Experience-Dependent Plasticity of Cerebellar Vermis in Basketball Players

Progressive increase of brain gray matter volume in individuals with regular soccer training

The study aimed to investigate alterations in gray matter volume in individuals undergoing regular soccer training, using high-resolution structural data, while also examining the temporal precedence of such structural alterations. Both voxel-based morphometry and source-based morphometry (SBM) methods were employed to analyze volumetric changes in gray matter between the soccer and control groups. Additionally, a causal network of structural covariance (CaSCN) was built using granger causality analysis on brain structural data ordering by training duration. Significant increases in gray matter volume were observed in the cerebellum in the soccer group. Additionally, the results of the SBM analysis revealed significant increases in gray matter volume in the calcarine and thalamus of the soccer group. The analysis of CaSCN demonstrated that the thalamus had a prominent influence on other brain regions in the soccer group, while the calcarine served as a transitional node, and the cerebellum acted as a prominent node that could be easily influenced by other brain regions. In conclusion, our study identified widely affected regions with increased gray matter volume in individuals with regular soccer training. Furthermore, a temporal precedence relationship among these regions was observed.

Young basketball players have better manual dexterity performance than sportsmen and non-sportsmen of the same age: a cross-sectional study

Manual dexterity is a key skill in motor development. There are conflicting studies on the influence of sports practice on this skill and on which type of sport trains this ability the most in youth. Manual dexterity is usually assessed with expensive and time-consuming tools not easily available to facilities such as schools or sports clubs. The aim of this study was to assess differences in manual dexterity performance between young basketball players, sportsmen, and non-sportsmen. A further aim was to analyze whether the coin rotation task was a reliable tool for assessing manual dexterity. Based on the characteristics of the sport, we hypothesized that basketball players had better manual dexterity performances. Seventy-eight participants were included in the study and categorized into "basketball", "sports", and "non-sports" groups. Manual dexterity was assessed with the grooved pegboard, the coin rotation task, and the handgrip tests. The basketball group showed better performance in all tests. Significant differences were found between the basketball group and sports group and between the basketball group and non-sport group in the grooved pegboard (p < 0.05) and in the handgrip (p < 0.05) tests. Test-retest reliability of the coin rotation task scores was moderate in the basketball group (ICC2,1 0.63-0.6). Basketball practice could positively influence manual dexterity. The coin rotation task showed an acceptable construct of validity.

Is it for real? Structural differences between play and real fighting in adult chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes)

In primates, as well as in other mammals, play fighting (PF) is a complex form of playful activity that is structurally similar to real fighting (RF) and may also be used in a competitive way. Here, we verify the structural key differences that can distinguish PF from RF in adult chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes). We collected 962 h of video recording on 30 adult individuals belonging to four chimpanzee groups (Mona Chimpanzee Sanctuary, Spain; La Vallée des Singes and ZooParc de Beauval, France). We applied different indices-two of which were borrowed from the ecological measures of biodiversity-to test for structural differences between PF (345 sessions) and RF (461 sessions) in the levels of behavior repetition (Repeatability of Same Behavior Index, RSBI), distribution uniformity (Pielou Index, J), variability (Shannon Index, H') and, symmetry (i.e., reciprocal exchange of offensive/defensive behaviors; Asymmetry Index, AI). Moreover, we compared the session duration between PF and RF. We found that duration and RSBI were higher in PF than RF while AI was higher in RF than PF. No difference was found between J and H'. Interestingly, both females and males maintained similar ranking positions (determined via Normalized David's scores) in RF and PF. Our study indicates that session duration, behavior repetition, and symmetry can be distinctive structural key features of PF whereas dominance role-reversal, behavior variability, and distribution uniformity were not. PF in adult chimpanzees may have elements of serious contexts (e.g., absence of role-reversal as in RF) which is in line with the view that play is a blended, multifunctional behavior deriving from the re-combination of different behavioral systems. Our findings highlight the need to investigate play structure and manifestation in a nuanced way to better understand the actual motivation that underlies what appears to be play.

