, that experience may
prove enjoyable because the prefrontal cortex has been conditioned through
repetition that there is no safety hazard in speaking in front of groups.
Oxytocin is secreted in conjunction with that memory and attaches to the amygdala's
receptors and calms the fear response.
Experiments related
to oxytocin
Oxytocin has repeatedly been shown to be correlated with attachment,
recognition, and social behaviors in animals. Scientists have manipulated the
chemical and genetic machinery in rats to reduce or add oxytocin, and observed
heightened social skills when the plasma oxytocin was higher. In fact
experiments have shown that the action of oxytocin in the brain reduces the
release of stress hormones cortisol and adrenaline from the adrenal glands as
well. [4]
Furthermore, the prairie vole is special in that the male
has continuous contact with its female for life after they breed. If the female
prairie vole dies, the male does not look for a new partner. Moreover, this
constant relationship is more social than sexual. Other species of vole such as
the montane, do not show this pair bonding behavior.
This unique behavior in the prairie vole is related to oxytocin
concentration and the large numbers of receptors in the brain for that hormone,
and thus the monogamous behavior. In the montane vole oxytocin is not as
abundant. [5]
To what extent are
these animal studies relevant to humans?
Oxytocin is a polypeptide, or very small protein molecule. Experiments
using detection in human blood will continue to improve as the biomedical
community perfects measurement procedures. In the meantime blood draws in
humans have shown similar results as those on the animal studies in
observations in experimental social contexts. Paul Zak at the Center for
Neuroeconomic Studies at Claremont Graduate University, for instance, showed
through a clever game how oxytocin is tied to trust.
He and his colleagues developed a trust game where
Participant A (PA) was given $10. He could give any amount to Participant B (PB)
and that amount would be tripled in PB's account. Both participants did not see
or talk with each other but were connected via computer that showed
transactions. It was PB's option to give money back to PA. Both participants were
told that they would be given the money in each of their accounts at the end of
the game. Without any communication PA decided on the amount to give to PB. PB
would then give money back to PA, a measure of trustworthiness.
A control experiment was done in a different set of subjects
where the amount PA gave to PB was done by a third party lottery and PB knew
this. Based on this PB would then decide to give back a sum based on this
information.
The result was that PB gave more money back when PA's
intention (to donate a sum) was known compared to the random amount received
from PA in the control procedure. In addition, blood draws were made in this
experiment and it was ascertained that PB's oxytocin level was much higher when
he knew that PA was consciously making the donation. His level of
trustworthiness was correlated with the plasma oxytocin concentration.
The efficacy of
oxytocin has been examined in real life human circumstances.
Over 100,000 children were deprived of attention in Romanian,
Ukrainian, and Russian orphanages and eventually rescued and adopted by
families across the world in the 1980s. To be deprived of love and nurturing
from a parent for an extended period is a rather unfortunate circumstance for
any child. Seth Pollak and his team at the University of Wisconsin tested
several of these children for oxytocin levels. They were evaluated immediately after
receiving affection and attention from their adopted parents as were a control
group of children raised in a normal environment.
The adopted children did not show a rise in oxytocin after
the affection period but all of the normal children did. It is a critical
finding in my mind because it reveals how humans are genetically designed to benefit from
love early in life that creates the complex bio-neurological make up for
security and socialization needed to function in the adult community.
Human experiments with
oxytocin using functional MRI
If blood sampling poses challenges, then use of functional
magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) can be very elucidating when evaluating brain
activity in people.
To test this idea, Andreas Meyer-Lindenberg of the NIMH
Genes Cognition and Psychosis Program and colleagues asked 15 healthy men to
sniff either oxytocin or a placebo prior to undergoing a fMRI scan, which
reveals what parts of the brain that are activated by particular activities.
While in the scanner, the men performed tasks known to activate the amygdala — watching
angry or fearful faces and threatening scenes.
As expected, the threatening pictures triggered strong
activation of the amygdala during the placebo scan, but markedly less activity
following oxytocin, suggesting its pivotal role in regulating social fear. In
addition, oxytocin dampened the amygdala's communication with sites in the
upper brain-stem that telegraph the fear response.
"Because increased amygdala activation has been
associated with social fear in social phobia, genetic risk for anxiety and
depression, this dual mode of action of oxytocin in humans suggests a
potentially powerful treatment approach toward socially relevant fear,"
suggest the researchers. [6]
Tonia Singer and her team at University College London showed
how empathic responses are modulated by learned preferences. They asked volunteers to play a game with
employees of a laboratory company secretly instructing the employees to play
either fairly or unfairly. Afterward,
the scientists measured brain activity in the same volunteers under quite
different circumstances: looking on their former game opponents when undergoing
various degrees of pain. In both male
and female volunteers, the brain areas that signal pain became active, giving
neural evidence of their empathy with others' pain.
Strikingly, however, that empathy did not appear to extend
to all the employees who were hurting.
