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Now, a team of neuroscientists from the University of Regensburg in Germany and Brown University in the US may have discovered what makes young brains so efficient.

It’s all down to a brain chemical known as GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid) which surges in children during and after learning, turning their young brains into ‘uber-sponges’.

“It’s often assumed that children learn more efficiently than adults, although the scientific support for this assumption has, at best, been weak,” says study co-author Takeo Watanabe, a cognitive psychologist from Brown University.

Searching for the brain mechanisms involved, the team used an advanced neuroimaging technique called functional MRS (fMRS) to indirectly measure concentrations of GABA in the visual cortex of kids during a visual learning activity to see how it differed from adults.

Measurements were taken in 55 children aged 8 to 11 years and 56 adults aged between 18 and 35 years of age, covering three different periods: before the visual learning task began, during the learning process, and after the activity had ended.

The results showed that GABA levels in adults remain consistent over the whole experiment. Meanwhile, the GABA levels in children were much more adventurous.

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You have made known to me the paths of life; You will make me full of gladness with your presence. - Acts 2:28