Enriched environment-induced neuroplasticity in ischemic stroke and its underlying mechanisms

Stroke is a common cerebrovascular disease that can interrupt local blood flow in the brain, causing neuronal damage or even death, resulting in varying degrees of neurological dysfunction. Neuroplasticity is an important neurological function that helps neurons reorganize and regain function after injury. After cerebral ischemia, neuroplasticity changes are critical factors for restoring brain function. An enriched environment promotes increased neuroplasticity, thereby aiding stroke recovery. In this review, we discuss the positive effects of the enriched environment on neuroplasticity after cerebral ischemia, including synaptic plasticity, neurogenesis, and angiogenesis. In addition, we also introduce some studies on the clinical application of enriched environments in the rehabilitation of post-stroke patients, hoping that they can provide some inspiration for doctors and therapists looking for new approaches to stroke rehabilitation.

Increased Cortical Activity in Novices Compared to Experts During Table Tennis: A Whole-Brain fNIRS Study Using Threshold-Free Cluster Enhancement Analysis

There is a growing interest to understand the neural underpinnings of high-level sports performance including expertise-related differences in sport-specific skills. Here, we aimed to investigate whether expertise level and task complexity modulate the cortical hemodynamics of table tennis players. 35 right-handed table tennis players (17 experts/18 novices) were recruited and performed two table tennis strokes (forehand and backhand) and a randomized combination of them. Cortical hemodynamics, as a proxy for cortical activity, were recorded using functional near-infrared spectroscopy, and the behavioral performance (i.e., target accuracy) was assessed via video recordings. Expertise- and task-related differences in cortical hemodynamics were analyzed using nonparametric threshold-free cluster enhancement. In all conditions, table tennis experts showed a higher target accuracy than novices. Furthermore, we observed expertise-related differences in widespread clusters compromising brain areas being associated with sensorimotor and multisensory integration. Novices exhibited, in general, higher activation in those areas as compared to experts. We also identified task-related differences in cortical activity including frontal, sensorimotor, and multisensory brain areas. The present findings provide empirical support for the neural efficiency hypothesis since table tennis experts as compared to novices utilized a lower amount of cortical resources to achieve superior behavioral performance. Furthermore, our findings suggest that the task complexity of different table tennis strokes is mirrored in distinct cortical activation patterns. Whether the latter findings can be useful to monitor or tailor sport-specific training interventions necessitates further investigations.

Coherent, time-shifted patterns of microstructural plasticity during motor-skill learning

Motor skill learning relies on neural plasticity in the motor and limbic systems. However, the spatial and temporal characteristics of these changes-and their microstructural underpinnings-remain unclear. Eighteen healthy males received 1 hour of training in a computer-based motion game, 4 times a week, for 4 consecutive weeks, while 14 untrained participants underwent scanning only. Performance improvements were observed in all trained participants. Serial myelin- and iron-sensitive multiparametric mapping at 3T during this period of intensive motor skill acquisition revealed temporally and spatially distributed, performance-related microstructural changes in the grey and white matter across a corticospinal-cerebellar-hippocampal circuit. Analysis of the trajectory of these transient changes suggested time-shifted cascades of plasticity from the dominant sensorimotor system to the contralateral hippocampus. In the cranial corticospinal tracts, changes in myelin-sensitive metrics during training in the posterior limb of the internal capsule were of greater magnitude in those who trained their upper limbs vs. lower limb trainees. Motor skill learning is associated with waves of grey and white matter plasticity, across a broad sensorimotor network.

The Navigation Ability Test (NAT 2.0): From Football Player Performance to Balance Rehabilitation in Chronic Unilateral Vestibular Loss

Aim of the Study: in humans, spatial orientation consists of the ability to move around the environment through memorized and pre-programmed movements, according to the afferent sensory information of the body and environmental analysis of the Central Nervous System (CNS). The purpose of this study is to analyze the abilities of professional athletes, such as footballers, to use mental navigation systems, cognitive maps, and memorized motor patterns in order to obtain better physical performance and to obtain useful information for training both non-sports subjects and vestibular patients for rehabilitation purposes. Materials and Methods: all the motor performances of sportsmen, healthy non-sporting subjects, or vestibular patients are based on the acquisition of visual–spatial and training information. In this study, we analyzed the visual–spatial performance of 60 trained sportsmen (professional footballers), 60 healthy non-sports subjects, and 48 patients affected by chronic unilateral vestibular loss by means of the Navigation Ability Test 2.0. A score based on the number of targets correctly reached in the various tests quantifies the degree of performance of the subjects. Results: NAT 2.0 scores progressively improve from vestibular subjects to healthy non-sporting subjects to footballers. NAT 2.0 scores improve in all three subject groups as the number of tasks performed in all patient groups increases, regardless of gender and age. Conclusions: the analysis of performance data through NAT 2.0 in athletes (footballers) opens new perspectives for rehabilitation purposes, regardless of age, sex, and training conditions, both in healthy non-sporting subjects to improve their sporting potential and in patients affected by chronic vestibular dysfunction, in order to optimize their motor skills and prevent falls.

