It’s time to whip up a batch of cinnamon toast, because a new study from the Rush University Medical Center in the US has found that the spice could boost our ability to learn.
Quite simply, a group of test mice identified as being ‘poor learners’ experienced increased learning abilities after eating cinnamon.
As lead researcher Kalipada Pahan said, “This would be one of the safest and the easiest approaches to convert poor learners to good learners.”
Why does cinnamon spice up learning?
What makes someone a ‘poor learner’? It’s something that has had scientists stumped. But the crux of the problem lies in the hippocampus – the part of the brain responsible for memory.
Interestingly, people identified as being ‘poor learners’ have less amounts of CREB, a memory-associated protein. They also had more of the protein GABRA5, compared to ‘good’ learners.
Researchers found that when the mice ate cinnamon, their bodies turned it into the chemical sodium benzoate – the same chemical used to treat brain damage. When the chemical reached the brain, CREB was increased while GABRA5 was decreased. And, even more fascinating, hippocampal neurons experienced heightened plasticity (or the ability to change).
As a result, the mice became better learners in a series of maze experiments. In fact, their learning ability matched that of the ‘good’ learners.
As Pahan said, “We have successfully used cinnamon to reverse biochemical, cellular and anatomical changes that occur in the brains of mice with poor learning.”
So where to from here?
Pahan explained that more research is now needed to replicate the experiments in students. It may just be the key to unlocking improvements in education and closing the gap between good and poor learners.
