Kids’ Incredible Learning May All Be Down to 1 Chemical in The Brain : ScienceAlert.
Compared to adults, kids learn fast, their developing brains sopping up information at a mind-boggling pace.
Somehow their neurons not only incorporate new knowledge more easily, they hold onto it firmly, even in a constant torrent of new experiences.
Now, a team of neuroscientists from the University of Regensburg in Germany and Brown University in the US may have discovered what makes young brains so efficient.
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It’s all down to a brain chemical known as GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid) which surges in children during and after learning, turning their young brains into ‘uber-sponges’.
“It’s often assumed that children learn more efficiently than adults, although the scientific support for this assumption has, at best, been weak,” says study co-author Takeo Watanabe, a cognitive psychologist from Brown University.
Foreign [Music] Kids incredible learning may all be down To one chemical in the brain science Alert compared to adults kids learn fast They're developing brains sopping up Information at a mind-boggling Pace Somehow their neurons not only Incorporate new knowledge more easily They hold on to it firmly even in a Constant torrent of new experiences now A team of neurontists from the University of regenesberg in Germany and Brown University in the U.S may have Discovered what makes young brains so Efficient to stay up to date with latest Top stories make sure to subscribe to This YouTube channel by clicking the Button above this video it's all down to A brain chemical known as Gaba gamma Aminobutyric acid which surges in Children during and after learning Turning their young brains into Uber Sponges it's often assumed that children Learn more efficiently than adults Although the scientific support for this Assumption has at best been weak says Study co-author takio watanabi a Cognitive psychologist from Brown University searching for the brain Mechanisms involved the team used an Advanced neuroimaging technique called Functional misses fmrs to indirectly Measure concentrations of Gaba in the
Visual cortex of kids during a visual Learning activity to see how it differed From adults measurements were taken in 55 children aged 8 to 11 years and 56 Adults aged between 18 and 35 years of Age covering three different periods Before the visual learning task began During the learning process and after The activity had ended the results Showed that gobble levels in adults Remain consistent over the whole Experiment meanwhile the gobble levels In children were much more adventurous What we found is a rapid increase in Gaba in children associated with Learning says what honeybee and not just During learning the high levels of Gaba Lasted into the post-learning period too It's a revelatory finding what honeybee Says Gaba is a chemical messenger in the Brain known to be important in the Process of learning new information it Also plays a key role in stabilization a Cooling off period after learning Whereby the fry fragile new neural Networks are Consolidated and the Information successfully stored but if Something new is learned during the Cooling off period a phenomenon called Retrograde interference kicks in where The previously learned information is Overwritten or destroyed it slips out of Our brains think of it as like leaving a Pie to cool off after it's been taken
From the oven resting it gives the Starches and the filling a chance to set Into a gel that will hold everything Neatly in place if you cut into the pie During cooling period though the piping Hot filling is runny and Spills out with The new knowledge of gobble levels in Kids on board the team then conducted Behavioral experiments to see if this Was what allowed visual learning to be Stabilized more rapidly what they found Was astonishing adults needed a cooling Off period of an hour to allow for Stabilization however the children were Able to learn again within 10 minutes Without overwriting what they had Previously learned in other words thanks To their lofty gobble levels their pie Sets a whole lot quicker we found that Resilience to retrograde interfere Appearance and therefore stabilization Indeed occurred within minutes after Training ended in children whereas Learning was in a fragile state in Adults for at least one hour after Training the researchers wrote in their Paper this rapid stabilization of Learning in children enables them to Learn more items within a given period Of time and makes learning more Efficient in children than adults Explain psychologist and cognitive Neurogenist Sebastian Frank a co-author On the study now at the University of
Regenesburg in Germany the researchers Also found consecutive sessions of Learning seem to further increase the Gaba concentration in children allowing Even more rapid stabilization of Previous learning our results therefore Point to Gaba as a key player in making Learning efficient in children says Frank while it should be noted that this Study was done in visual learning what Hanabe believes these findings could be Generalized to other types of learning Involving memory excitingly these Findings could be used to help adults Learn more efficiently for example a new Technology or therapy could be developed To and increase the amount of Gaba in The brains of adults what Hanabi says That is one possible application This Research was published in current Biology [Music]
