A type of bacteria found in the environment may help students while cramming for their next test. New research shows it could help you learn.
"Myobacterium vaccae is a natural soil bacterium which people likely ingest or breathe in when they spend time in nature," Dorothy Matthews of the Sage Colleges in Troy, New York, who conducted the research with Colleague Susan Jenks, was quoted as saying.
Previous studies of M. vaccae shows when the bacteria is injected in mice, they grew some neurons in their brain that increased serotonin levels, which plays a key role in the learning process, and decreased anxiety.
Researchers fed live bacteria to mice and assessed their ability to navigate through a maze. The mice who were fed the bacteria navigated two-times faster and with less demonstrated anxiety than the controlled mice.
Matthews and Jenks conducted two follow-up experiments in where the bacteria were removed from the diet and the mice were retested. On average, the mice who had taken the bacteria ran faster, but by the final experiment there was no significant difference, suggesting the effect of M. vaccae is temporary.
"This research suggests the M. vaccae may play a role in anxiety and learning in mammals," Matthews explained. "It is interesting to speculate that creating learning environments in schools that include time in the outdoors where M. vaccae is present may decrease anxiety and improve the ability to learn new tasks."
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