Authors
Martin Lövdén, Nils Christian Bodammer, Simone Kühn, Jörn Kaufmann, Hartmut Schütze, Claus Tempelmann, Hans-Jochen Heinze, Emrah Düzel, Florian Schmiedek, Ulman Lindenberger
Publication date
2010/11/1
Journal
Neuropsychologia
Volume
48
Issue
13
Pages
3878-3883
Publisher
Pergamon
Description
Experience-dependent alterations in the human brain's white-matter microstructure occur in early adulthood, but it is unknown whether such plasticity extends throughout life. We used cognitive training, diffusion-tensor imaging (DTI), and structural MRI to investigate plasticity of the white-matter tracts that connect the left and right hemisphere of the frontal lobes. Over a period of about 180 days, 20 younger adults and 12 older adults trained for a total of one hundred and one 1-h sessions on a set of three working memory, three episodic memory, and six perceptual speed tasks. Control groups were assessed at pre- and post-test. Training affected several DTI metrics and increased the area of the anterior part of the corpus callosum. These alterations were of similar magnitude in younger and older adults. The findings indicate that experience-dependent plasticity of white-matter microstructure extends into old age and …
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