Your maths look … Chinese? Neurotransmitation of the brain can solve the problem, supports a group of international scientists whose research illuminates the connection of brain function to the learning process.

The study published in the American Scientific Review PLOS proposes a possible means to address the great differences in understanding mathematics among students.

“People have different brains and their brains control much of their lives,” said Roy Coen Kantos, a neurobiology expert and cognitive sciences working at the British University of Surrey and is the main author of the study. “We are constantly thinking that the environment is (to blame). We often wonder if we go to a good school, if we have the right teacher. But our biology is also to blame. Some people have difficulties and, if we can help their brain reach their full potential, then we will open many doors that would otherwise remain closed, ”he said.

Previous studies have shown that some areas of the brain, such as the rhythm of the frontal cortex and the lobe, are involved in the process of acquiring knowledge and learning. The researchers decided to study the activity of these zones to students who had a different level of knowledge and understanding of mathematics.

After discovering that they could predict students’ performance in this way, they sought to improve them through a promising, painless technology, the transnational stimulation of random noise (TRNS). In other words, they placed electrodes on the skull and applied an alternating low voltage current.

The experiment, which included more than 70 students, showed that the less good in mathematics showed a 25-29%improvement. Already good students did not improve, but “to those who were on average or under average we were able to improve their performance,” said Coen Kantos.

The results are encouraging and the professor intends to confirm them with future experiments in other areas, such as learning foreign languages. Its purpose is to develop a neurotransmitter device that can help people with learning disabilities.

According to a 2016 OSCE study, one quarter of adults in developed countries, such as the US, France and Germany, understand mathematics at the same or lower level than a 6-7 year old child.