Researchers figure out why some are slow learners
Feb 14 2013, 2:10am CST | by Luigi Lugmayr
Berlin, Feb 14 (IANS) Researchers have figured out why some people are slow learners -- their brain may not be able to process information sufficiently.
Berlin, Feb 14 — Researchers have figured out why some people are slow learners -- their brain may not be able to process information sufficiently. Scientists trained the subjects' sense of touch to...
Filed under: news
Latest Business News
Advertisement
1 hour ago
Brain injury linked to the death of NHL player
Source: FindLaw: Attorney Blog | May 20 2013, 10:18am CDT
As the Kings advance into the Stanley Cup Playoffs, many California residents are cheering for their team to bring home the cup. After the Wild were defeated by the Blackhawks in the first round of playoffs, many fans may remember Derek Boogaard, ...
Quote:
"He has severe brain damage - if he lives, he will never have any motor skills again ... He's got damage to the right temple, he's got a back head injury, he's got a shoulder injury and spinal injury."
Source: The Courier Mail
Currently Trending
1 hour ago
Mother's lawsuit blames doctor for baby's brain injury
Source: FindLaw: Attorney Blog | May 20 2013, 9:40am CDT
Medical errors that impact expectant mothers and their unborn or newborn babies are often among the most troubling and egregious. While in past years death or injury during childbirth was fairly common, today's medical advances have thankfully made suc ...
Recommended
13 weeks ago
Researchers figure out why some are slow learners
Feb 14 2013, 2:10am CST | by Luigi Lugmayr
Berlin, Feb 14 (IANS) Researchers have figured out why some people are slow learners -- their brain may not be able to process information sufficiently.
Berlin, Feb 14 — Researchers have figured out why some people are slow learners -- their brain may not be able to process information sufficiently.
Scientists trained the subjects' sense of touch to be more sensitive.
In subjects who responded well to the training, the EEG (Electroencephalography) revealed characteristic changes in brain activity, more specifically in the alpha waves.
These alpha waves show, among other things, how effectively the brain exploits the sensory information needed for learning.
"An exciting question now is to what extent the alpha activity can be deliberately influenced with biofeedback," said Hubert Dinse from the Neural Plasticity Lab of the Ruhr-Universitat Bochum, who led the study.
"This could have enormous implications for therapy after brain injury or, quite generally, for the understanding of learning processes," Dinse was quoted as saying in the Journal of Neuroscience.
The research team from the Ruhr-Universitat, the Humboldt Universitat zu Berlin, Charite-Universitatsmedizin Berlin, and the Max Planck Institute (MPI) for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences were involved in the findings, according to a statement of Ruhr-Universitat Bochum.
How well we learn depends on genetic aspects, the individual brain anatomy, and, not least, on attention.
"In recent years we have established a procedure with which we trigger learning processes in people that do not require attention," said Dinse.
The researchers were, therefore, able to exclude attention as a factor. They repeatedly stimulated the participants' sense of touch for 30 minutes by electrically stimulating the skin of the hand.
Before and after this passive training, they tested the so-called "two-point discrimination threshold," a measure of the sensitivity of touch.
For this, they applied gentle pressure to the hand with two needles and determined the smallest distance between the needles at which the patient still perceived them as separate stimuli.
On average, the passive training improved the discrimination threshold by 12 percent - but not in all of the 26 participants.
Using EEG, the team studied why some people learned better than others.
The results, therefore, suggest that perception-based learning is highly dependent on how accessible the sensory information is.
The alpha activity, as a marker of constantly changing brain states, modulates this accessibility.
IANS
Source: IANS
Don't miss ...
news
Scientists manage to restrict epilepsy in mice
May 7 2013
San Francisco, May 7 (IANS) US scientists have successfully...
news
Diabetes, poor growth related to hormone
Apr 24 2013
Copenhagen, April 24 (IANS) Scientists have linked diabetes...
news
Genes linked to Alzheimer's discovered
Apr 5 2013
Washington, April 5 (IANS) Scientists have detected genes...
news
Obama launches $100 mn BRAIN initiative to beat India, China
Apr 3 2013
Washington, April 3 (IANS) Saying that he wanted the next...
Luigi Lugmayr
Luigi is the founding Chief Editor of I4U News and brings over 15 years
experience in the technology field to the ever evolving and exciting
world of gadgets. He started I4U News back in 2000 and evolved it into
vibrant technology magazine.
Luigi can be contacted directly at ml@i4u.com. Luigi posts regularly on LuigiMe.com about his experience running I4U.
blog comments powered by Disqus
Latest stories
Washington, May 20 (IANS) An 18-year-old Indian-origin girl in the US has developed a potentially revolutionary device that can charge a mobile phone in just 20 seconds, a media report said.
London, May 20 (IANS) People who begin drinking alcohol during puberty are more likely to become addicts, a German study has said.
Washington, May 20 (IANS) Chinese "state-sponsored" hackers have renewed attacks on the US, after a unit of the Chinese army was named in February as the source of many cyber attacks on US companies, a media report said.
London, May 20 (IANS) Time spent by asthma patients soaking up the sun may help in the treatment of the illness, a research has said.
- Visit our Homepage for the Trending Business News.
