Human brains are the most amazing and complex machine on Earth. Every scientific discovery ever was once a spark of neurons in someone`s brain. But can brains be stimulated to increase their ability?
Researchers at HRL Laboratories, LLC, have discovered that low-current electrical brain stimulation can modulate the learning of complex real-world skills. A team from HRL’s Information & System Sciences Laboratory (ISSL) found that transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) improves learning and skill retention in test subjects.
They studied the electric signals in the brain of a trained pilot and then fed the data into novice subjects as they learned to pilot an airplane in a realistic flight simulator.
“We measured the brain activity patterns of six commercial and military pilots, comparing them to the patterns we observed from novices, and observing how the novice brain transitions to an expert brain. Additionally, we applied stimulation into key brain regions to observe how the volunteers’ learning abilities were modulated by neurostimulation as they were training,” said Jaehoon Choe, a neuroscientist on the ISSL team.
The study showed that subjects who received brain stimulation via electrode-embedded head caps were, as a group, able to land more consistently at the end of 4 days of flight training.
While previous research has demonstrated that tDCS can both help patients more quickly recover from a stroke and boost a healthy person’s creativity, HRL’s study is one of the first to show that tDCS is effective in accelerating practical learning. Choe speculates that the potential to increase learning with brain stimulation may make this form of accelerated learning commonplace.
When you learn something, your brain physically changes. Connections are made and strengthened in a process called neuro-plasticity. The method of stimulation of the brain with electricity is actually quite old. In fact, the ancient Egyptians 4000 years ago used electric fish to stimulate and reduce pain.
While the issue is still not properly explored, the results are very exciting. Brain stimulation could eventually be implemented for tasks like learning to drive, exam preparation and language learning.
Source: HRL Laboratories, The Telegraph UK
