(Press-News.org) The strength of certain neural connections can predict how well someone can learn math, and mild electrically stimulating these networks can boost learning, according to a study published on July 1st in the open-access journal PLOS Biology by Roi Cohen Kadosh from University of Surrey, United Kingdom, and colleagues.
When it comes to cognitive skills like reading and math, early advantages tend to compound over time. Mathematical abilities, however, seem to plateau from childhood to adulthood, raising the possibility that innate brain characteristics might shape academic outcomes independently of external factors like socioeconomic status. To better understand the neurobiology of mathematical learning, the authors measured connection strength between brain regions associated with learning math while 72 participants performed a 5-day math task. While solving math problems that required either calculating a solution or rote memorization, participants received weak electrical stimulation to either the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC), which plays an important role in executive function and calculations; the posterior parietal cortex (PPC), which is associated with memory recall; or a placebo. They also used magnetic resonance spectroscopy to measure two brain chemicals, glutamate and GABA, that hint at the brain’s current capacity for learning and change.
The researchers found that stronger baseline connectivity between dlPFC, PPC, and the hippocampus — a region involved in long-term memory and in this context, generalizing algorithms across problems — predicted better math performance when participants were asked to calculate the solution, but not when they memorized it. People with weaker connections between the dlPFC and PPC regions improved at calculation learning after electrically stimulating dlPFC. The authors suggest that these results hint at the viability of using brain stimulation to aid math learning in people struggling with biological disadvantages. The authors also identified a complex relationship between neurochemistry, brain plasticity, and communication between regions associated with executive function and memory. Future studies should more deeply examine these relationships, and test whether a neurostimulation approach like this could help people outside of the lab.
Professor Roi Cohen Kadosh, the lead author of the study and Head of the School of Psychology at the University of Surrey, said, “So far, most efforts to improve education have focused on changing the environment – training teachers, redesigning curricula – while largely overlooking the learner’s neurobiology. Yet, a growing body of research has shown that biological factors often explain educational outcomes in mathematics more powerfully than environmental ones. By integrating insights from psychology, neuroscience and education to develop innovative techniques that address these neurobiological constraints, we can help more people reach their potential, broaden access to diverse career pathways and reduce long-term inequalities in income, health and wellbeing.”
In your coverage, please use this URL to provide access to the freely available paper in PLOS Biology: http://plos.io/3STohc7
Citation: Zacharopoulos G, Dehghani M, Krause-Sorio B, Near J, Cohen Kadosh R (2025) Functional connectivity and GABAergic signaling modulate the enhancement effect of neurostimulation on mathematical learning. PLoS Biol 23(7): e3003200. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3003200
Author countries: United Kingdom, Canada, United States
Funding: Funding: This research was supported by the European Research Council (Learning&Achievement 338065 to RCK, https://erc.europa.eu/) and the Wellcome Trust (0883781 to RCK, https://wellcome.org/). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.
END
Brain stimulation can boost math learning in people with weaker neural connections
Frontoparietal network strength predicts certain math skills and whether brain stimulation can help
2025-07-01
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
Inhibiting enzyme could halt cell death in Parkinson’s disease, study finds
2025-07-01
Putting the brakes on an enzyme might rescue neurons that are dying due to a type of Parkinson’s disease that’s caused by a single genetic mutation, according to a new Stanford Medicine-led study conducted in mice.
The genetic mutation causes an enzyme called leucine-rich repeat kinase 2, or LRRK2, to be overactive. Too much LRRK2 enzyme activity changes the structure of brain cells in a way that disrupts crucial communication between neurons that make the neurotransmitter dopamine and cells in the striatum, ...
Neurotechnology reverses biological disadvantage in maths learning
2025-07-01
Safe, painless, and non-invasive brain stimulation could help people who are at risk of falling behind in maths, according to a new study led by the University of Surrey.
The study, published in PLoS Biology, found that applying safe electrical currents to the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) – a region involved in learning and memory, focus, and problem-solving – helped people aged 18 to 30 solve maths problems more efficiently.
Seventy-two healthy adults took part in a five-day maths training programme – 24 received a form of brain stimulation known as transcranial random noise stimulation (tRNS) to the dlPFC, ...
UNDER EMBARGO: Neurotechnology reverses biological disadvantage in maths learning
2025-07-01
Under embargo until July 1, 2025 at 11am PST / 2pm EST / 7pm GMT)
Neurotechnology reverses biological disadvantage in maths learning
Safe, painless, and non-invasive brain stimulation could help people who are at risk of falling behind in maths, according to a new study led by the University of Surrey.
The study, published in PLoS Biology, found that applying safe electrical currents to the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) – a region involved in learning and memory, focus, and problem-solving – helped people aged 18 to ...
Scientists target ‘molecular machine’ in the war against antimicrobial resistance
2025-07-01
Scientists have studied a new target for antibiotics in the greatest detail yet – in the fight against antibiotic resistance.
The ‘molecular machine’ flagellum is essential for bacteria to cause infection, allowing bacteria to ‘swim’ around the bloodstream until finding something to infect. But it could also be a target for antibiotics.
Impairing the flagellum would deliver a critical, but not fatal, blow to bacteria. This is a new approach and contrasts to traditional antibiotics, which are designed to kill all bacteria ...
