Dutch scientists have found that the activity of the anatomical structure of the brain, the striatum, participating in the learning process increases in adolescence and correlates with high learning outcomes.

The results of the work published in the journal Nature Communications, can indicate the effectiveness of training in adolescence.

The striatum, the bilateral structure of the terminal brain, participates in the work of the dopaminergic (neural pathways responsible for the production of dopamine) pathways. In addition to the functioning of the motor functions of the human body, this anatomical structure also participates in the work of the brain reward system. The activity of the ventral part of the striatum (also known as the contiguous core) in response to monetary reward, studies show, is higher in adolescents than in children and adults.

Another, dorsolateral part of the striatum plays an important role in the learning process; nevertheless, it is still unknown how the activity of this region varies with age and how it affects the learning process. The authors of the new work, Sabine Peters and Eveline Crone of the University of Leiden, conducted a long-term fMRI study. The study involved 232 people aged (at the beginning) from 8 to 25 years without neurological diseases. During the experiment, participants were shown images of objects, each of which had to be assigned to one of the three cells by pressing the buttons. After that, the computer gave the participant the answer: the object is referred to the correct cell or not. With the help of this, participants learned the relationship between a particular object and its corresponding cell.

Scientists followed the activity of the striped body in the learning process and its connection with the effectiveness of the tasks. They found that the best results in the learning process (up to 97 percent accuracy) were shown by people aged 16 to 20 years - and then such efficiency was on the decline. At the same time, the activity of the striped body also correlated (p Keywords:.