TY - JOUR
T1 - Experience-dependent plasticity of white-matter microstructure extends into old age
AU - Lövdén, Martin
AU - Bodammer, Nils Christian
AU - Kühn, Simone
AU - Kaufmann, Jörn
AU - Schütze, Hartmut
AU - Tempelmann, Claus
AU - Heinze, Hans-Jochen
AU - Düzel, Emrah
AU - Schmiedek, Florian
AU - Lindenberger, Ulman
PY - 2010
Y1 - 2010
N2 - 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.
AB - 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.
U2 - 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2010.08.026
DO - 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2010.08.026
M3 - Article
C2 - 20816877
SN - 1873-3514
VL - 48
SP - 3878
EP - 3883
JO - Neuropsychologia
JF - Neuropsychologia
ER -