A zap of electricity to the brain can make you a bright spark at maths. But shock the wrong spot and you could be as bad with numbers as a six-year-old, according to a new study。
In a bizarre experiment, Oxford University and University College London students agreed to have an electrical current passed through their brain while they did numerical tests. The aim was to find out if it was possible to shock the mind into becoming better at maths。
Passing the current one way through the brain made the students better with figures - and the effect lasted for up to six months. But, worryingly, running the electricity the other way made them dramatically worse。
Experts said that the ability to "turn up" and "turn down" parts of the brain at will open the door to treating a range of problems, from dyscalculia to stroke-related visual damage. But they cautioned that it is not entirely clear how the current affects the brain. And they questioned whether those given the “reverse” current were 'still abnormal' months later。
英国《每日邮报》5日报道，电击大脑可以让你做数学题时灵光乍现，但最新研究也显示，倘若电击错了部位，你对数字的认知便会减少到六岁小孩的认知水平。
这个实验很怪诞：牛津大学和伦敦大学学院的学生同意让电流通过自己的大脑，并在同一时刻做数字测试。该实验旨在验证通过电击大脑是否可以让数学成绩变得更好。
实验证明，单向电击大脑有助于学生的数字认知，其效果能持续六个月。但是令人担忧的是，从另一侧通过电流则会让学生的数字认知变得很差。
专家们称，这种能够让部分大脑“打开”或者“闭合”的方法为一系列问题的解决提供了新思路，这些问题包括计算困难和因动脉急性阻塞造成的视觉损 伤等。但是专家警告称电流作用于大脑的机制还不明确，并对因“反向”电击而产生数字认知障碍的志愿者几个月后能否恢复正常表示怀疑。
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