Extending classical CNOP method for deep-learning atmospheric and oceanic forecasting
2025-07-01
In recent years, deep learning methods have been increasingly applied in atmospheric and oceanic forecasting, showing superior forecast skills. Unlike time-stepping numerical models, deep learning forecasting models (DLMs) typically adopt a “multi-time-slice input” structure. This structure breaks the deterministic causality in the time dimension that exists in the numerical models. In this case, the forecast errors in DLMs should be attributed to all input slices, rather than any single one. This fundamental difference limits the applicability of the classical conditional nonlinear optimal perturbation (CNOP) method, ...
Aston University research: Parents should encourage structure and independence around food to support children’s healthy eating
2025-07-01
Dr Katie Edwards studied the feeding practices of parents of children with ‘avid’ eating traits, which can lead to obesity
Focusing on health or deciding when it is time for a meal or snack helps parents to use supportive feeding practices.
Supportive feeding practices could include involving children in decisions about food, or sitting together for mealtimes
New research from Aston University has shone a light on the best ways for parents to encourage healthy eating in their children.
The ...
Thunderstorms are a major driver of tree death in tropical forests
2025-07-01
Trees in tropical forests are dying at an increased rate, with consequences for biodiversity, carbon storage, and the global climate. While deforestation is the primary cause of forest loss, intact forests are also experiencing a rise in tree death. Drought, higher temperatures, and fires have been the leading suspects, but a new paper led by Evan Gora, a forest ecologist at Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies, identifies an underappreciated threat: thunderstorms, which are becoming more frequent with climate change.
Not to be confused with hurricanes or cyclones, these convective storms ...
Danforth Plant Science Center adds two new faculty members
2025-07-01
ST. LOUIS, MO, July 1, 2025– The Donald Danforth Plant Science Center today announced two new faculty members. Justin Conover, PhD, joined as assistant member and Erin Sparks, PhD, joined as associate member at the Danforth Center and associate professor at the University of Missouri – Columbia (MU) a joint hire between the Danforth Center and MU.
“We’re excited to welcome two exceptional scientists who will add new expertise and complement several research areas at the Danforth Center,” ...
Robotic eyes mimic human vision for superfast response to extreme lighting
2025-07-01
WASHINGTON, July 1, 2025 — In blinding bright light or pitch-black dark, our eyes can adjust to extreme lighting conditions within a few minutes. The human vision system, including the eyes, neurons, and brain, can also learn and memorize settings to adapt faster the next time we encounter similar lighting challenges.
In an article published this week in Applied Physics Letters, by AIP Publishing, researchers at Fuzhou University in China created a machine vision sensor that uses quantum dots to adapt to extreme changes in light far faster than the human eye can ...
Racial inequities and access to COVID-19 treatment
2025-07-01
About The Study: This cross-sectional study found that racial and ethnic disparities in COVID-19 treatment are substantial and partially explainable by encounter-level factors, particularly differences in diagnostic test type, virtual care access, and site of care. These findings suggest that targeted interventions, including expanding rapid test access and virtual care, may improve equity in outpatient COVID-19 treatment.
Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding author, Rebecca Bromley-Dulfano, MS, email rbromleydulfano@g.harvard.edu.
To ...
LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:
Sugar, the hidden thermostat in plants
Personality can explain why some CEOs earn higher salaries
This puzzle game shows kids how they’re smarter than AI
Study suggests remembrances of dead played role in rise of architecture in Andean region
Brain stimulation can boost math learning in people with weaker neural connections
Inhibiting enzyme could halt cell death in Parkinson’s disease, study finds
Neurotechnology reverses biological disadvantage in maths learning
UNDER EMBARGO: Neurotechnology reverses biological disadvantage in maths learning
Scientists target ‘molecular machine’ in the war against antimicrobial resistance
Extending classical CNOP method for deep-learning atmospheric and oceanic forecasting
Aston University research: Parents should encourage structure and independence around food to support children’s healthy eating
Thunderstorms are a major driver of tree death in tropical forests
Danforth Plant Science Center adds two new faculty members
Robotic eyes mimic human vision for superfast response to extreme lighting
Racial inequities and access to COVID-19 treatment
Residential segregation and lung cancer risk in African American adults
Scientists wipe out aggressive brain cancer tumors by targeting cellular ‘motors’
Capturability distinction analysis of continuous and pulsed guidance laws
CHEST expands Bridging Specialties Initiative to include NTM disease and bronchiectasis on World Bronchiectasis Day
Exposure to air pollution may cause heart damage
SwRI, UTSA selected by NASA to test electrolyzer technology aboard parabolic flight
Prebiotics might be a factor in preventing or treating issues caused by low brain GABA
Youngest in class at higher risk of mental health problems
American Heart Association announces new volunteer leaders for 2025-26
Gut microbiota analysis can help catch gestational diabetes
FAU’s Paulina DeVito awarded prestigious NSF Graduate Research Fellowship
Champions for change – Paid time off initiative just made clinical trials participation easier
Fentanyl detection through packaging
Prof. Eran Meshorer elected to EMBO for pioneering work in epigenetics
New 3D glacier visualizations provide insights into a hotter Earth
[Press-News.org] Brain stimulation can boost math learning in people with weaker neural connectionsFrontoparietal network strength predicts certain math skills and whether brain stimulation can help