Scientists reveal children’s brain rhythms using “brain training” read more at here www.spinonews.com/index.php/item/685-scientists-reveal-children-s-brain-rhythms-using-brain-training

A new study found an evidence that 'brain training' changed brain signaling. This research questions the strong claims that have been made about the benefits of brain training.

Dr. Duncan Astle and colleagues from the MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit UK, tested the memory skills in childhood with training.

Brain training has the potential to every aspect of our daily lives. But, surprisingly we know about whether it is really effective, and much less about how it changes the brain function.

Researchers used a brain scanning technique called “magnetoencephalography”, and scanned the brains of 33 children, aged between 8 and 11, whilst they performed a memory task.

The tasks were all carried out and monitored online using specialist software, for exploring electrical circuits using these brain scans, and found that after intensive training specific brain connections involved in memory and attention were changed.

Certain brain structures in the frontal and parietal lobe provided a rhythmic electrical signal, and it synchronizes the areas responsible for visual processing activity.

In some ways these frontal and parietal brain areas acted like a pacemaker, providing a beat that coordinated the activity of other brain regions. After intensive training this rhythm played a stronger role in influencing the other brain areas. So that, pacemaker was more effective.

These brain areas play an important role in controlling and optimizing the activity of other brain systems using a rhythm at a particular frequency. This rhythm alters the excitability of neurons in other brain areas.

These memory skills are particularly important in childhood. They influence how good children can learn, and are implicated in many developmental disorders. This work is to develop training programs that have wide benefits for children experiencing memory problems. But, brain training is big business.

This study provides a big step forwards in our understanding of, how training can alter the functioning of brain networks. we hope one day to be able to harness its practical benefits.

Dr. Astle and his colleagues have begun to investigate and helps us to start to make sense of the claims made around this type of training.