We all know that learning a language is much easier when we are younger. Learning two languages (one would be your native one) means it will be much easier to learn a third or even a fourth (regardless if they are or are not related to one another).
Likewise, memorization and speed reading are other similar skills best learned early in our development. (These – and languages- were the skill sets I mastered early.)
As we age, the ability to master these skill sets drops dramatically. It almost seems as if we have to forgo one set of skills to acquire another. As such, it has been the goal of many of us to find ways to not have these skill sets diminish with age.
It’s one of the reasons that there has been much abuse of Adderall. This psychostimulant affords the abuser to have bursts of intense focus- which is why those with ADHD (attention deficit- hyperactive disorder) take the drug in the first place.
Another drug is being tested to see if we can augment our musical abilities. As opposed to language, memorization, and speed reading which are more easily learned at early ages, but can still be learned (with more difficulty) as we age, that is not the case with our ability to discern absolute pitch. If we learn such skills before six, it’s a skill that stays with us for life. (This is not something I have learned myself.) Only about 1/100 % of us have mastered this skill (and even that is only 70+% accuracy for the bulk of this small segment of the population), according to Takeuchi and Hulse.
This is why Drs. J. Gervain (CNRS, Paris), B. Vines (U of British Columbia), L. Chen (U of Maryland), R. Sea (U of Queensland), T. Hensch (Harvard), J. Werker (UBC), and A. Young (Kings College) have been testing the effect of valproate on our ability to discern pitch. Valproate is normally employed to treat epilepsy and bipolar disorder, by affecting the neuroplasticity of our brains. It seems that valproate opens up new “critical periods” of learning in our aging brains.
In their study involving 24 adults, Valproate reopens critical-period learning of absolute pitch, low dosages (which are considered safe) of valproate were administered to the subjects. After 15 days, videos to instruct them in musical pitch were employed and they were then asked to identify the pitch of various notes. This test was repeated two weeks later- after the drug has dissipated from their bodies. For this stage, those receiving placebos received the drug and those who received the drugs were administered placebos.
Those who were dosed with the valproate scored much better than chance would afford, while those provided the placebo matched the results one would suspect by chance- for the first test period only. In the second test series (the “crossover”), both groups scored at the chance levels- but those who received the drug first (i.e., were in the placebo group this time) still performed slightly better than the others.
As far as I am concerned, this means there may be promise- but no real conclusions that can be drawn from this study. Moreover, we do not know what affect taking this drug may have on the brain long-term or what microscopic changes may occur, since the drug has only be used for those with clinically required situations.
I can recall when I was prescribed (by two different physicians for two different off-label uses) neurontin. It let me ‘know’ what I was thinking before I said it (I actually heard the words in my mind before I expressed them)…and, I didn’t like it one bit.
But, I also know folks who have more money than sense will take anything to make themselves “smarter”- like the “Adderall syndrome”. Hopefully, they will wait until we know enough about neuroplasticity to put drugs like this to (improper?) use.
