Electric current to the brain boosts maths ability
Note: What research has been done on electrical/magnetic polarization regarding "bodies"? I have never seen anything in any literature suggesting such a concept.
Expanding that question, what of the concept of polarization in just about any concept mentioned in ancient literature. This would automatically give everything at least one other dimension, and given the varieties of variables in what what we understand as physical, it seems like applying "as above, so below" we could well end up with a cornucopia of ideas that has not, to date, been explored.
Joe
From BBC News - 11/4/2010
Applying a tiny electrical current to the brain could make you better at learning maths, according to Oxford University scientists.
They found that targeting a part of the brain called the parietal lobe improved the ability of volunteers to solve numerical problems.
They hope the discovery could help people with dyscalculia, who may struggle with numbers.
Another expert said effects on other brain functions would need checking.
The findings are reported in the journal Current Biology.
"We are not advising people to go around giving themselves electric shocks”
- Dr Cohen KadoshSome studies have suggested that up to one in five people have trouble with maths, affecting not just their ability to complete problems but also to manage everyday activities such as telling the time and managing money.
Neuroscientists believe that activity within the parietal lobe plays a crucial role in this ability, or the lack of it.
When magnetic fields were used in earlier research to disrupt electrical activity in this part of the brain, previously numerate volunteers temporarily developed discalculia, finding it much harder to
solve maths problems.
The latest research goes a step further, using a one milliamp current to stimulate the parietal lobe of a small number of students.
The current could not be felt, and had no measurable effect on other brain functions. As it was turned on, the volunteers tried to learn a puzzle which involved substituting numbers for symbols.
Those given the current from right to left across the parietal lobe did significantly better when given, compared to those who were given no electrical stimulation.
The direction of the current was important - those given stimulation running in the opposite direction, left to right, did markedly worse at these puzzles than those given no current, with their ability matching that of an average six-year-old.
The effects were not short-lived, either. When the volunteers whose performance improved was re-tested six months later, the benefits appear to have persisted.
There was no wider effect on general maths ability in either group, just on the ability to complete the puzzles learned as the current was applied.
Dr Cohen Kadosh, who led the study, said: "We are not advising people to go around giving themselves electric shocks, but we are extremely excited by the potential of our findings and are now looking into the underlying brain changes.
"We've shown before that we can induce dyscalculia, and now it seems we might be able to make someone better at maths, so we really want to see if we can help people with dyscalculia.
"Much bigger and more detailed research is required before any robust claims can be made about the electrical stimulation and maths ability”
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Jerry Hejka-Ekins on
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I've seen several articles regarding the use of electricity and magnetism. Another use of electricity is for speeding the mending of broken bones. Strong magnetic field applied to parts of the brain causes major shifts in consciousness. Interestingly, there is a mahatma letter to Sinnett where KH describes the use of a magnet for beginning meditators.
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Permalink Reply by Jacques Mahnich on
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Jerry wrote : "Expanding that question, what of the concept of polarization in just about any concept mentioned in ancient literature".
About magnetical polarization , from Hector Durville "Theory and practices of magnetism" - 1956 -
(not very ancient but...)
" As recognized by Paracelse, and then Van helmont, Robert Fludd, de Reichenbach, de Rochas, and others, the human body is polarized like a magnet, or rather like an assembly of magnets.It has his neutral lines and opposite poles...
I would say here that the principal axis is dividing the humaun body from right to left, that the right side is positive and the left side negative. The poles are at the hands and feet level, the neutral line being at the to of the head. This is the lateral axis. Another axis divide us from forward to backward. The foreward part of the body is positive as the right side ; the back (spine) is negative as the left side.
Based on that mapping and the fact that same polarities repel each other an opposite polarities attract each other, Hector Durville explains how a mesmerizer interact with the magnetic polarization of people.
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Permalink Reply by Martin Euser on
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The book "Five Years of Theosophy" (bundle of articles from the early Theosophist) has an article about polarities.
Jacques Mahnich said:Jerry wrote : "Expanding that question, what of the concept of polarization in just about any concept mentioned in ancient literature".
About magnetical polarization , from Hector Durville "Theory and practices of magnetism" - 1956 -
(not very ancient but...)
" As recognized by Paracelse, and then Van helmont, Robert Fludd, de Reichenbach, de Rochas, and others, the human body is polarized like a magnet, or rather like an assembly of magnets.It has his neutral lines and opposite poles...
I would say here that the principal axis is dividing the humaun body from right to left, that the right side is positive and the left side negative. The poles are at the hands and feet level, the neutral line being at the to of the head. This is the lateral axis. Another axis divide us from forward to backward. The foreward part of the body is positive as the right side ; the back (spine) is negative as the left side.
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"Beyond supernature - A new natural history of the supernatural" , 1985 by Lyall Watson - Hodder & Stoughton, London, has a chapter dedicated to bioelectricity where are reported various electrical healing experiments by a surgeon working in Syracuse, NY. Regarding the very low level of electrical energy involved in these experiments (0.000002 A), which are affecting human body, one can be worried about the ever increasing level of electro-magnetism field surrounding us - mainly since billion of mobile phone have invaded this planet.
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