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Experience-dependent plasticity of white-matter microstructure extends into old age

Lövdén, Martin LU ; Bodammer, Nils Christian ; Kühn, Simone ; Kaufmann, Jörn ; Schütze, Hartmut ; Tempelmann, Claus ; Heinze, Hans-Jochen ; Düzel, Emrah ; Schmiedek, Florian and Lindenberger, Ulman (2010) In Neuropsychologia 48. p.3878-3883
Abstract
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.... (More)
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 that disruptions of structural interhemispheric connectivity in old age, which are pronounced in aging, are modifiable by experience and amenable to treatment. (Less)
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; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
in
Neuropsychologia
volume
48
pages
3878 - 3883
publisher
Elsevier
external identifiers
  • wos:000285036600019
  • scopus:78149407234
  • pmid:20816877
ISSN
1873-3514
DOI
10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2010.08.026
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
99d6557b-c4d2-4eff-ac3b-fd92bfc68a5e (old id 1688538)
date added to LUP
2016-04-01 11:12:00
date last changed
2022-02-03 00:32:31
@article{99d6557b-c4d2-4eff-ac3b-fd92bfc68a5e,
  abstract     = {{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 that disruptions of structural interhemispheric connectivity in old age, which are pronounced in aging, are modifiable by experience and amenable to treatment.}},
  author       = {{Lövdén, Martin and Bodammer, Nils Christian and Kühn, Simone and Kaufmann, Jörn and Schütze, Hartmut and Tempelmann, Claus and Heinze, Hans-Jochen and Düzel, Emrah and Schmiedek, Florian and Lindenberger, Ulman}},
  issn         = {{1873-3514}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  pages        = {{3878--3883}},
  publisher    = {{Elsevier}},
  series       = {{Neuropsychologia}},
  title        = {{Experience-dependent plasticity of white-matter microstructure extends into old age}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2010.08.026}},
  doi          = {{10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2010.08.026}},
  volume       = {{48}},
  year         = {{2010}},
}