Can zapping your brain with electricity improve math skills? Yes
Educational gaps often widen over time — a phenomenon called the Matthew effect — where students who start ahead continue to outperform their peers. While socioeconomic factors and motivation play roles, biological factors such as genetics, brain connectivity, and chemical signalling have been shown to strongly influence learning outcomes, including in mathematics.To investigate this, researchers recruited 72 young adults aged 18 to 30 and taught them new math calculation techniques over five days. Some participants received a placebo, while others underwent transcranial random noise stimulation (tRNS), a gentle electrical current applied non-invasively to the brain.
Believe it or not, the fear of math is real- and it's got a name: math anxiety. (Photo: Getty)
advertisementThe stimulation was targeted to either the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (involved in memory and attention during learning) or the posterior parietal cortex (important for processing math after learning).Brain scans and neurochemical measurements, including levels of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), were taken before and after training. Participants with weaker natural connectivity between the prefrontal and parietal regions — typically linked to poorer learning — showed significant improvement when tRNS was applied over the prefrontal cortex, effectively helping them catch up with peers who had stronger brain connectivity.The mechanism behind this improvement may be 'stochastic resonance,' where adding a small amount of random noise helps weak neural signals become clearer, boosting underperforming neurons closer to their activation threshold.Importantly, tRNS does not enhance already strong learners but helps level the playing field, offering a promising tool to reduce educational inequalities rooted in brain biology.While the study focused on healthy university students, similar benefits have been observed in children with math learning disabilities and ADHD.This breakthrough suggests a future where personalised, brain-based interventions complement traditional education, helping learners overcome biological barriers while continuing to address social and systemic challenges.- EndsMust Watch
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