Event-Related Potentials Analysis of the Effects of Discontinuous Short-Term Fine Motor Imagery on Motor Execution

In this study, event-related potentials and neurobehavioral measurements were used to investigate the effects of discontinuous short-term fine motor imagery (MI), a paradigm of finger sequential MI training interspersed with no-MI that occurs within 1 hr, on fine finger motor execution. The event-related potentials revealed that there were significant differences in the P300 between the fine MI training and the no-MI training. There were also significant changes in the P200 between fine motor execution of familiar tasks after MI training and fine motor execution of unfamiliar tasks without MI training. Neurobehavioral data revealed that the fine MI enhanced fine motor execution. These findings may suggest that discontinuous short-term fine MI could be useful in improving fine motor skills.

Mapping brain structure and function in professional fencers: A model to study training effects on central nervous system plasticity

Brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) studies have shown different patterns of structural and functional reorganization in high‐level athletes compared with controls, but little is known about their relationship with interlimb coordination mechanisms. To this aim, we investigated brain structural and functional differences in high‐level fencers compared with nonathlete controls and the MRI substrates of interlimb coordination in elite athletes. Fourteen right‐handed male fencers (median age = 22.3 years) and 15 right‐handed age‐ and sex‐matched healthy subjects (median age = 22.4 years) underwent structural and functional MRI acquisition during the execution of cyclic bimanual‐movements as well as during in‐phase and antiphase hand/foot‐movements of the dominant‐right limbs. No between‐group differences were found in gray matter volumes and white matter architecture. Active‐fMRI showed that controls versus fencers had higher activations in parietal and temporal areas during bimanual‐task; whereas fencers versus controls had higher activations in the basal ganglia. During in‐phase task, controls versus fencers showed higher activation of right cerebellum, whereas fencers had higher activity mainly in frontal areas. The functional‐connectivity (FC) analysis showed that fencers versus controls had an increased FC between left motor cortex and fronto‐temporal areas as well as bilateral thalami during the different tasks. Intensive and prolonged fencing activity is associated with brain functional changes mainly involving frontal regions related to high‐level motor control and planning of complex tasks. These modifications are likely to reflect an optimization of brain networks involved in motor activities, including interlimb coordination tasks, occurring after intensive training.

Cerebral Cortex Changes in Basketball Players

BACKGROUND

Plastic changes to brain structure and function have been reported in elite athletes of various sports. Interestingly, different regions of the brain were engaged according to the type of sports analyzed. Our laboratory reported no difference in total cerebellar volume of basketball players compared to that in the control group using the manual segmentation method. Further detailed analyses showed that elite basketball players had increased volume of the striatum and vermian lobules VI-VII of the cerebellum. We analyzed the brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of basketball players to understand their cerebral cortical plasticity through automatic analysis tools for MRI.

METHODS

Brain MRI data were collected from 19 male university basketball players and 20 age-, sex-, and height-matched control groups. In order to understand the changes in the cerebral cortices of basketball players, we employed automated MRI brain analysis techniques, including voxel-based morphometry (VBM) and surface-based morphometry (SBM).

RESULTS

VBM showed increased gray and white matter volume in both precentral gyri, paracentral lobules and increased gray matter volume in the right anterior superior temporal gyrus. SBM revealed a left dominant increase in both pericentral gyri. Fractal dimensional analysis showed an increase in the area of both precentral gyri, the left subcallosal gyrus, and the right posterior cingulate gyrus. These results suggest a significant role not only for the primary motor cortex, but also for the cingulate gyrus during basketball.

CONCLUSION

Plastic changes of both precentral gyri, the pericentral area, paracentral lobules, and the right superior temporal gyrus were observed in elite basketball players. There was a strong increase of fractal complexity in both precentral gyri and a weak increase in the right posterior cingulate gyrus and left collateral gyrus. In this study, plastic regions linked to functional neuroanatomy were related to the competence required to play basketball.

