Stimulating brain with weak electric currents may help improve learning maths, study suggests
A new study in young adults has found that stimulating the brain with safe electric currents may help them solve mathematical problems more efficiently. Researchers, led by those at the University of Surrey, UK, found that applying safe, painless electric currents to the brain's dorsolateral prefrontal cortex -- which helps with learning, memory and focus -- improved mathematical problem-solving abilities in people aged 18 to 30. The dorsolateral prefrontal cortex is located on the outer surface of the frontal lobe, which is at the front of the head behind the forehead. "A growing body of research has shown that biological factors often explain educational outcomes in mathematics more powerfully than environmental ones," said Roi Cohen Kadosh, head of the University of Surrey's school of psychology and lead author of the study published in the journal PLOS Biology, said. The author pointed out that efforts to improve education have primarily focused on environmental ...