News From the Field

Flexing the brain: Why learning tasks can be difficult


August 27, 2014

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Learning a new skill is easier when it is related to an ability we already have. For example, a trained pianist can learn a new melody easier than learning how to hit a tennis serve. Scientists at the Center for the Neural Basis of Cognition--a joint program between Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Pittsburgh--have discovered a fundamental constraint in the brain that may explain why this happens.Full Story

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Carnegie Mellon University

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