London: Finding it hard to learn a foreign language? Fret not, for scientists claim that the human brain can pick up a new word in less than 15 minutes - all you need to do is listen to it 160 times over that period.
And, after that the brain will have formed a whole new network of neurons specifically tasked with remembering that word. In fact, the process happens far quicker than previously thought, say the British scientists.
They have made the discovery after placing electrodes on the heads of 16 healthy volunteers to monitor their brain activity, 'The Daily Telegraph' reported.
First they recorded the pulses generated when they listened to a familiar word. Then the volunteers were made to listen to a made-up word, over and over again.
Initially the brain had to work hard to recognise the new word. But after 160 repetitions over 14 minutes, the new memory traces were "virtually indistinguishable" from those of the already familiar word, lead scientist Yury Shtyrov said.
"What this suggests is that practising language is important. Every little helps. Just perception - listening - is helpful. Our volunteers didn't repeat the words," he was quoted as saying.
Getting them to repeat the words would probably extend the new neural networks" to the part of the brain tasked with speech, Shtyrov said.
However, the scientists at Medical Research Council's Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit have developed the approach, called constraint-induced aphasia therapy not to help tourists learn French, but to help stroke patients regain their speech.
He said: "This research suggests that faster rehabilitation may be possible if treatments for people with brain damage, such as stroke patients, target the brain's ability to rapidly create these memory traces."
The findings have been published in the 'Journal of Neuroscience'.
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