Learning physics may activate new brain areas
New York, May 25: Brain areas that are traditionally not associated with learning science can become active when people are confronted with solving physics problems, finds a study.
This shows that the brain's activity can be modified by different forms of instruction.
"The neurobiological processes that underpin learning are complex and not always directly connected to what we think it means to learn," said lead author Eric Brewe, Associate Professor at Drexel University in Pennsylvania, US.
The findings, published in the journal Frontiers in ICT, showed that newer brain regions associated with attention, working memory and problem solving -- the lateral prefrontal cortex and parietal cortex, sometimes called the brain's "central executive network" - showed activity when dealing with such problems.
Another area that became active was the posterior cingulate cortex, which is linked to episodic memory and self-referential thought.
"These changes in brain activity may be related to more complex behavioural changes in how students reason through physics questions post- relative to pre-instruction," Brewe noted.
"These might include shifts in strategy or an increased access to physics knowledge and problem-solving resources," he said.
Using fMRI (functional magnetic resonance imaging) to measure blood flow in the brain, the researchers looked to map what areas become active when completing a physics reasoning task, both before a course on the concepts and after.
A small group of students were taught a physics course that utilised "Modeling Instruction," a style of teaching which encourages students to be active participants in their learning.
"This suggests that learning physics is an imaginative process, which is not typically how people think of it," Brewe said, in reference to the study which aimed to further explore how students use their own mental models to understand new concepts.
"The idea of mental models is something that people who research learning love to talk about, but have no evidence of what is happening inside brains other than what people say or do," Brewe said.
"We are actually looking for evidence from inside the brain."
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Karnataka Assembly bypolls victory: Shivakumar gives credit to CM Siddaramaiah's leadership
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar on Saturday gave credit to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah's leadership as well as the five guarantees for the Congress party’s success in the assembly bypolls.
Shivakumar said this victory was a prelude to the 2028 assembly election where the party would once again win.
The Congress won the Channapatna, Shiggaon and Sandur Assembly segments.
The by-elections were held on November 13 and the results were announced today.
The ruling Congress on Saturday retained its strong hold of Sandur, with its candidate E Annapoorna, winning the seat by defeating BJP's ST Morcha president Bangaru Hanumanthu.
In the Channapatna segment, Congress' C P Yogeeshwara won the high profile seat by defeating JD(S) candidate and Union Minister H D Kumaraswamy's son Nikhil Kumaraswamy.
Similarly, Congress' Yasir Ahmed Khan Pathan won the Shiggaon Assembly segment by defeating former Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai's son Bharath Bommai.
"Our guarantees, Siddaramaiah’s leadership and our workers and MLAs are responsible for our victory," Shivakumar told reporters.
He said neither Nikhil Kumaraswamy nor Bharath Bommai lost the election. In fact, this was the defeat of their parents -Union Minister H D Kumaraswamy and BJP MP Basavaraj Bommai.
"With this victory, our tally has now gone up to 138. There are other numbers as well, but I will not spell out how some people have internally supported us," Shivakumar, who is also Congress state president, said.
The Karnataka Assembly has 224 seats.
The Deputy CM advised his opponents to focus on development works instead of making baseless allegations as it would fetch them nothing but a constant defeat.
