Stimulating the brain at its natural frequency accelerates learning

In a study published late last year, neuroscientists found that providing information in short, it adapts to each person’s natural brainwave cycle It strongly enhances an individual’s ability to learn before undertaking a learning task.

published in the magazine cerebral cortexThe study explored individual differences observed in individuals when it comes to learning new tasks and acquiring new skills in different contexts. The hypothesis proposed by researchers at the University of Cambridge in the UK is: This variability in cognitive ability is related to “individual brain states.”

“Each brain has its own natural rhythm produced by the release of neurons working together,” senior study author Professor Zoe Kourtzi said in a statement. To test their proposition, the team simulated these fluctuations. “visual flicker paradigm” to involve each individual in their own brain rhythm (the so-called peak alpha frequency) measured by electroencephalography (EEG).

Brain wave loop equalization experiment

To prove their theory, neuroscientists used EEG sensors attached to 80 participants’ heads to measure the brain’s electrical activity and obtain a sample of their brain wave rhythms. The focus was on alpha waves, a frequency between 8 and 12 hertz. dominant when we are awake and relaxedS.

The readings were later used by scientists to create a kind of optical “pulse”. – a white square flashing on a dark background in rhythm with the participant’s alpha wave – It was applied individually for 1.5 seconds. The technique, called “drag”, aimed to get the participants’ brains into their natural rhythm before being presented with the task of identifying certain shapes in a visual mess.

The results showed that individualized brain dragging can increase perceptual learning. Also, changes in acquisition control mechanisms in the visual cortex were noted, indicating “the essential role of individual neural oscillation states in learning and brain plasticity”, namely in the ability to restructure and learn new things.

it hurts – cerebral cortex – DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhac426.