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Neuroplasticity
Changes in grey matter induced by training
Naturevolume 427, pages311–312 (2004)Cite this article
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Newly honed juggling skills show up as a transient feature on a brain-imaging scan.
Abstract
Does the structure of an adult human brain alter in response to environmental demands1,2? Here we use whole-brain magnetic-resonance imaging to visualize learning-induced plasticity in the brains of volunteers who have learned to juggle. We find that these individuals show a transient and selective structural change in brain areas that are associated with the processing and storage of complex visual motion. This discovery of a stimulus-dependent alteration in the brain's macroscopic structure contradicts the traditionally held view that cortical plasticity is associated with functional rather than anatomical changes.
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Authors and Affiliations
Department of Neurology, University of Regensburg, Regensburg, 93053, Germany
Bogdan Draganski, Volker Busch, Ulrich Bogdahn & Arne May
Department of Psychiatry, University of Jena, Jena, 07740, Germany
Christian Gaser
Institute of Neuroradiology, University of Regensburg, Regensburg, 93053, Germany
Gerhard Schuierer
- Bogdan Draganski
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- Christian Gaser
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- Volker Busch
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- Gerhard Schuierer
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- Ulrich Bogdahn
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- Arne May
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Correspondence toArne May.
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Draganski, B., Gaser, C., Busch, V.et al. Changes in grey matter induced by training.Nature427, 311–312 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1038/427311a
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