The brain learns different tasks in different ways: Brain wave study sheds insight on learning, memory, mental disorders

( Natural News ) Investigators from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have identified the brainwave patterns that correspond with the two different types of learning and memory. The research — published in Neuron — could one day help doctors diagnose cognitive diseases early on, as well as improve learning tools to help patients cope with their conditions. According to Science Daily , the two kinds of learning are explicit and implicit learning. Explicit learning is the sort that people are aware of and can describe, much like learning how to play chess or memorizing a passage from a book. Conversely, implicit learning is the kind that we don’t have conscious access to and can be described as “muscle memory”, like riding a bike. The researchers were able to distinguish the neural signatures of each after studying the behavior of animals while they were learning. They noticed that different tasks required one type of learning, and that each kind generated different signals. In the task wherein monkeys had to compare and match two different things, the animals utilized explicit learning, as was evidenced by them recalling both correct and incorrect answers to improve their performances. By contrast, in the portion where the animals had to move their eyes in one direction or the other as a response to visual stimuli, they only improved their correct answers. This, according to the researchers, was a sign of implicit learning. Furthermore, they noted how each behavior was accompanied by different brainwave patterns . For example, in the tasks involving explicit learning, alpha 2-beta brainwaves coincided with correct responses while increase delta-theta brainwaves followed incorrect choices. Alpha 2-beta brainwave spikes were prominent when the animals first learned tasks as well, and seemed to decrease in frequency as the animals repeated the tasks. Moreover, […]

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