Well, it appears I'm not the only one, as there are millions of people who suffer the same incomprehension of advanced mathematics. But there's apparently a solution for those of us who are slow to learn math: neurostimulation.
That's right; researchers at universities such as Oxford, Loughborough, and Radboud have been studying the positive effects of literally zapping your brain and how it can produce improved cognitive effects pertaining to mathematics.
From Study Finds:
Scientists from the Universities of Surrey and Oxford, Loughborough University, and Radboud University in the Netherlands all collaborated to put this unique project together. More specifically, study authors analyzed and investigated the impact of neurostimulation on learning. While more and more scientists have begun to express interest in neurostimulation as a non-invasive neurological technique, far too little is known about its possible neurophysiological side-effects and potential impact on learning.
Neurostimulation, generally speaking, can refer to numerous techniques centered on direct stimulation of the nervous system, usually through electrical currents, in an effort to modify or manage nervous system activities. For this study specifically, researchers chose to use electrical noise stimulation, which is a form of neurostimulation characterized by randomized electrical pulses.
Notably, this led to the finding that electrical noise stimulation over the frontal part of the brain appears to improve mathematical skills among people whose brains showed signs of being less excited by mathematics prior to the application of the stimulation. However, the team did not see any math improvements in others who already had a high level of brain excitation during the initial assessment or in the placebo groups. With all of this in mind, the research team theorizes electrical noise stimulation acts on the sodium channels in the mind, consequently interfering with the cell membrane of neurons, ultimately increasing cortical excitability.
“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,” says study leader Professor Roi Cohen Kadosh, Professor of Cognitive Neuroscience and Head of the School of Psychology at the University of Surrey, in a media release.
“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.”
So what say you? Would you do this or perhaps have your child undergo this neurostimulation procedure?
