Introducing the brain: rapid learning in children (Introduction)

by David Turell , Wednesday, November 16, 2022, 14:49 (526 days ago) @ David Turell

Measured levels of GABA shows children have different brain responses than adults while learning:

https://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(22)01629-3?dgcid=raven_jbs_aip...

"Visual perceptual learning (VPL) is more efficient in children than adults

"VPL is stabilized more rapidly in children than adults

"Stabilization of VPL in children is supported by a rapid boost of GABA

"This boost of GABA occurs during and after visual training in children

"It is generally thought that children learn more efficiently than adults. One way to accomplish this is to have learning rapidly stabilized such that it is not interfered with by subsequent learning. Although γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) plays an important role in stabilization, it has been reported that GABAergic inhibitory processing is not fully matured yet in children compared with adults. Does this finding indicate that more efficient learning in children is not due to more rapid stabilization? Here, we measured the concentration of GABA in early visual cortical areas in a time-resolved fashion before, during, and after visual perceptual learning (VPL) within subjects using functional MRS (fMRS) and then compared the concentrations between children (8 to 11 years old) and adults (18 to 35 years old). We found that children exhibited a rapid boost of GABA during visual training that persisted after training ended, whereas the concentration of GABA in adults remained unchanged. Moreover, behavioral experiments showed that children exhibited rapid development of resilience to retrograde interference, which indicates that children stabilize VPL much faster than adults. These results together suggest that inhibitory processing in children’s brains is more dynamic and adapts more quickly to stabilize learning than in adults, making learning more efficient in children."

Comment: a logically design arrangement, especially if viewed from the standpoint of ancient hunter-gatherer groups. Dangers were more severe and young children needed to learn quickly for self-protection.