Electrical and magnetic stimulation can improve motor learning

Researchers at the University of Copenhagen have demonstrated that the brain’s ability to learn certain skills can be significantly enhanced if both the brain and nervous system are primed by carefully-calibrated, precisely-timed electrical and magnetic stimulations

Scientists meticulously calculate the process. First, electricity is delivered to a nerve in the forearm of a test subject. Milliseconds later, magnetic stimulation is applied to the motor area of their brain using a coil placed on their head. The immediate effect is visible as small, involuntary twitches in the subject’s hand. Ten seconds later, the process is repeated.

While this may evoke images of Dr. Frankenstein at work, the reality is that of pioneering research into the brain’s capacity to learn that could unlock new understandings of brain function and provide new avenues for motor training and rehabilitation. The young, healthy test subjects reportedly felt almost nothing during the process, but displayed enhanced benefits from their motor training session thereafter.

“The goal of the stimulation is to influence spinal cord networks from two sides using electrical impulses. When done repeatedly and timed precisely, the network’s efficiency can be increased. Our new findings show that this can also enhance people’s abilities to learn motor skills afterward. That’s what our research demonstrates,” explains Jonas Rud Bjørndal, a Ph.D. from the Department of Nutrition, Exercise, and Sports and one of the study’s lead researchers … read further here.