Visuomotor control in mice and primates

We conduct a comparative evaluation of the visual systems from the retina to the muscles of the mouse and the macaque monkey noting the differences and similarities between these two species. The topics covered include (1) visual-field overlap, (2) visual spatial resolution, (3) V1 cortical point-image [i.e., V1 tissue dedicated to analyzing a unit receptive field], (4) object versus motion encoding, (5) oculomotor range, (6) eye, head, and body movement coordination, and (7) neocortical and cerebellar function. We also discuss blindsight in rodents and primates which provides insights on how the neocortex mediates conscious vision in these species. This review is timely because the field of visuomotor neurophysiology is expanding beyond the macaque monkey to include the mouse; there is therefore a need for a comparative analysis between these two species on how the brain generates visuomotor responses.

Acquisition of novel ball-related skills associated with sports experience

Some individuals can quickly acquire novel motor skills, while others take longer. This study aimed to investigate the relationships between neurophysiological state, sports experience, and novel ball-related skill acquisition. We enrolled 28 healthy collegiate participants. The participants’ neurophysiological data (input–output curve of the corticospinal tract) were recorded through transcranial magnetic stimulation. Subsequently, the participants performed a novel motor task (unilateral two-ball juggling) on a different day, after which they reported their previous sports experience (types and years). We found that individuals with more years of experience in ball sports showed faster acquisition of novel ball-related skills. Further, this result was not limited to any single ball sport. Therefore, the acquisition of novel ball-related skills is associated with familiarity with a ball’s nature. Furthermore, gain of the corticospinal tract was negatively and positively correlated with the years of experience in primary ball and non-ball sports (implemented for the longest time in individuals), respectively. These results could be associated with the extent of proficiency in their primary sport. The chosen type of sports (e.g., ball or non-ball) could critically influence the future acquisition of novel motor skills. This study provides important insights regarding how to approach sports and physical activities.

Rapid microstructural plasticity in the cortical semantic network following a short language learning session

Despite the clear importance of language in our life, our vital ability to quickly and effectively learn new words and meanings is neurobiologically poorly understood. Conventional knowledge maintains that language learning—especially in adulthood—is slow and laborious. Furthermore, its structural basis remains unclear. Even though behavioural manifestations of learning are evident near instantly, previous neuroimaging work across a range of semantic categories has largely studied neural changes associated with months or years of practice. Here, we address rapid neuroanatomical plasticity accompanying new lexicon acquisition, specifically focussing on the learning of action-related language, which has been linked to the brain’s motor systems. Our results show that it is possible to measure and to externally modulate (using transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) of motor cortex) cortical microanatomic reorganisation after mere minutes of new word learning. Learning-induced microstructural changes, as measured by diffusion kurtosis imaging (DKI) and machine learning-based analysis, were evident in prefrontal, temporal, and parietal neocortical sites, likely reflecting integrative lexico-semantic processing and formation of new memory circuits immediately during the learning tasks. These results suggest a structural basis for the rapid neocortical word encoding mechanism and reveal the causally interactive relationship of modal and associative brain regions in supporting learning and word acquisition.

This combined neuroimaging and brain stimulation study reveals rapid and distributed microstructural plasticity after a single immersive language learning session, demonstrating the causal relevance of the motor cortex in encoding the meaning of novel action words.

Detecting structural and functional neuroplasticity in elite ice-skating athletes

Using resting-state fMRI, this study investigated long-term ice-skating training related changes in elite ice-skating athletes and compared them to healthy age-matched non-athletes under resting-state conditions. Significant differences were found in both structural and functional plasticity. Specifically, elite ice-skating athletes showed higher gray matter volume in the posterior cerebellum, frontal lobe, temporal lobe, posterior cingulate, caudate, and thalamus. The functional plasticity changes were primarily concentrated in the posterior cerebellar lobe. Additionally, stronger connectivity between the posterior cerebellar lobe and fusiform gyrus was also found in elite ice-skating athletes. Overall, the results are consistent with other studies that concluded long-term professional motor skill training can cause structural and functional plasticity in the regions of the brain related to motor planning, execution, and supervision. Both structural plasticity and functional plasticity are primarily enhanced in the posterior cerebellum. These changes may be related to the outstanding capability of speed and coordination caused by long-term ice-skating training. Present results add new evidence and may help us to understand the neural mechanisms of long-term motor skill training.

