Summary: New research shows that safe, non-invasive brain stimulation can enhance math learning in young adults with lower natural brain connectivity. Participants who received transcranial random noise stimulation (tRNS) to the dlPFC performed better during math training than those who received placebo treatment or stimulation elsewhere.
These improvements were most notable in individuals with lower pre-existing connectivity between key brain regions involved in learning. The gains were also linked to lower GABA levels, a brain chemical that influences learning capacity.
Key Facts:
- Targeted Brain Boost: tRNS to the dlPFC improved math learning in individuals with weaker natural brain connectivity.
- GABA Link: Learning gains were associated with lower levels of GABA, a key inhibitory neurotransmitter.
- Educational Equity: Findings support using brain-based interventions to address math learning gaps and reduce inequality.
Source: University of Surrey
Safe, painless, and non-invasive brain stimulation could help people who are at risk of falling behind in maths, according to a new study led by the University of Surrey.
The study, published in PLoS Biology, found that applying safe electrical currents to the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) – a region involved in learning and memory, focus, and problem-solving – helped people aged 18 to 30 solve maths problems more efficiently.
Seventy-two healthy adults took part in a five-day maths training programme – 24 received a form of brain stimulation known as transcranial random noise stimulation (tRNS) to the dlPFC, 24 received tRNS over the posterior parietal cortex and 24 received a placebo (sham) version of the treatment.
This allowed researchers to compare the effects of tRNS in different brain regions against a placebo group.
The study showed, via brain scans, that individuals with stronger brain connectivity between the dlPFC and the posterior parietal cortex performed better in maths learning tasks.
They then demonstrated that tRNS over the dlPFC significantly improved learning outcomes for individuals with lower natural brain connectivity between this region and the posterior parietal cortex – a neurobiological profile associated with poorer learning.
Improvements were also linked to lower levels of GABA – a brain chemical involved in learning. The same research team has previously shown that GABA plays a role in maths learning from childhood to adulthood, including A-level education.
Professor Roi Cohen Kadosh, the lead author of the study and Head of the School of Psychology at the University of Surrey, said:
“So far, most efforts to improve education have focused on changing the environment – training teachers, redesigning curricula – while largely overlooking the learner’s neurobiology. Yet, a growing body of research has shown that biological factors often explain educational outcomes in mathematics more powerfully than environmental ones.
By integrating insights from psychology, neuroscience and education to develop innovative techniques that address these neurobiological constraints, we can help more people reach their potential, broaden access to diverse career pathways and reduce long-term inequalities in income, health and wellbeing.”
These findings point to a biological basis for the ‘Matthew effect’ – the tendency for those who start ahead in education to continue advancing, while others fall further behind. The study suggests that targeted brain stimulation could help bridge this gap.
As the UK looks to boost maths skills across the population, especially in young adults, this basic research and future research on larger samples outside the lab could help shape future policies by showing how tailored support, focusing on brain activity, might make learning fairer and more effective.
Funding: The study was funded by the European Research Council and the Wellcome Trust.
About this brain stimulation and math learning research news
Author: Dalitso Njolinjo
Source: University of Surrey
Contact: Dalitso Njolinjo – University of Surrey
Image: The image is credited to Neuroscience News
Original Research: Open access.
“Functional connectivity and GABAergic signaling modulate the enhancement effect of neurostimulation on mathematical learning” by Roi Cohen Kadosh et al. PLOS Biology
Abstract
Functional connectivity and GABAergic signaling modulate the enhancement effect of neurostimulation on mathematical learning
Effortful learning and practice are integral to academic attainment in areas like reading, language, and mathematics, shaping future career prospects, socioeconomic status, and health outcomes.
However, academic learning outcomes often exhibit disparities, with initial cognitive advantages leading to further advantages (the Matthew effect). One of the areas in which learners frequently exhibit difficulties is mathematical learning.
Neurobiological research has underscored the involvement of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC), the posterior parietal cortex (PPC), and the hippocampus in mathematical learning.
However, their causal contributions remain unclear. Moreover, recent findings have highlighted the potential role of excitation/inhibition (E/I) balance in neuroplasticity and learning.
To deepen our understanding of the mechanisms driving mathematical learning, we employed a novel approach integrating double-blind excitatory neurostimulation—high-frequency transcranial random noise stimulation (tRNS)—and examined its effect at the behavioral, functional, and neurochemical levels.
During a 5-day mathematical learning paradigm (n = 72) active tRNS was applied over the dlPFC or the PPC, and we compared the effects versus sham tRNS.
Individuals exhibiting stronger positive baseline frontoparietal connectivity demonstrated greater improvement in calculation learning.
Subsequently, utilizing tRNS to modulate frontoparietal connectivity, we found that participants with weaker positive baseline frontoparietal connectivity, typically associated with poorer learning performance, experienced enhanced learning outcomes following dlPFC-tRNS only.
Further analyses revealed that dlPFC-tRNS improved learning outcomes for participants who showed reductions in dlPFC GABA when it was accompanied by a reduced positive frontoparietal connectivity, but this effect was reversed for participants who showed increased positive frontoparietal connectivity.
Our multimodal approach elucidates the causal role of the dlPFC and frontoparietal network in a critical academic learning skill, shedding light on the interplay between functional connectivity and GABAergic modulation in the efficacy of brain-based interventions to augment learning outcomes, particularly benefiting individuals who would learn less optimally based on their neurobiological profile.
