Ability to learn
March 3rd 2011 19:33
Scientists have found that the ability to pick up new tasks, such as the latest disco moves, is proportional to how much of a substance called GABA you have running around your brain.
GABA acts a bit like a lubricant stopping brain cells from overheating and dampening down activity between them to a sustainable level.
But sometimes it helps to have a "fizzing" brain -especially if you want to learn something new – and some people have an ability to lower the level of GABA so they can learn more quickly.
It is these people that are able to pick up a dance step first time – or learn a piano piece without any effort.
Using a brain scanner, scientists at the University of Oxford, measured the level of GABA in the motor cortex, a central brain region involved in control of movements, of 12 volunteers.
They then got them to try to learn a pattern of button pressings on a small keypad.
Using transcranial stimulation, they reduced the GABA in their brains using a small current and got them once again to carry out the task.
They found that reducing GABA by up to 30 per cent increased speed of learning by 70 per cent.
The researchers found the reduction of GABA lasted for about an hour but earlier studies have shown that it could become more permanent with regular transcranial stimulation.
"There is considerable variability in motor learning behaviour across individuals," said Dr Charlotte Stagg.
"This shows how that might work. It may also lead to strategies for making those improvements longer lasting."
The study was published in the journal Current Biology
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