Juggling enhances connections in the brain

The research, funded by the Wellcome Trust and Medical Research Council and published , appears to show improved connectivity in parts of the brain involved in making movements necessary to catch the balls. 'We tend to think of the brain as being static, or even beginning to degenerate, once we reach adulthood,' says Dr Heidi Johansen-Berg of the Department of Clinical Neurology, University of Oxford, who led the work. 'In fact we find the structure of the brain is ripe for change. We've shown that it is possible for the brain to condition its own wiring system to operate more efficiently.' The researchers at the Oxford Centre for Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging of the Brain (FMRIB) set out to see if changes in the white matter of the brain could be seen in healthy adults on learning a new task or skill. White matter consists of the bundles of long nerve fibres that conduct electrical signals between nerve cells and connect different parts of the brain together, while the grey matter consists of the nerve cell bodies where the processing and computation in the brain is done. Changes in grey matter following new experiences and learning have been shown. But enhancements in white matter have not previously been demonstrated.