Guest guest Posted October 2, 2008 Report Share Posted October 2, 2008 The Journal of Neuroscience, July 9, 2008 • 28(28):7031–7035 • 7031 Development/Plasticity/Repair Training-Induced Brain Structure Changes in the Elderly Janina Boyke,1 Joenna Driemeyer,1 Christian Gaser,2 Christian Bu¨ chel,1 and Arne May1 It has been suggested that learning is associated with a transient and highly selective increase in brain gray matter in healthy young volunteers. It is not clear whether and to what extent the aging brain is still able to exhibit such structural plasticity. We built on our original study, now focusing on healthy senior citizens. We observed that elderly persons were able to learn three-ball cascade juggling, but with less proficiency compared with 20-year-old adolescents. Similar to the young group, gray-matter changes in the older brain related to skill acquisition were observed in area hMT/V5 (middle temporal area of the visual cortex). In addition, elderly volunteers who learned to juggle showed transient increases in gray matter in the hippocampus on the left side and in the nucleus accumbens bilaterally. / " Given that cortical plasticity of the human brain is, not only on a functional but also on a structural level, preserved even in later years, our data support conclusions about the potential value of exercise for elderly people (Elward and Larson, 1992; Mahncke et al., 2006). A brain-plasticity-based training program would potentially promise an improvement of the operational capabilities of aging adults (Mahncke et al., 2006; Mora et al.2007). As people age, they should not do less, but do more to keep and maintain their abilities. " / Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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