The Neuroscience Behind Play 

Dr. Lou Cozolino (adapted from the book Attachment-Based Teaching) On the surface, humans and other animals play because it’s fun, but our instincts drive us to play because of its role in building skills required for adaptation and survival. For examples, sea gulls purposely drop and catch objects simulating hunting skills while dolphins practice swimming accuracy by creating rings of bubbles to swim through. Many social animals, including humans, engage in rough and tumble play to test their strength and establish social hierarchies. From the early months of life, a game of peek-a-boo brings joy to both children and adults by stimulating the biochemistry of reward and well being. These early experiences serve to associate play with social connectivity, warm feelings, and a sense of accomplishment. A few years later, play among boys and girls serves as rehearsal for more mature courtship and mating behavior. Throughout life, playful actions are experienced as expressions of positive feelings, safety, and togetherness. With the emergence of language in humans, physical play was shaped into word games, debate, arguments, and friendly verbal banter. All this verbal play strengthens the organization of mental structures, while sustaining interest and excitement about remembering and learning. Although imaginative behavior seems disconnected from physical activity, the two are inextricably interwoven evolutionarily and neurobiologically. We know that imagining behavior helps subsequent performance. Games like “Simon Says” provide the opportunity to improve inhibitory motor control and build executive neural networks. Overall, play provides learning experiences that result in expanded behavioral repertoires in all social animals and expanded abstract abilities in humans.