READING ALOUD FLUENTLY in native or foreign languages and doing mathematical calculations quickly are extremely important for the development of the brain, according to a university study on human brains.
Ryuta Kawashima, of the Future Science and Technology Research Centre at Tohoku University, said the prefrontal cortex within the frontal lobe of the brain was the 'brain of the brain', as it functioned like the 'control tower'.
The prefrontal cortex is what helps people think, make decisions, communicate, restrain their actions and control memory.
Training the prefrontal cortex was key to developing the essential abilities needed to hold dreams and go on to realise them, said Dr Kawashima, who carries out research and analysis on when and how the brain works.
He said the crux lay in reading aloud fluently and doing calculations quickly.
The prefrontal cortex is also stimulated when children talk to their parents or play with their friends. All these factors point to the possibility that there are appropriate methods for training the brain when it is still in its developmental stage.
