Animal neuroscience studies show spaced stimulation produces greater long-term potentiation than massed stimulation¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · design r3 · q2
Currency · newest study 2017 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q2 i? Rat hippocampal stimulation studies found roughly twice the electrical activity after spaced stimulation with ten-minute spaces compared with massed stimulation, indicating enhanced long-term potentiation. → O'Hare et al. 2017

Evidence¶

O'Hare et al. 2017¶

Dr Liam O'Hare, Dr Patrick Stark, Professor Carol McGuinness, Dr Andy Biggart, Professor Allen Thurston. (2017). Spaced Learning: The Design, Feasibility and Optimisation of SMART Spaces — Evaluation report and executive summary. Education Endowment Foundation. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED581430

q2 · i? · design · r3

Review of animal neuroscience evidence reported in the background section: the report attributes to Fields (2009) the finding that spaced stimulation of rat hippocampal synapses produced twice the voltage of electrical activity versus massed stimulation, with CREB and zif268 present after spaced stimulation.

"Fields found that the rat synapses produced twice the voltage of electrical activity after being stimulated in three bursts with ten-minute spaces than when they were stimulated in a massed pattern."

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

• Combining ten-minute and 24-hour spaces was the most promising SMART Spaces variant in a small pilot RCT — related
• Distributed (spaced) learning is reported to work best compared with massed study in one long session — a broader claim this one bears on
• Distributed practice aids digit memorization, but massed practice is preferred for new and short mazes, indicating a boundary condition on the spacing effect — related