Optimizing learning and memorization for college students

A recent review written by Jeffrey D. Karpicke, PhD from Purdue University, explained why retrieval is one of the most effective methods of learning and memorization for college students. To recap, retrieval is the ability to access different types of information from your memory whenever you need it. In one study reviewed (Karpicke & Blunt, 2011), students were put into two groups and told to read pages of a science book. The first group was told to write down as much as they could remember and then to practice retrieving that information as well. While the other group was told to draw out concept maps that linked information they learned while reading their textbook. After one week, both groups were given two types of exams that assessed how well they retained what they learned. The first exam was a short answer exam that tested concepts directly from the textbook. While the second asked students to draw out a concept map to show what they learned. Surprisingly, the students who practiced retrieval not only proved to be better on the short answer test, but also did better on the concept map test than the group that studied by drawing them out.

In today’s society we have access to endless amounts of information. This comes with many benefits, but there are also drawbacks. For students, it’s the difficulty in digging through the heaps of useless techniques to find the best ones. Practicing retrieval when studying may seem so simple that students must use it as a studying technique most of the time, but that’s not true. In fact, the review cited a survey (Karpicke, Butler, & Roediger, 2009) that asked college students what studying techniques they used and which ones they used the most. The results showed that the most frequent strategies used were rereading textbooks and looking over notes.

The best thing about utilizing retrieval methods is they don’t require sophisticated technology and practicing is simple. Students only need to review the information ,set it to the side, and then try to recall it. Different techniques that students can use to utilize retrieval during studying are things like practice tests or flashcards. Even looking at notes at the end of a class can be useful, the most important takeaway is that they need to be able to retrieve that information from their memory.

For more information about the review visit http://www.apa.org/science/about/psa/2016/06/learning-memory.aspx

Brain Wave Oscillations and Alzheimer's Disease

   We have learned about the various techniques researchers use in their studies of the brain and how crucial they are to the knowledge of the brain that we have today. A few examples of these techniques are optogenetics, EEG, and tACS. The EEG played an extremely important role in brain studies because it allowed scientists to record electrical activity of groups of neurons in the brain by measuring their voltage changes as they are activated. When these groups of neurons fire, they do so in an oscillating pattern creating distinct patterns of different types of brain waves. Based on the type of brain waves that are occurring, we can use an EEG to record and predict the brain function that is occurring along with a specific brain wave type. For example, delta waves have the lowest frequency and occur during a deep sleep. Other types of brain waves that can be present are theta, alpha, beta, and gamma waves.
    Researcher Li-Huei Tsai and her lab published an interesting study in the scientific journal Nature. These researchers put these various techniques together in order to explore brain waves and their roles in neurodegenerative diseases, such as Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s disease. In this study, they used an EEG to record the brain waves from oscillating groups of neurons in groups of mice created to produce a hallmark sign of Alzheimer's- amyloid-beta plaques. They decided to test this because research has shown that brain waves can become disrupted in these diseases. Beta waves are shown to be increased in the motor areas in individuals with Parkinson’s disease and gamma waves are decreased in those with Alzheimer’s. Tsai and her lab designed flickering lights tuned to a specific frequency in order to have an effect on the brain waves of the mice and clear that amyloid-beta plaque out of the brain. Their interesting finding showed that the Alzheimer’s disease model mice that were exposed to a light from a disco had lower levels of amyloid beta than mice that were kept in the dark. Therefore, from their results it seems like the strobe lights indeed had an effect on the brain waves of the mice and assisted in plaque clearance from some brain areas.
     Another researcher, Randolph Helfrich, is also using techniques like transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) to affect brain oscillations.
    The manipulation of brain waves is currently being researched in not only neurodegenerative diseases, but also disorders like insomnia and schizophrenia. Tsai and another researcher, Ed Boyden, did begin testing their research in humans with Alzheimer’s as well. Unfortunately, a lot of the results that come from mice models don’t show the same results in humans. So, there is still a great deal to be done in using these techniques in order to use them in neurodegenerative diseases and other disorders.

