Neuroscience, Technology, and Education

Many processes and emotions occur within our brains that enable or hinder learning. For example, classroom stress affects the part of the brain called the amygdala, which is mainly responsible for processing, learning, emotional memory, and the response to fear and anxiety; negative stimulation (ex., fear, and worry) alters concentration.

Likewise, stress within a learning environment influences the hypothalamus (maintains homeostasis), the pituitary gland (production and release of hormones) and the adrenal glands (regulation of vital processes), which secrete adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH), i.e., cortisol, which reduces the brain’s plasticity and retards the dendrites (the membranous part, like “arms” of the neuron) from receiving and sending stimuli to other cells in the body.

These neuroscience findings can significantly facilitate planning, implementing, and improving teaching-learning processes. This emerging field in education promises to promote and optimize students’ academic development.

What is neuroscience?

Neuroscientists study the nervous system; the neuron is its structural and functional unit. Neuroscience aims to understand the functioning of the nervous system to produce and regulate emotions, thoughts, behaviors, and essential bodily functions, as well as to study the disorders and diseases that cause malfunctioning.

Neuroscience’s interdisciplinarity, relying on other sciences like biology, medicine, psychology, etc., has benefited other fields such as neurology, psychiatry, and education with its findings.

Neuroscience in education

Education incorporates teaching-learning processes that provide the tools and skills necessary for favorable student performance; neuroscience focuses on understanding the brain’s mental processes during learning, including what they involve and how the processes develop in the brain.

Thus, educational neuroscience bridges neuroscience and academic research to improve teaching practices and student learning.

What is educational neurotechnology?

First, note that neurotechnology is a field of science and engineering where the nervous system is interconnected with technical devices. This field includes technologies designed to understand, visualize, and assess the brain and its processes (even control some) and repair or improve its functions, such as memory and attention.

However, in educational neurotechnology, neurobiological knowledge (understanding the nervous system and brain’s functioning), neuropsychology (understanding the relationship between the brain and human behavior), and technology converge. The focus is optimizing and personalizing the learning mechanism, supporting teachers in this work.

Educational neurotechnology encompasses brain monitoring technologies, such as electroencephalogram (EEG) or neuroimaging (fMRI) technologies, brain-computer interfaces (BCIs), brain stimulation applications, cognitive stimulation through video games, and neuroscience educational platforms. These brain monitoring technologies identify neuromarkers, specific indicators of the nervous system’s activity, structure, or functioning. For example, neuromarker P3 is associated with academic performance. These studies have shed light on the brain’s connection with video games; when playing a game, the brain pathway responsible for vision is reconfigured, boosting brain plasticity. Thus, knowledge acquired through gaming can be applied to other activities and daily life.

The contributions of this field allow a better understanding of the neuropsychological basis underlying the use of technology to address visual, auditory, and sensory developmental disabilities. Moreover, they help teachers design and implement methodological changes to improve students’ attention, motor skills, language, memory, and creativity and overcome learning difficulties (for example, in language, attention, or social skills).

One of the first studies on educational neurotechnology garnering public attention, thanks to coverage by the Wall Street Journal, was conducted in an elementary school in China. Sensor bands (like EEG electrodes) measure the brain’s electrical activity. In this activity, different colored lights corresponded to the brain’s attention states. Using specialized software, the entire class’s results were displayed on a single screen, providing a new way to assess students’ attention levels during a lesson.

Types of Educational Neurotechnology

Depending on the educational context, different types of educational neurotechnology can be incorporated with non-invasive technology (Sinasi & Hasmatuchi, 2023):

1. Those based on information and communication technologies: Gamification enters here, stimulating learning and creativity (for example, Quizlet, Kahoot!, Wordwall, etc.).
2. Those with physical connections in individuals designed to decode mental states from brain signals and their modulation through neurostimulation. These involve tools connected to the brain to obtain neurofeedback, where the frequency spectrum of spontaneous neural oscillations is modified to help children learn to control their states of attention. For example, BrainCo’s Band measures brain real-time activity.

Thus, neurotechnologies are designed to develop or improve brain functions, such as attention, memory, and control of emotions and behaviors. Neuroplasticity or brain plasticity is significant because it is the brain’s ability to change and adapt, i.e., its flexibility in the face of changes (learning, environment, damage, etc.). In addition, it promotes the modification of neural connections throughout life. Therefore, neurostimulation promotes cognitive improvement, memory, attention, language, and decision-making, which benefit academic performance.

Challenges

Although neuroeducation and neurotechnology appear promising, much work remains to effectively implement their tools and knowledge. Among the challenges of this emerging field are:

• The ethical implications of data collection and security. This crucial work must be addressed and governed through neuroethics.
• The impacts of neurostimulation and neurofeedback, which continue to be studied, are still not fully known.
• The potential of neurotechnology to modify neural processes.
• How teachers will be trained for effective, goal-centered implementation in the classroom.
• The high cost of its implementation, which must consider equipment and the costs of accessibility.

Neuroscience is fascinating and challenging because the human mind is a complex world of actions and reactions to environmental stimuli. For this reason, education within neuroscience and neurotechnology deserves further research and development so future findings support positive and safe progress.

Translated by Daniel Wetta

Melissa Guerra

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This article from Observatory of the Institute for the Future of Education may be shared under the terms of the license CC BY-NC-SA 4.0