---
title: "No Pain, Some Gain: Researcher Examines Shortcuts to Practice"
date: 2023-04-13T05:30:00-04:00
author: University of Maryland
canonical_url: "https://today.umd.edu/no-pain-some-gain-researcher-examines-shortcuts-to-practice"
section: Articles
---
# No Pain, Some Gain: Researcher Examines Shortcuts to Practice

*April 13, 2023* — by [Nathaniel Underland](/author/nathaniel-underland)


> $2.3M NIH Award Supports Study of Neural Basis of Auditory Expertise

*I Stock 486416124 1920x1080 — Tuning an instrument effectively takes plenty of practice to hear minute tonal differences. New UMD research based on brain scans (below) is trying to isolate the non-sensory brain pathways related to gaining auditory expertise—potentially offering shortcuts to learning to effectively use hearing-assistive technology, learn foreign languages and more.*

The painter’s keen eye, the chef’s refined palate and the musician’s tuned ear are all forms of sensory expertise honed through training. The skill of discriminating between the extremely similar—for example, tiny tonal differences when tuning a violin—arises from a kind of training called perceptual learning, in which one develops the capacity to sense with greater precision.

But is it possible to gain the effects of training without years of practice?


*brain scan image*




**Topics:** [Research](https://today.umd.edu/tags/research)


**Tags:** [Biology](https://today.umd.edu/topic/biology), [Brain and Behavior](https://today.umd.edu/topic/brain-and-behavior), [Research](https://today.umd.edu/topic/research)


**Units:** [Brain & Behavior Institute](https://today.umd.edu/topic/brain-behavior-institute), [College of Computer, Mathematical, and Natural Sciences](https://today.umd.edu/topic/college-computer-mathematical-and-natural-sciences)