Image Source: https://www.sciencenews.org/article/brain-waves-may-focus-attention-and-keep-information-flowing


Article Source: Helen, Thompson. "How Flashing Lights and Pink Noise Might Banish Alzheimer's, Improve Memory, and More" Nature. 28 February 2018.
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-018-02391-6

Babies Can Think Logically

It is the norm to believe that one must first know language in order to be able to reason. However, a recent study proves this case wrong. A study just recently published to Science suggests that the ability to think logically does not depend on language as showed in infants. An article entitled “Babies Think Logically Before They Can Talk” by Bret Stetka on Scientific American explains the study’s findings.

Several scientists from European institutions studied infants who have not yet learned language or have started to speak. They showed the infants distinct objects, such as a dinosaur and a flower, then covered the items. The infants were showed an animation where the dinosaur was removed to reveal just the flower remaining. In some instances, however, the flower would disappear and instead there would be two dinosaurs. The experimenters used eye-tracking to follow the infants’ vision patterned. This revealed that the infants started significantly longer on the instances where the unexpected dinosaur appeared. This finding suggests that the infants suspected something wasn’t right and that they were confused. Also noted was the dilation of the pupils when unexpected outcomes occurred which is known to happen to adults when given difficult logical problems, further proving the researchers’ point.

This study can raise a few questions such as what the next step is. Are we born with rational tendencies and logical thinking? Or are infants learning while observing, even before they are able to articulate thoughts? The lead study author, Nicoló Cesana-Arlotti, plans to further study how the logic represented in the infants differs to logic used after speech and verbal development. 

Source: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/babies-think-logically-before-they-can-talk/

Cannabis Compound Reduces Seizures

A recent retrospective study conducted by Dr. Robert Carson (MD, PhD) and colleagues announced a promising outcome that potentially reduces or in some cases entirely prevent seizures resulting from epilepsy. Dr. Carson and company analyzed over 100 medical records from different patients suffering from refractory epilepsy, using a dataset gathered from Vanderbilt University Medical Center’s BioVU. The team was able to successfully identify a beneficiary pattern from the analysis. The study suggested a relationship between seizures occurring from epilepsy and a controversial compound in Marijuana known as Cannabidiol (CBD). According to source, a third of the population with epilepsy continues to suffer from violent seizures long after currently available epileptic medical treatments. In other words, one out of three of such seizures cannot be controlled by present-day medicines or therapies. Consequentially, this has prompted a quest for an alternative solution to combat refractory epilepsy, leading to the possible discovering of a relationship between the reduction and/or elimination of epileptic seizures and implemented treatment of CBD.

Epilepsy results from abnormal and/or irregular patterns of electrical activity within the brain, it begs the question, what brain changes in a refractory epileptic individual can be notice while expose to EEG under CBD influence? Also, if seizures continue to occur, even after CBD has been administered, do seizures appear as generalize or as focal, when analyzed with EEG? Many portions of the brain may be disrupted by a single seizure, creating a challenging problem for epilepsy researchers due to the difficulty of accurately pinpointing potential relationships between abnormal changes in the brain and specific behavioral deficits.

Since epileptic seizures vary both in intensity and frequency; perhaps different parts of the brain may be disrupted or “electro-jacked” during the unfoldment of an epileptic seizure. Some seizures can be violent while others can be very subtle. Perhaps seizures that are violent and often may result in an individual’s temporary lost of consciousness are due to major brain systems such as the limbic system (involved in learning, memory and emotion) or the basal ganglia (involved in movement or motor functions) becoming electrically disrupted as a result of multiple and random electrical miss firing in the brain neural circuitry, creating an overcharged electronic environment that is too strong to be independently conducted through specific axons, perhaps diverging and amplifying electrical current chaotically permeating the brain, and thus producing violent seizures.

                                      

  

                                                   
What if epileptic seizures that are more subtle perhaps are the result of a specific brain part such as the hippocampus and not an entire system being disturbed? Are the abonormal patterns of electrical activity within the brain observed during seizures due to refractory epilepsy the result of a collective or individual part of the brain becoming electrically disrupted, and do these brain parts become “electro-jacked” in a simultaneous or progressive manner?   Even though seizures may vary in both intensity and frequency, can there be a common origin within the brain that is the sole cause of this electronic neural malfunction? Perhaps finding the origin will lead to one day entirely eliminating epileptic seizures in our society.

