Structural brain plasticity in adult learning and development

Lövdén, Martin; Wenger, Elisabeth; Mårtensson, Johan; Lindenberger, Ulman; Bäckman, Lars

doi:10.1016/j.neubiorev.2013.02.014

Cited by 301 publications

(178 citation statements)

References 154 publications

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“…The magnitude and consequences of this confound merit further study. On a more general level, the present results contribute to the growing knowledge about short-term structural brain plasticity in the human brain (Lövdén et al, 2013).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 56%

Hippocampal volume and functional connectivity changes during the female menstrual cycle

et al. 2015

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Hippocampal volume has been shown to be sensitive to variations in estrogen and progesterone levels across rodents' estrous cycle. However, little is known about the covariation of hormone levels and brain structure in the course of the human menstrual cycle. Here, we examine this covariation with a multi-method approach that includes several brain imaging methods and hormonal assessments. We acquired structural and functional scans from 21 naturally cycling women on four time points during their cycles (early follicular phase, late follicular phase, ovulation and luteal phase). Hormone blood concentrations and cognitive performance in different domains were assessed on each of the measurement occasions. Structural MRI images were processed by means of whole-brain voxel-based morphometry and FreeSurfer. With either method, bilateral increases in hippocampal volume were found in the late follicular phase relative to the early follicular phase. The gray matter probability in regions of hippocampal volume increase was associated with lower mean diffusivity in the same region. In addition, we observed higher functional connectivity between the hippocampi and the bilateral superior parietal lobe in the late follicular phase. We did not find any reliable cycle-related performance variations on the cognitive tasks. The present results show that hormonal fluctuations covary with hippocampal structure and function in the course of the human menstrual cycle.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 56%

Hippocampal volume and functional connectivity changes during the female menstrual cycle

et al. 2015

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“…For this purpose, we used a task in which participants Allocentric strategies have been demonstrated to depend on the hippocampus. 12,31,32 In a functional neuroimaging study, participants using an allocentric strategy showed stronger activation in parahippocampal regions, the hippocampus, thalamus and the cerebellum. 13,14,33 It has been assumed that initially egocentric imagery decays rapidly as more stable allocentric representations are encoded.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The first study of this kind has reported changes in voxel-based morphometry (VBM) before and after 3 months of juggling training. 11 Others have focused on the effects of various interventions such as aerobic fitness, studying for exams, mnemonic and language training (for an overview see Lö vden et al 12 ). We theorized that a video game with a prominent navigation component, that is, the necessity to orient in a three-dimensional environment, and with orientation and strategic demands would have measurable plasticity effects on brain regions associated with these cognitive processes, namely the HC and the prefrontal cortex.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Playing Super Mario induces structural brain plasticity: gray matter changes resulting from training with a commercial video game

et al. 2013

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Video gaming is a highly pervasive activity, providing a multitude of complex cognitive and motor demands. Gaming can be seen as an intense training of several skills. Associated cerebral structural plasticity induced has not been investigated so far. Comparing a control with a video gaming training group that was trained for 2 months for at least 30 min per day with a platformer game, we found significant gray matter (GM) increase in right hippocampal formation (HC), right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) and bilateral cerebellum in the training group. The HC increase correlated with changes from egocentric to allocentric navigation strategy. GM increases in HC and DLPFC correlated with participants' desire for video gaming, evidence suggesting a predictive role of desire in volume change. Video game training augments GM in brain areas crucial for spatial navigation, strategic planning, working memory and motor performance going along with evidence for behavioral changes of navigation strategy. The presented video game training could therefore be used to counteract known risk factors for mental disease such as smaller hippocampus and prefrontal cortex volume in, for example, post-traumatic stress disorder, schizophrenia and neurodegenerative disease.

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“…Additional studies now suggest adult FA increases following balance training (Taubert et al, 2010), working memory training in aging participants (Lövdén et al, 2010;Engvig et al, 2011), and meditation training (Tang et al, 2010). A number of reviews and critiques of both the gray matter and white matter changes resulting from relatively long-term, intensive learning or training regimens in adults have recently appeared (Zatorre et al, 2012;Lövdén et al, 2013).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%