New Research Suggests That Neurostimulation, Or Zapping The Brain With Electrical Currents, Can Heighten Math Skills By Exciting Learning Abilities
Many students find themselves tripping up over the complex formulas that come with advanced math.
However, new research points to neurostimulation as a potential game-changer for those who have always had a tricky time with numbers and fractions.
A collaborative effort between researchers at the Universities of Surrey and Oxford, Radboud University, and Loughborough University brought this exciting study to life.
The team delved deep into how neurostimulation affects learning. But, even though there’s a growing curiosity about neurostimulation as a neurological technique that is non-invasive, we are still in the early days of understanding its potential side effects and influence on learning.
Neurostimulation broadly encompasses various methods that target the direct stimulation of the nervous system, predominantly through electrical currents, aiming to alter or regulate its activities.
For this specific study, the researchers opted for electrical noise stimulation, a distinct type of neurostimulation defined by its randomized electrical pulses.
“Learning is key to everything we do in life– from developing new skills, such as driving a car, to learning how to code. Our brains are constantly absorbing and acquiring new knowledge,” said Professor Roi Cohen Kadosh, the study’s leader.
“Previously, we have shown that a person’s ability to learn is associated with neuronal excitation in their brains. What we wanted to discover in this case is if our novel stimulation protocol could boost, in other words, excite, this activity and improve mathematical skills.”
For this study, the team recruited 102 participants and tested their math skills through a series of multiplication tasks. Afterward, the participants were divided into four groups.
Rido – stock.adobe.com- illustrative purposes only, not the actual person
The first two groups comprised a learning set that underwent high-frequency random electrical noise stimulation and an advanced learning set where individuals practiced multiplication tasks until they surpassed “mastery” levels, accompanied by the same electrical stimulation.
The remaining two groups, both standard and advanced learning sets, were subjected to a placebo condition, mimicking the stimulation experience but without introducing substantial electrical currents.
Finally, to assess neural activity, the researchers conducted EEG recordings at both the onset and conclusion of the stimulation sessions.
The study revealed that electrical noise stimulation on the frontal region of the brain seemingly enhances mathematical abilities in individuals whose brains showed diminished enthusiasm towards math before the stimulation was applied.
On the flip side, the research team did not observe any advancement in mathematical skills among participants who initially demonstrated high brain excitation or among those in the placebo groups.
Based on these observations, the researchers believe that electrical noise stimulation impacts the sodium channels in the brain, leading to interference with the neuron cell membranes and resulting in increased cortical excitability.
“These findings highlight that individuals with lower brain excitability may be more receptive to noise stimulation, leading to enhanced learning outcomes, while those with high brain excitability might not experience the same benefits in their mathematical abilities,” concluded Dr. Nienke van Bueren of Radboud University, who led the study under the supervision of Professor Cohen Kadosh.
“What we have found is how this promising neurostimulation works and under which conditions the stimulation protocol is most effective. This discovery could not only pave the way for a more tailored approach in a person’s learning journey but also shed light on the optimal timing and duration of its application.”
To read the study’s complete findings, which have since been published in PLoS Biology, visit the link here.
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