When unfair-playing employees were seen experiencing pain the male
volunteers showed significantly less empathetic brain activity then when they
saw unfair-players receiving pain. Thus,
females showed the brain response empathy regardless of their moral judgment
of the employees' social behavior, whereas the men's brain responses were
conditional on how fairly the employee had played
But in a variation of the game involving reciprocal
cooperation, the participants were asked to keep in mind the faces of people
who cooperated and those who did not. They
were then asked to look at images of those same faces and then rate how well
they liked them. The functional fMRI
revealed activity in the left amygdala, not the right, as well as activation of
other for brain areas related to emotion and reward. Again, the amygdala is revealing itself as
relevant in issues of social bonding. [7]
James Wilson, UCLA criminologist and social scientist,
explains that positive, group oriented behaviors, or any situation when people
treat each other in a fair, sympathetic manner, are demonstrating an essential
understanding of the importance of reciprocity.
[8]
Trust in the classroom
I
believe schools strive to create trust, and students are benefiting
from the kindness and patience of their teachers. However, schools
are entertaining a large number of children and the process of the
school day
is often institutionally focused, concerned with order and compliance.
Moreover,
many children find the school day a challenge mixed in with bullying and other
social
complexities, often trust related. Those students likely have some of
the hypersensitive
amygdala concerns mentioned above that hampers the hippocampus from
retaining
information effectively.
I am not sure what Gregg Popovich tells his players at the first
practice of an NBA season but it must be interesting and engaging because they
have successful seasons repeatedly. He has his players' trust. A number of
years ago I compiled first day statements and added them to my introductory
handouts. I believe they were helpful in building trust in my classroom. Here
they are with modification from the original:
1) I am happy to be a teacher and am glad I chose it as my
career
2) I look forward to helping you grow as a person
3) I respect your intelligence
4) I respect your privacy
5) I want you to follow these guidelines in order that the
class function harmoniously:
·
Feel free to communicate to me your thoughts and
opinions
·
Feel free to communicate to the class your thoughts
and opinions
·
Conversations of all kinds are allowed but
measure your words carefully so that you don't injure another person or group
of people
·
Correct another person if you feel that they
erred in a gentle manner
·
Apologize if you hurt someone as soon as
possible
6) You will be given latitude and space in the classroom
from time to time where you will be out of my view. Always use good judgment in
how you conduct yourself in these instances.
7) If you behave in a manner that is detrimental to the class,
immature, or simply using poor judgment, I will take action as the teacher to
correct the problem. Correct your classmates in a kind manner.
8) We are all in this together and want to end the school
year knowing it was satisfying and productive. Each of us has a valuable role
in our community: me, the teacher, and you, the student.
9) Your brain is considered the most complex entity in the
universe and is capable of enormous accomplishments in all areas: learning,
music, sports, and kindness. I want to help you use your brain to its
potential.
10) A good night's sleep every day is important for your
development.
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| stonybrook.edu |
I found the above cited procedures to be enlightening but felt it important to end this post with the following report. Massaging and touching a preterm baby enhances oxytocin production
that stimulates relaxation, encourages bonding between parent and child, and lowers
cortisol stress hormone levels. A study
found premature babies gained an average 47% more weight, were more active and alert
and showed more mature neurological development than infants who did not
receive massage. [9]
References
[1] By Kelly Scaletta, Breaking Down Gregg Popovich's
Extremely Successful San Antonio Spurs System, Bleacher Report:
Retrieved from http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1870815-breaking-down-gregg-popovichs-extremely-successful-san-antonio-spurs-system
[2] Freeman, E., Spurs
coach Gregg Popovich explains how he gets players to buy into his system Ball
Don't Lie, Yahoo Sports March 6, 2014
[3] Sapolsky, R., Depression, antidepressants, and the shrinking hippocampus,
Proceedings of the
National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 2001 Oct 23;
98(22): 12320–12322.
[4] Ingram CD, Gonadal
steroid modulation of stress-induced hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal
activity and anxiety behavior: role of central oxytocin, Endocrinology. 2006 May;
147(5):2423-31.
[5] Young, LJ; Murphy Young, AZ; Hammock, EA (2005).
"Anatomy and neurochemistry of the pair bond". The Journal of comparative neurology 493 (1): 51–7.
[6] Meyer-Lindenberg A., Oxytocin modulates neural circuitry for social cognition and fear in humans. J
Neurosci. 25(49), 2005
[7] Tania, T., Empathic neural responses are modulated by the perceived fairness of others, Nature
439, 466-469, January 2006
[8] Wilson, J., The Moral Sense, Free Press Paperbacks, 1997
[9] Field, T., Diego, M., Hernandez-Reif, M., Dieter, J.,
Kumar, A., Schanberg, S. & Kuhn, C. (2008). Preterm infant massage therapy research. Infant Behavior &
Development, 33, 115-124.
