Blanchette Sarrasin, Jérémie; Riopel, Martin; Allaire-Duquette, Geneviève; McMullin, Sophie; Bélanger, Élisabeth; Brault Foisy, Lorie-Marlène et Masson, Steve
(2025).
« Effects of teaching neuroplasticity on motivation, inhibitory control and
task performance, and the role of mindset theory ».
Trends in Neuroscience and Education.
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Résumé
Background: Frequent and persistent errors resist teaching, partly due to difficulties in mobilizing inhibitory
control. A promising strategy to address this challenge involves teaching students about neuroplasticity. Such
instruction may indeed foster motivational beliefs (often referred to as growth mindset), which in turn could
positively influence the mobilization of inhibitory control. This study investigated the effects of a neuroplasticity-
based intervention on motivation (including constructs from mindset theory), inhibitory control and task
performance.
Method: The final sample included 44 10–12 y/o students recruited from French-speaking elementary schools in
the Montreal area (Qu´ ebec, Canada), primarily through an online advertisement posted on social media. They
were assigned to either the experimental group (neuroplasticity intervention) or the control group. They
completed a motivational questionnaire at both pretest and posttest and performed a fraction comparison task
while undergoing fMRI scanning.
Results: Results indicated that students who learned about neuroplasticity demonstrated significant improvements
in motivation and greater activation of the ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (VLPFC), a brain region associated
with inhibitory control. However, task performance did not significantly differ between groups. Notably,
the change in perceived competence was the only motivational variable significantly associated with brain activity
related to inhibitory control.
Conclusions: These findings suggest that teaching neuroplasticity can both foster motivation and neural
engagement, with perceived competence emerging as a central variable in this relationship. While the intervention
did not produce direct effects on academic performance, it remains a promising cost-effective strategy to
support students with inhibitory control difficulties and offers valuable insights for future educational
interventions.
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