| Neuroplasticity: |
| How the brain can change |
| Scientists used to believe that the adult brain was a fixed organ; past a certain stage, it was thought, your cognitive abilities could no more change than your eye color or your height. But since the early twentieth century, that concept has been contested by new evidence suggesting that the brain is actually malleable and plastic. |
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| According to the theory of neuroplasticity, the brain is constantly changing in response to experiences. New behaviors, new learnings, environmental changes, and physical injuries may all cause to brain to grow new neural pathways or reorganize existing ones. These changes can fundamentally alter how information is processed. |
| Mapping changes in taxi drivers’ brains |
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| Let's look at one of the most dramatic examples of neuroplasticity, which comes from a 2000 study on London taxi drivers (Maguire et al., 2000). In order to earn a license, these professionals spend about two years learning to navigate the city's twisting streets. What mark, researchers wondered, did this long training period leave on taxi drivers' brains? |
| Quite a bit, as it turned out. fMRI scans showed that 16 male taxi drivers had larger hippocampuses than a control group of 50 healthy males. And the longer the time spent as a taxi driver, the larger the hippocampus tended to be. As a brain area involved in memory and navigation, the hippocampus seemed to have changed in response to the taxi drivers' experiences. |
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| The expanding field of cognitive training |
| Most neuroplasticity-related changes are more subtle than those found in London taxi drivers. But these extreme cases have inspired scientists to pursue a new branch of research called cognitive training. Instead of waiting to see how the brain might respond to random situations, could people harness that capacity for change and target specific improvements? |
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| In 2013 alone, 30 cognitive training studies were registered on the government database ClinicalTrials.gov. And Lumosity scientists — with the help of outside collaborators — contribute to this research effort. 9 peer reviewed studies have been published using Lumosity as a cognitive training tool for diverse populations, including healthy adults, cancer survivors, elderly people, and children with a genetic disorder. |
| Starting your own brain journey |
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| Now that you've learned a little bit about the foundations of cognitive training, why not begin your own brain training journey? Become a Premium Member to start your Personalized Training Program, and enjoy 40+ games and tracking tools. |
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| References |
| Maguire, E. A., Gadian, D. G., Johnsrude, I. S., Good, C. D., Ashburner, J., Frackowiak, R. S. J., & Frith, C. D. (2000). Navigation-related structural change in the hippocampi of taxi drivers. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 97(8), 4398-4403. |
