Mecha Star Wars.

Chapter 1467 The Brain That Gets Better with Use

The night, like a thick velvet cloth, slowly covered the sky.

The night view of Silvermoon City is completely different from that during the day. The ubiquitous blue light strips on the facades are even more eye-catching, illuminating the entire city as a flowing blue sea.

The hovercars continued to move about in an orderly fashion, their headlights reflecting and intertwining with other light sources. The orderliness was impeccable, yet somehow it exuded a dull, rigid structure.

Lin Fan stood by the window, watching the few pedestrians on the street below gradually decrease until they disappeared.

The vast city seemed to be filled only with the low hum of machinery, like an exquisite but lifeless technological cage.

“This place looks lively, but it’s not much better than Greystone.” Antonio, dressed casually, walked over to Lin Fan and looked outside with her. “We can’t see many people.”

Bonnie, of course, couldn't possibly serve them a bath. Using the excuse of finding them food, she grabbed Chitose and ran off. She hasn't returned yet.

The three of them hadn't showered during their stay in Anemor—the air in the Graystone settlement was bad, and every time they went out, they felt like they came back covered in sand and dust. Everything in the luxurious bedroom was fine, except for the lack of clean clothes.

There was hot water and clean clothes readily available, so of course I washed them. I felt much better afterwards.

“How could they be the same?” Lan Bingru was sitting on the sofa browsing the terminal. “The orcs here can do almost everything in their lives on the StarNet: shopping, socializing, working… They don’t even need to leave their homes.”

She sent several news articles about recent life in Silvermoon City to Lin Fan and Antonio from the terminal.

Lin Fan quickly scanned the text. The gist was that technology makes life easier; basic living in Silvermoon City has been popularized by mature robotics and intelligent personal AI, allowing residents to enjoy a wonderful life without leaving their homes, and so on.

"Don't you guys think the orcs here have unusually large heads?" Antonio asked, pointing to the accompanying photo.

Lin Fan went back and looked at it carefully a few more times: "Orcs' skulls are naturally larger than humans', especially those orcs who are not physically strong. Look at Bonnie, her head is actually not small, it's just that it looks cute and not so out of place, like in anime."

“Yes,” Lan Bingru said, leaning her arm on the sofa armrest and tilting her body toward Lin Fan and the others. “Gael’s head isn’t small either, but his body is big too, so overall, the proportions are just right.”

"What do you want to say?" Lin Fan asked Antonio.

Antonio, after hearing what the two said, was also a little unsure: "It's nothing, I'm just wondering if they're becoming too reliant on smart technology, and their physical fitness and coordination are deteriorating."

Lin Fan nodded: "I have similar thoughts. If every aspect of their lives that requires manual labor is replaced by mechanical equipment, and even thinking relies on AI, it may not only be their physical abilities that deteriorate, but also their brains."

The brain is an amazing organ.

When a person is thinking, learning, or solving a problem, the connections between neurons in the brain become stronger and denser.

The process of thinking promotes the release and reabsorption of neurotic substances such as dopamine and acetylcholine.

At the same time, high-intensity mental activity also secretes a substance called BDNF, known as "brain fertilizer." It promotes the growth and survival of neurons, allowing the brain to receive more "nutrients."

If you don't think for a long time, habitually accept passive information, and mechanically repeat tasks, your brain will be in a "low-energy consumption" mode.

The brain may deem the connections between neurons useless. It then activates a "pruning" mechanism, actively cutting off or weakening these connections to conserve energy.

This change can be roughly understood as the brain's information processing network becoming sparser, resulting in lower signal transmission efficiency. Thinking under these conditions would certainly feel like the "internet speed" is slower.

At the same time, a lack of stimulation over a long period of time will also reduce neurotic sensitivity, decrease BNDF secretion, cause neurons to lack nutrition and decline in function, resulting in sluggish brain response.

When the brain gets used to prolonged inactivity, it will resist being suddenly asked to re-enter a "high-energy-consuming" mode to think deeply, learn, and solve complex problems.

It will make you feel tired, irritable, and experience other physical discomfort. The difficulty of the problem will then double, becoming an insurmountable peak that you don't want to overcome, eventually leading to it being abandoned and never addressed again…

"Is that so?" Lan Bingru had never heard anyone mention this before. Suddenly, she thought of Alzheimer's disease. "Couldn't that also be considered as a decrease or breakage of neuronal connections, which is why memory gets worse and worse?"

