Behavioral / Systems / Cognitive Training-Induced Neural Plasticity in Golf Novices

Previous neuroimaging studies in the field of motor learning have shown that learning a new skill induces specific changes of neural gray and white matter in human brain areas necessary to control the practiced task. Former longitudinal studies investigating motor skill learning have used strict training protocols with little ecological validity rather than physical leisure activities, although there are several retrospective and cross-sectional studies suggesting neuroprotective effects of physical leisure activities. In the present longitudinal MRI study, we used voxel-based morphometry to investigate training-induced gray matter changes in golf novices between the age of 40 and 60 years, an age period when an active life style is assumed to counteract cognitive decline. As a main result, we demonstrate that 40 h of golf practice, performed as a leisure activity with highly individual training protocols, are associated with gray matter increases in a task-relevant cortical network encompassing sensorimotor regions and areas belonging to the dorsal stream.Anew and striking result is the relationship between training intensity (time needed to complete the 40 training hours) and structural changes observed in the parieto-occipital junction. Thus, we demonstrate that a physical leisure activity induces training-dependent changes in gray matter and assume that a strict and controlled training protocol is not mandatory for traininginduced adaptations of gray matter. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.1996-11.2011 Posted at the Zurich Open Repository and Archive, University of Zurich ZORA URL: https://doi.org/10.5167/uzh-51392 Published Version Originally published at: Bezzola, Ladina; Merillat, S; Gaser, C; Jäncke, Lutz (2011). Training-induced neural plasticity in golf novices. Journal of Neuroscience, 31(35):12444-12448. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.1996-11.2011 Behavioral/Systems/Cognitive Training-Induced Neural Plasticity in Golf Novices Ladina Bezzola,1,2 Susan Mérillat,2 Christian Gaser,3,4 and Lutz Jäncke1,2 1Institute of Psychology, Division Neuropsychology and 2International Normal Aging and Plasticity Imaging Center, University of Zurich, CH-8050 Zurich, Switzerland, and 3Department of Psychiatry and 4Department of Neurology, University of Jena, D-07737 Jena, Germany Previous neuroimaging studies in the field of motor learning have shown that learning a new skill induces specific changes of neural gray and white matter in human brain areas necessary to control the practiced task. Former longitudinal studies investigating motor skill learning have used strict training protocols with little ecological validity rather than physical leisure activities, although there are several retrospective and cross-sectional studies suggesting neuroprotective effects of physical leisure activities. In the present longitudinal MRI study, we used voxel-based morphometry to investigate training-induced gray matter changes in golf novices between the age of 40 and 60 years, an age period when an active life style is assumed to counteract cognitive decline. As a main result, we demonstrate that 40 h of golf practice, performed as a leisure activity with highly individual training protocols, are associated with gray matter increases in a task-relevant cortical network encompassing sensorimotor regions and areas belonging to the dorsal stream. A new and striking result is the relationship between training intensity (time needed to complete the 40 training hours) and structural changes observed in the parieto-occipital junction. Thus, we demonstrate that a physical leisure activity induces training-dependent changes in gray matter and assume that a strict and controlled training protocol is not mandatory for training-induced adaptations of gray matter.