Linking genetics to the brain’s plasticity for flexible learning

Summary

It is well known that practice makes perfect. Dedicating time and effort to practice challenging tasks improves our skills and our ability to solve new problems in new settings. But why are individuals different in their learning ability?

Here, we propose to test how genetic factors known to influence our ability to learn and memorise relate to the brain’s ability to alter the way it is organised and processes information from the environment in response to training and experience. We ask whether these interactions between genetics and the brain’s ability for plasticity (the ability of the brain to re-organise in response to our experiences across the lifespan) allow us to flexibly learn new skills and interact successfully in novel situations and complex environments.  

Organisation: This Cognitive Neuroscience research is organised by Professor Zoe Kourtzi and the Department of Psychology at the University of Cambridge

Participation: 100 volunteers will be taking part in online Cognitive tests and an MRI scan at the Wolfson Brain Imaging Centre in Cambridge.