The Brain Alteration of Seafarer Revealed by Activated Functional Connectivity Mode in fMRI Data Analysis

As a special occupational group, the working and living environments faced by seafarers are greatly different from those of land. It is easy to affect the psychological and physiological activities of seafarers, which inevitably lead to changes in the brain functional activities of seafarers. Therefore, it is of great significance to study the neural activity rules of seafarers' brain. In view of this, this paper studied the seafarers' brain alteration at the activated voxel level based on functional magnetic resonance imaging technology by comparing the differences in functional connectivities (FCs) between seafarers and non-seafarers. Firstly, the activated voxels of each group were obtained by independence component analysis, and then the distribution of these voxels in the brain and the common activated voxels between the two groups were statistically analyzed. Next, the FCs between the common activated voxels of the two groups were calculated and obtained the FCs that had significant differences between them through two-sample T-test. Finally, all FCs and FCs with significant differences (DFCs) between the common activated voxels were used as the features for the support vector machine to classify seafarers and non-seafarers. The results showed that DFCs between the activated voxels had better recognition ability for seafarers, especially for Precuneus_L and Precuneus_R, which may play an important role in the classification prediction of seafarers and non-seafarers, so that provided a new perspective for studying the specificity of neurological activities of seafarers.

Quantitative but Not Qualitative Performance Changes in Predictive Motor Timing as a Result of Overtraining

The possibilities of substantial long-term improvement of predictive timing might be sometimes seen as limited, with scanty information of neural substrates underlying the potential learning process. To address this issue, we have investigated the performance of 21 baseball professionals and 21 matched controls in a predictive motor timing task previously shown to engage the cerebellum. Baseball players, hypothesized as a model of overtraining of the prediction of future state of the surroundings, showed significantly higher quantitative performance than nonathletic controls, with a substantial part of the baseball players reaching levels far beyond the range observed in common population. Furthermore, the qualitative performance profile of baseball players under various conditions as target speed and acceleration modes did not differ from the profile of healthy controls. Our results suggest that regular exigent training has the potential to vastly improve predictive motor timing. Moreover, the quantitative but not qualitative difference in the performance profile allows us to hypothesize that the selective honing of the same cerebellar processes and networks as in non-trained individuals is the substrate for the quantitative performance improvement, without substantial engagement of further neural nodes.

Sports experts' unique perception of time duration based on the processing principle of an integrated model of timing

Background

Duration perception is an essential part of our cognitive and behavioral system, helping us interact with the outside world. An integrated model of timing, which states that the perceived duration of a given stimulus is based on the efficiency of information extraction, was recently set forth to improve current understanding of the representation and judgment of time. However, the prediction from this model that more efficient information extraction results in longer perceived duration has not been tested. Thus, the aim of this study is to investigate whether sports experts, as a group of individuals with information extraction superiority in situations relevant to their sport skill, have longer duration perceptions when they view expertise-related stimuli compared with others with no expertise/experience.

Methods

For this study, 81 subjects were recruited based on a prior power analysis. The sports experts group had 27 athletes with years of professional training in diving; a wrestler group and a nonathlete group, with each of these groups having 27 subjects, were used as controls. All participants completed a classic duration reproduction task for subsecond and suprasecond durations with both the diving images and general images involved.

Results

The divers reproduced longer durations for diving stimuli compared with general stimuli under both subsecond and suprasecond time ranges, while the other samples showed the opposite pattern. Furthermore, the years of training in diving were positively correlated with the magnitude of the prolonged reproduction duration when divers viewed diving stimuli. Moreover, the diver group showed a more precise duration perception in subsecond time range for general stimuli compared with the wrestlers and nonathletes.

Conclusion

The results suggest that sports experts perceive longer duration when viewing expertise-related stimuli compared with others with no expertise/experience.

Implicit learning of symmetry of human movement and gray matter density: Evidence against pure domain general and pure domain specific theories of implicit learning

Theories of the neural basis of implicit learning postulated that specific regions were responsible for specific structures (e.g., supra-finite state) regardless of domain (e.g., vision, movement); others assumed that implicit learning was the adaptation that occurred within neural regions dealing with each domain. We explored whether people could implicitly learn to detect symmetry in biological motion, and if so, based on voxel-based morphometry (VBM), whether the learning was associated with language-related regions involved with supra-finite state grammars (such as symmetry) or motor-related regions. To explore the relevance of motor-related regions, we investigated brain structural changes in athletes compared with non-athletes and the advantage of athletes in implicit learning of action symmetry. Further, we examined whether motor imagery ability could account for the role of motor-related regions in this learning. Participants passively observed and memorized a number of biological motion sequences instantiating a symmetry rule and then judged new sequences as grammatical or not. Behaviorally, the implicit acquisition of symmetry could extend to process biological motion. Athletes showed superior classification accuracy and kinesthetic imagery ability, and gave more familiarity attributions. VBM results showed that athletes exhibited greater gray matter density in the right cerebellum, as well as the left lingual gyrus, the left precuneus, the left calcarine gyrus, and the right thalamus. Correlation analysis showed that the cerebellar gray matter density was positively associated with classification accuracy, which was mediated by kinesthetic imagery ability. Moreover, gray matter density of the left inferior frontal cortex was also positively associated with classification accuracy, indicating the involvement of regions related to symmetry learning across domains. The study provides initial evidence that implicit learning involves both adaptation within brain regions responsible for the specific domain as well as brain regions processing the same structure across domains, at least in a case of supra-finite state grammars.

