Practice makes a person almost perfect, science confirms

According to a new study led by UCLA Health, published in the journal Nature and co-led by Rockefeller University, a person's performance becomes more accurate and automatic following repetitive practice.

The research sought to unravel how the brain's ability to retain and process information, known as working memory, improves through training. 

What did the study find?

The study found that once someone was repeatedly practicing the task, the memory patterns began to solidify or "crystalise", according to the corresponding author and UCLA Health neurologist Dr. Peyman Golshani. 

"If one imagines that each neuron in the brain is sounding a different note, the melody that the brain is generating when it is doing the task was changing from day to day, but then became more and more refined and similar as animals kept practicing the task," Golshani said in a statement.

These changes give insights into why performance becomes more precise and automatic following repetitive practice.

"This insight not only advances our understanding of learning and memory but also has implications for addressing memory-related disorders," Golshani said.

The work was performed by Dr Arash Bellafard, project scientist at UCLA in close collaboration with Dr Alipasha Vaziri's group at Rockefeller University.

(With inputs from agencies)