The future has truly arrived. Scientists have developed a device that can implant new information directly into your brain. Sounds a little too sci-fi to be real? Well, read on.
While we may be a while away from having Jiu-Jitsu ‘uploaded’ straight into our brains in seconds (à la Neo in The Matrix), researcher Dr Matthew Phillips and his team at HRL Laboratories in California say they have developed a way to amplify learning.
The device they have created is basically a stimulator cap embedded with electrodes. The cap was tested on a group of six commercial and military pilots who were placed in a realistic flight simulator and had their brain activity measured. Those who received brain stimulation via head caps showed improved piloting abilities. The results of this study were published in February 2016 in the journal Frontiers in Human Neuroscience.
“When you learn something, your brain physically changes. Connections are made and strengthened in a process called neuro-plasticity.
“It turns out that certain functions of the brain, like speech and memory, are located in very specific regions of the brain, about the size of your pinky,” says Phillips.
What does this mean for you?
Previous research has shown that transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) can help patients recover more quickly from a stroke, along with boosting a healthy person’s creativity. However, Phillips’s device is one of the first to demonstrate that tDCS can accelerate practical learning. This means, in time, it will be possible to accelerate the learning of skills and information that are aquired via repetition, such as driving, preparing for exams and languages.
Read more at gizmodo.com
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