Improve Your Math Skills With An Electric Jolt To Your Brain*

Thursday, November 4, 2010 - 17:00 in Psychology & Sociology

Electricity Helps Neurons Fire Faster Patrick Hoesly on Flickr With just 15 minutes of a barely perceptible electric current passed through the brain, scientists at the University of Oxford have succeeded in improving a person's math abilities with an effect lasting as long as six months. Using a non-invasive method known as transcranial direct current stimulation (TDCS), the scientists passed a mild electric current through the skull into the brain's parietal lobe, where numbers are processed. Patients were asked to learn new symbols to represent numbers, then, while they were on TDCS, they attempted to organize the numbers. Participants whose brains were being stimulated demonstrated an improved ability to perform the task. The amazing part is that, when tested again six months later, they retained their higher performance level. The current helps the affected nerves to fire more quickly, making it easier to learn information. The next trials will...

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