Zapping the Brain Improves Maths Ability

That sounds promising – a zap of the brain to improve abilities. Sign me up!

Yes, it does sound interesting. And of interest is that it was high-frequency electrical noise stimulation that improved the performance.

Noise?

Yes, this is a new technique in place of other methods which sound more logical such as electrical or magnetic impulses. High frequency noise applied to the skull seems to excite brain cells (it’s not 100% clear why or how).

And this is what improved math ability in these cases?

Yes, precisely. But it is a little more nuanced than that. As a well-designed study there were control groups that received sham treatment but they had also measured something called the Excitation / Inhibition ratio.

What’s that?

Your brain cells are constantly turning on (excitation) and turning off (inhibition). This ratio on average needs to be in balance and it’s something that has come more into focus in neuroscience in recent years.

But in this case they noticed that some of the participants had higher or lower E/I ratios when doing maths. And in those with lower excitation doing maths (in the front of the brain) the noise stimulation improved maths scores.

And not in the others

No – so it seems to be involved with the excitation of the frontal regions of the brain – which we know are involved in maths.

Those who already had high excitation did not improve their scores. But those who had lower excitation improved their maths scores in the tests.

Is this excitation something to do with “being excited” about doing something?

Well, not directly but I imagine it would translate into that. If you have high brain activation it would likely translate into being engaged or excited – that’s supposition though.

But zapping the brain does improve ability…

In this case, yes. Stimulation of the frontal regions for those who had low activation improved maths ability.

Should we be zapping kids in schools or people in the workplace?

Probably not! It’s good to know that this can happen but the cause of low excitation may be a better avenue.

I am sure sellers and producers of wearable devices that do similar (not with noise but with magnets or electricity) will surely use this to sell their devices. And to be fair it could be a useful intervention for some.

There are also multiple techniques around such as neurofeedback that have been around for years and may be more effective in the long run.

So, are you zapping your brain today?

I don’t have the technology, so it’s old fashioned self control and concentration for me!