Source: http://neurosciencenews.com/cannabis-compound-seizures-8569

Stem Cell Treatment for those with Multiple Sclerosis

Multiple Sclerosis, or MS, is an autoimmune disease of the brain and spinal cord where the immune system begins attacking the myelin covering on axons. Damaging the myelin sheath can slow down or block signals being sent between and within your brain and body. This results in connection and communication issues and can potentially disable one physically and mentally. Some will lose the ability to coordinate movement, or lose mental functions developing thinking and memory problems. Due to sometimes the vagueness and range of symptoms, MS can be hard to diagnose. Currently there’s no cure, however treatments to manage the disease are available.

Considering this disease can potentially physically disable the person with it, there is much effort going into researching mitigation techniques. On February 22, 2018, a study published by Luca Peruzzoti-Jametti of the University of Cambridge made the claim that “Scientists have shown in mice that skin cells re-programmed into stem cells, transplanted into the central nervous system, help reduce inflammation and may be able to help repair damage caused by multiple sclerosis.” Stem cells possess the unique feature to be able to turn into any cell within the body. Traditionally, these cells are harvested from embryos of failed or terminated pregnancies, however, scientists have found a technique that can turn skin cells back into stem cell form. This technique alleviates the demand for stem cells from embryo’s (as there are not many available and this tends to be an ethical debate) and also reduces the chance of the patient developing an immune response to potentially “alien” cells in the body.

Science Daily writes that the researchers at the University of Cambridge have shown that the ‘induced neural stem cells’, or the stem cells made from reprogrammed skin cells have the power to reprogram the “bad” immune cells to be “good” from results seen on their mouse study. They report this treatment as a viable option to repairing the damage of MS and that the research could be used as a personalized treatment for other chronic inflammatory diseases. Considering now that our only treatments available at most slow down the progression of this disease, the potential for this new treatment to reverse the effects of MS is ground breaking science. There is now some hope for those who seemingly randomly acquired this unfortunate disease.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/02/180222145111.htm

https://medlineplus.gov/multiplesclerosis.html

The Optogenetics Breakthrough

Over ten years ago, the first light-sensitive proteins derived from microbial opsins were injected into specific areas of the brain to manipulate neuronal activity. Depending on the properties of the opsins, they can either stimulate or inhibit a colony of neurons in response to light. This technique, known as Optogenetics, was a breakthrough for Neuroscientists. This method not only proves that we are capable of controlling cell action without the use of invasive electrodes, but can also show how behavior changes when a specific brain region is turned “on” or “off.” Many optogenetic studies that have been done in the past refer to the activation of a group of cells in a specific location in the brain, but this recent article: “Next-Generation Optogenetic Molecules Control Single Neurons,” written by Anne Trafton, a new method is introduced for targeting only one neuron at a time.

Scientists at MIT and Paris Descartes University developed a new, more powerful, light-sensitive proteins along with “holographic light-shaping that can focus light on a single cell” (Trafton). Many optogenetic studies include a large light that shines over a group of neurons, but in single-cell optogenetics, the light shape is reduced to just a width of 2-photons! This allows us to have precise, independent, and localized control over which neuron is getting stimulated, as well as excellent timing of the activation – responding consistently every time, and variability less than a millisecond.

With this discovery, we can learn more about the way neurons are connected to each other, in questioning if a neighboring neuron is controlling the other or if it receives stimulation from other signals far away. A professor at the Institute of Neurology in London is planning on using single-cell optogenetics in his studies of “diseases caused by mutations of proteins involved in synaptic communication between neurons” (Trafton). The more advancements in optogenetics technology, the more we can start to see how one single neuron can change a behavior. Soon enough, we might be able to determine what exactly a thought or feeling actually is.  

http://news.mit.edu/2017/next-generation-optogenetic-molecules-control-single-neurons-1113