The 'learning window' of languages ​​and music has been expanded using a single brain chemical

The study found by reducing the brain's supply of the nervous system adenosine broadens the ability to distinguish between tones.

If you want your child to master foreign languages, or become a musical pianist, the advice has always been to start as early as possible. There is a sound scientific reason for this: children have a greater ability to learn auditory than adults. But now, in news that will delight parents everywhere, researchers have been able to extend this "learning window" into early adulthood, albeit only in mice so far.

In the study, published in the journal Science, researchers used several different techniques to either reduce the brain's supply of adenosine to nerves, or block the A1 receptor that is vital to its function. Adenosine inhibits the release of the neurotransmitter glutamate, which is used by the auditory thalamus and auditory cortex, areas of the brain that process sound. With adenosine production and suppressed activity, the auditory thalamus and cortex had more glutamate to work with. As a result, adult mice with lower levels of adenosine showed a greater ability to distinguish between tones than adult mice in the control group.

"These findings offer a promising strategy for extending the same window in humans to gain the ability to language or music ... possibly by developing drugs that selectively block adenosine activity."