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- Vol 4 RE: Chapter 3
neuroplasticitygrey-matter changeskill acquisitionvisual motion processingadult cortical plasticitytraining effectspractice discontinuationJournal article Evidence summaryAt a glance
Draganski and colleagues provide longitudinal evidence that learning a new skill can coincide with detectable structural change in the adult human brain. Adults who could not juggle were scanned before training, after learning a three-ball cascade, and again after a period without practice; non-training controls were scanned at comparable times.
Key ideas
Learners showed transient increases in grey-matter measures in bilateral regions associated with processing complex visual motion. The changes emerged after training and diminished after practice stopped, while controls did not show the same pattern. The study challenged the view that adult cortical plasticity is only functional by demonstrating macroscopic anatomical differences associated with experience. Its small sample, brief report, imaging method, and observational link between task learning and tissue measures limit mechanistic conclusions: the scans do not reveal a simple “growth” of knowledge or identify specific cellular changes.
Why it matters
Educationally, it supports lifelong plasticity but not claims that any short exercise broadly enlarges or upgrades the brain.
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Edition abbreviations
- TE
- Teacher Edition
- PE
- Practice Edition
- RE
- Research Edition
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