“Yes, yes, yes! And the amnesia too!” Antonio clapped his hands. “Eight out of ten of the dramas Jin Sichen watches involve amnesia. Broadly speaking, it’s based on the same principle, right?”

“The general direction is correct,” Lin Fan nodded. “However, amnesia is more about the breakage of neural connections at synapses or the weakening of signals. Alzheimer’s disease, on the other hand, is the death and atrophy of neurons themselves.” “We can imagine the brain as a giant fishing net, with neurons as knots in the net and synapses as the threads between the knots.”

"Amnesia, or everyday forgetfulness, is not caused by broken neurons, but by problems with synaptic connections. You can think of it as a loose network cable causing poor signal transmission."

"Memory is a strong connection between neurons. It's like walking on a road. When you repeat the memory more often, it's like more people walking on it, and the road naturally becomes wider."

"If you don't walk for a long time, of course, the same applies to thinking. When you don't think for a long time, the road is overgrown with grass, the efficiency of neurotransmission decreases, or the traffic lights at the intersection are broken, and there is insufficient secretion of chemicals such as acetylcholine, you will suddenly not be able to remember what you were going to say, or you will forget what you were going to do as soon as you turn around."

"Yes, yes, yes!" Lan Bingru excitedly stood up and walked to Lin Fan's side. "I have this condition too. Is it serious? Can it be cured?"

“This is just a normal situation that happens to everyone, so don’t worry,” Lin Fan replied. “In this case, the neurons and synapses are still there. It’s just that the signal transmission is not smooth. Generally speaking, with rest, exercise, and memory training, the pathways can be cleared again.”

"So, I haven't been resting well lately, and I haven't been exercising much. Thinking back..." Lan Bingru smiled bitterly, "To be honest, I haven't thought about my past for a long time. After all, the most memorable things aren't the pleasant ones."

Lin Fan patted Lan Bingru on the shoulder to comfort her.

"What about Alzheimer's?" Antonio asked, arms crossed. "Organ aging and atrophy are irreversible; there's no way to reverse it, right?"

“Indeed.” Lin Fan nodded. “That’s an organic lesion. It’s a true neuronal breakage and death. It’s like the inside of a knot in a rope is rotten, causing the signal to be unable to be transmitted normally.”

"When the knots break one after another, the whole net will have holes, which is like brain atrophy. At this point, the net is really broken."

"With the current medical technology on Lanxing, this problem cannot be solved yet. But the medical team seems to have found relevant technology for promoting neuronal growth in Xinghuan. I remember it was mentioned in the documents we signed," Lin Fan recalled.

"That's great!" Lan Bingru said with a smile. "If we can achieve a technological breakthrough, it will benefit many people."

"Don't get too excited yet," Antonio said, who was known for his ability to ruin the mood. "It's still uncertain whether they can even understand it, let alone produce any results."

"Okay, then I'll try to use my brain more and make the internet connection wider." Lan Bingru pouted, then asked Lin Fan, "If I use my brain more often, will my chances of developing Alzheimer's disease decrease?"

“Yes.” Lin Fan nodded. “Research data from Lanxing shows that people who have received higher education and use their brains frequently have higher cognitive reserves. Even if pathological plaques of Alzheimer’s disease begin to appear in their brains, they can rely on rich neural connections to ‘bypass’ them and are less likely to show symptoms.”

"People who don't like to use their brains, or who don't use their brains for a long time, and who are used to relying on passive information and repetitive behaviors, will naturally become sluggish because their brains actively prune useless synapses, making the network thinner. At this point, if a few neurons are damaged, the entire system will face paralysis."

"Therefore, reasonable exercise, whether it is mental or physical exercise, is necessary. It can help the body establish a good health order."

“See, you should be like me,” Antonio said smugly. “Think more, talk more, don’t just sit around…”

Just as Lan Bingru was about to speak, the door behind her suddenly opened.

Hermann glanced into the room from the doorway and began to remove his gloves.

"Do you choose to act voluntarily, or do you want coercion?"

　I did my research carefully before writing this science article.

　　Assuming there are no issues with the information itself, this should be the case.

　　If you don't think for a long time, your thinking ability will decline, and your brain activity will also decrease.

　　I've decided that, in order to prevent Alzheimer's disease, I will think more every day.

　　As for fitness... I'll make arrangements for it once my foot and wound have healed.

　　Keep going so you don't spend money in the hospital!

　　(End of this chapter)