This hat is capable of making us smarter

The possibility of improving our mental capacities, developing them to the limit and overcoming any barrier is something that has always attracted the attention of the human being, being a frequent topic of science fiction.

Recently, a team of researchers have created a hat that seems to contribute to this end. But... what are we up to? A hat that makes us smarter?

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What is intelligence?

We understand by intelligence the faculty or set of faculties that allow us to understand, analyze and interact with the environment adaptively.

Having a greater intellectual capacity thus implies an increase in the possibility of being more adaptable regardless of whether it is understood as capacity general or different specific capacities, giving the individual an easier account of the relationships between phenomena and how to manage the situations.

This does not mean that it has to make us more adaptive directly (this would require other mental capacities in addition to mere intellectual capacity), only that it increases the chances of it.

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Modifying intelligence with a hat: is this possible?

Intelligence is a useful quality, and many people would like to be able to empower it. But is this possible?

If we take into account that cognitive abilities are mediated by the functioning of the brain, synapses and neural connections and the transmission of information from neurons, it might be possible stimulate and train our cognitive resources.

In fact, there are numerous ways to improve the efficiency of our neural network, create new connections and strengthen existing ones. Examples of this are the practice of mental exercises, continuous learning and training throughout the life cycle, mindfulness and due physical and mental self-care.

Regarding what is possible that an artifact can cause such enhancement of intelligence, it could be considered possible to stimulate the appropriate brain areas before certain tasks. And that is what the team of researchers from Vanderbilt University seems to have achieved, through a cap-shaped device that stimulates different regions and locations.

The device: how it works

The device in question works by applying mild electrical currents to certain areas of the brain. Said stimulation is not invasive or harmful, being similar to transcranial magnetic stimulation. The effects are temporary.

Specifically, a series of electrodes is placed on the front of the skull between which the current passes, causing the activation of the frontal lobe (specifically in its medial part). This area participates among other functions in learning, attention and executive functions. It also participates in the management of errors, producing brain reactions every time we make mistakes.

By emitting electrical currents in this area, it is intended to omit negative responses and errors, helping us to be more efficient.

Results obtained with its application

The reflected experiments show that after being stimulated by the device in question, the volunteers tended to make fewer mistakes. The learning capacity is also apparently stimulated, taking less time to acquire and consolidate new information.

However, the effects of this device are limited and temporary. The emission of electrical pulses activates some areas of the brain and facilitates learning in this sense, but the activity brain does not last long enough to produce a lasting change that is integrated into the psychic structure of the brain. user. In addition, if the reactions that make us make mistakes are manipulated we are, in turn, modifying aspects that contribute to learningHow to learn from your own mistakes.

The results obtained by the research team seem to indicate that a stimulation of around twenty minutes can produce effects that will fade over the next five hours.

This device can have multiple uses in the treatment of various disorders such as ADHD wave schizophrenia, stimulating, for example, the neuralgic centers that control the inhibition of behavior and/or attention to it.

Thus, this gadget made to improve intelligence can have a large number of applications and be very useful, being a very interesting field of research for the treatment of various problems. And even so, a higher level of research is necessary in order to have more reliable results.

Bibliographic references:

• Reinhart, R.M.G; Woodman, G.F. (2014). Causal Control of Medial-Frontal Cortex Governs Electrophysiological and Behavioral Indices of Performance Monitoring and Learning. Journal of Neuroscience 19, 34 (12) 4214-4227.