Effectiveness of Cerebellar Circuitry Modulation in Schizophrenia: A Systematic Review

Structural and functional abnormalities of the cerebellum have been observed in schizophrenia since the first neuroimaging studies. More recently, the functions of the cerebellum have been extended beyond sensorimotor control to include participation in higher-level cognition and affective regulation. Consistently, the "cognitive dysmetria" theory posits that dysfunctions of cortical-subcortical-cerebellar circuitry may be crucial for the pathogenesis of different clinical features of schizophrenia. This conceptual framework offers a set of testable hypotheses, now that various tools to exert direct modulation of cerebellar activity are available. We conducted a systematic review of studies examining the effects of cerebellar modulation in schizophrenia. Two independent authors conducted a search within PubMed for articles published up to April 2019 and identified 10 studies (three randomized controlled trials, two open-label studies, two case reports, one preclinical study) describing the effects of cerebellar circuitry modulation in patients with schizophrenia or animal models. The majority of interventions were uncontrolled and used stimulation of the cerebellar vermis, using transcranial magnetic stimulation or transcranial direct-current stimulation. Most studies detected improvements after cerebellar modulation. Clinical changes mostly pertained the domains of negative symptoms, depressive symptoms and cognitive functions. In conclusion, few studies examined the effects of cerebellar modulation in schizophrenia but yielded promising results. This approach may hold therapeutic potential, pending further methodologically robust replication.

Learning to play badminton altered resting-state activity and functional connectivity of the cerebellar sub-regions in adults

Previous studies have shown that sport experts are different from novices in functions and structures of the cerebellar sub-regions and the functional connectivity (FC) associated with the cerebellum, suggesting the role of the cerebellum on motor skill learning (MSL). However, the manipulation of individuals with different motor skills fails to exclude the effects of innate talents. In addition, individuals with higher motor skills often start with the MSL in their young ages. It is still unclear whether the effects regarding the cerebellum would be shown at one's adult age. The present study was to directly alter individuals' motor skills to investigate whether MSL (taking learning to play badminton as an example) in adulthood influences resting-state activity in the cerebellum. To this end, young adults without ball training experience were recruited as participants and were assigned randomly into the experimental group and the control group. Participants in the experimental group were asked to attend a badminton training course for 12 weeks, while the control group did not regularly attend any ball sports during this period. Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was recorded before and after the training. Results showed that compared to the control group, the experimental group had smaller amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation (ALFF) in right cerebellar hemispheric VI and left VIII after training. For the experimental group, right hemispheric VIII had a stronger FC with left hemispheric IV-V, cerebellar vermal IX, left middle cingulate gyrus and right hippocampus after training. Taken together, these findings suggested that MSL, at least learning to play badminton in adulthood, reduces resting-state activity in different sub-regions in the cerebellum but increases FC between sub-regions of the cerebellum as well as between sub-regions of the cerebellum and cerebral cortices (e.g., middle cingulate cortex and hippocampus).

[The correction of motor disorders by special physical exercises in patients with the late cerebellar ataxia]

AIM

The selection of special physical exercises for patients with late cerebellar ataxia based on the biomechanics of balance and gait and evaluation of the clinical effect of therapy.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

Twelve male patients with the diagnosis of late cerebellar ataxia were included in the study. The mean age was 49.33±8.80 years. The daily program of therapeutic exercises included training lessons with the exercise physician. The duration of training lessons was 25-30 minutes every day besides the independent task-repetitions 5-6 times a day during 12 days. To evaluate a clinical effect, the Scale for the assessment and rating of ataxia (SARA) was administered before the lessons and on the 12-th day of therapy.

