Seminar on Brain Gain
RUNNING A WEAK ELECTRIC CURRENT THROUGH THE BRAINS OF SLEEPING VOLUNTEERS IMPROVED THEIR PERFORMANCE ON A WORD-RECALL TASK.PRIOR TO SLEEP,THE STUDENTS MEMORISED 46 WORD PAIRS AND,ON AVERAGE,RECALLED 36.5 OF THEM.AFTER THE ELECTRICALLY STIMULATED SLEEP,THEY IMPROVED THEIR RECALL TO 41.2 WORDS,AS COMPARED WITH JUST 39.5 OF THE GROUP THAT DID NOT RECIEVE THE JOLT.
THE FINDINGS SUGGEST THAT ELECTRICALLY STIMULATING THE BRAIN CAN EXERT A SYNCHRONISING EFFECT ON INDIVIDUAL NEURONS AND PRODUCE BENEFICIAL RESULTS.THE RESEARCHERS,WHO PUBLISHED THEIR WORK ONLINE NOVEMBER 5 IN NATURE,ARE NOW INVESTIGATING JUST HOW LONG THE IMPROVEMENT MIGHT LAST AND HOW DEEP SLEEP AFFECTS MEMORY -FOR SOME REASON,HUMANS BEGIN TO LOOSE THE ABILITY TO SLEEP DEEPLY AROUND 40 YEARS OF AGE,AT ABOUT THE SAME TIME THAT MEMORY BEGINS TO DECLINE.
