Inducing Brain Growth by Pure Thought: Can Learning and Practice Change the Structure of the Cortex?

摘要

In this issue of the American Journal of Neuroradiology (AJNR), the cortical gray matter attenuation in the inferior frontal and parietal regions of mathematicians is found to be increased compared with that of control subjects (Aydin et al). Cortical attenuation also correlates with time spent as an academician, suggesting that this is experience-dependent structural plasticity. The surprising discovery that the brain can actually change its shape within weeks in response to certain mental and physical stimuli differs from the traditional concept that brain morphology must remain unchanged, except as a result of neurologic disorders. Although it was previously known that plasticity leads to functional changes and new connections at the microscopic level, it was not until recently that stimuli-induced macroscopic changes in the brain were observed. A new and powerful technique, voxel-based morphometry, has now made it possible to evaluate changes in brain morphology in vivo and to correlate these changes with experience-related effects and brain function.