Scientists have explained why children learn better than adults

Forget certain events and informationcharacteristic of every person. Moreover, a bad memory is even useful, as we talked about earlier. However, it should be borne in mind that forgetfulness of forgetfulness is different. One of its varieties is retroactive interference. The essence of this phenomenon is the displacement of old information by new data. For example, having studied one chapter of a textbook, a person may be faced with the fact that he completely forgot another chapter, which he also studied well quite recently. Similar situations can occur not only during study, but also in everyday life. Having delved into a topic that is new to us, we can forget the information that we received quite recently. This is retroactive interference - quite common, but only for an adult. In children, however, as the latest study shows, the brain works differently.

Children are easier to learn than adults due to the way the brain works.

Why do people forget old information

The mechanism of retroactive interference scientists have alreadyhas long been known. After learning new information, so that it is not forgotten, the inhibition system must reduce the activity of the neural circuits that were involved in its processing. If the decrease in the activity of neurons does not occur, that is, they remain in an excited state, then when new information arrives (which requires the use of the same neurons), the old information is erased. That is, in fact, the data is overwritten.

Therefore, in order to avoid retroactiveinterference, between the receipt of new information, that is, between studies, it is necessary to pause. During the rest, the inhibitory system must have time to work and allow the neurons to “cool down”. Gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) plays a key role in this process. It is one of the neurotransmitters that is used by inhibitory neurons to transmit a signal to a neuron involved in the memorization process.

After memorizing information, an adult needs to take a break to “cool down” the neurons, otherwise the information will be forgotten.

The scheme of work is quite simple - when there isthe need for a brake, that is, during a pause, inhibition neurons act on GABA, as a result, gamma-aminobutyric acid in a certain way affects other neurons so that they calm down. The faster the brake works, the less likely it is that the information will be deleted.

Children have better memory than adults

Previous studies have shown thatChildren have lower GABA levels than adults. That is, theoretically, children should study worse than adults. Previously, however, GABA levels were assessed on their own, that is, separately from the learning process and the inhibitory system. Therefore, scientists at Brown University and the University of Regensburg decided to find out how children actually do with learning.

The experiment involved children aged from8 to 11 years old, as well as adults aged 18 to 35 years old. Both groups had to learn certain information, divided into separate arrays. Before the start of the experiment, the authors of the work measured the level of GABA. To do this, they used magnetic resonance spectroscopy, a type of tomography that is used to monitor the metabolism and dynamics of certain molecules.

Adults interfere with learning retroactive interference

In children, the level of GABA was indeed lower,than in adults. However, as the authors report in the journal Current Biology, the level of gamma-aminobutyric acid in children rose sharply as soon as there was a break in training. As a result, the brain had time to “cool down” the neurons involved in information processing in just a few minutes. Therefore, it is safe to say that retroactive interference does not prevent children from learning.

The adult brain is not able to control so quicklyGABA. Even over a longer period of time, the level of this neurotransmitter did not increase. Therefore, children during the experiment learned information better than adults, despite the fact that in general the level of GABA in adults was higher.

Be sure to subscribe to the YANDEX.ZEN CHANNEL, where truly exciting and exciting materials await you.

True, the experiment concerned only the visualmemory. All volunteers had to memorize the pictures. However, according to the authors, the results of the study probably apply to other types of memory. So now scientists need to find a way to get the adult brain to also rapidly increase GABA levels, as children's brains do. In this case, adults will be able to learn as easily as children.

Finally, we recall that the brain of children differs notonly the ability to operatively manage GABA. Earlier we said that children of primary preschool age are more absent-minded than adults. And this also benefits them, as it allows them to cope with some tasks better than adults.