RESULTS AND CONCLUSION

The authors developed the program of physical exercises for patients with late cerebellar ataxia based on the feeling of body weight and consecutive movements of the sole that were taken from techniques of classical dance steps. After 12 days of training, the total scores on SARA decreased (12.75±4.47 vs. 9.00±4.81, p<0.01) due to the decrease in the scores of gait (3.41±1.16 vs. 2.25±0.86, p<0.01) and stance (2.67±0.98 vs. 1.42±1.08, p<0.01). Therefore, special physical exercises are a necessary component of the therapy of late cerebellar ataxia.

Effects of Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation of Primary Motor Cortex on Reaction Time and Tapping Performance: A Comparison Between Athletes and Non-athletes

Recent studies provided compelling evidence that physical activity leads to specific changes on a functional and structural level of brain organization. The observed neural adaptions are specific to the sport and manifested in those brain regions which are associated with neuronal processing of sport-specific skills. Techniques of non-invasive brain stimulation have been shown to induce neuroplastic changes and thereby also facilitate task performance. In the present study, we investigated the influence of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) over the leg area of the primary motor cortex (M1) on simple reaction time tasks (RTT) and tapping tasks (TT) as a comparison between trained football (FB) and handball players (HB) and non-athletes (NA). We hypothesized that anodal tDCS over M1 (leg area) would lead to specific behavioral gains in RTT and TT performance of the lower extremity as compared to sham condition. On an exploratory level, we aimed at revealing if trained athletes would show stronger tDCS-induced behavioral gains as compared to NA, and, furthermore, if there are any differential effects between FB and HB. A total number of 46 participants were enrolled in a sham-controlled, double-blinded, cross-over study. A test block consisting of RTT and TT was performed before, during, after as well as 30 min after a 20-min tDCS application. Additionally, the specificity of tDCS-induced changes was examined by testing upper extremity using the same experimental design as a control condition. Our data showed no group- or sport-specific tDCS-induced effects (online and offline) on RTT and TT neither for lower nor upper extremities. These findings indicate that neither athletes nor NA seems to benefit from a brief period of tDCS application in speed-related motor tasks. However, more knowledge on neuronal processing of RTT and TT performance in trained athletes, the influence of tDCS parameters including stimulation sites, and the effect of inter-individual differences are required in order to draw a comprehensive picture of whether tDCS can help to enhance motor abilities on a high-performance level.

Vestibulo-Hippocampal Function Is Enhanced and Brain Structure Altered in Professional Ballet Dancers

Background and Objective: Life-long balance training has been shown to affect brain structure, including the hippocampus. Data are missing in this respect on professional ballet dancers of both genders. It is also unknown whether transfer effects exist on general balancing as well as spatial orientation abilities, a function mainly supported by the hippocampus. We aimed to assess differences in gray matter (GM) structure, general balancing skills, and spatial orientation skills between professional ballet dancers and non-dancers. Methods: Nineteen professional ballet dancers aged 18-35 (27.5 ± 4.1 years; 10 females) and nineteen age-matched non-dancers (26.5 ± 2.1 years; 10 females) were investigated. Main outcomes assessed were the score of a 30-item clinical balance test (CBT), the average error distance (in centimeters) on triangle completion task, and difference in GM density as seen by voxel-based morphometric analysis (VBM, SPM). Results: Ballet group performed significantly better on all conditions of the CBT and in the wheelchair (vestibular-dependent) condition of the spatial orientation test. Larger GM volumes for ballet dancers were observed in the right hippocampus, parahippocampal gyrus, insula, and cingulate motor cortex, whereas both larger and smaller volumes were detected within cerebellum bilaterally in comparison to non-dancers. Conclusion: Our results indicate that life-long ballet training could lead to better clinically relevant balancing abilities as well as vestibular-dependent spatial orientation capabilities; both of the benefits might be caused by positive influence of ballet training on the vestibular system function, and-possibly-its connectivity with temporal lobe regions responsible for vestibular-dependent orienting in space.

Adaptation of brain functional stream architecture in athletes with fast demands of sensorimotor integration

Training-induced neuroplasticity has been described in athletes' population. However, it remains largely unknown how regular training and sports proficiency modifies neuronal circuits in the human brain. In this study, we used voxel-based morphometry and stepwise functional connectivity (SFC) analyses to uncover connectivity changes in the functional stream architecture in student-athletes at early stages of sensorimotor skill training. Thirty-two second-year student-athletes whose major was little-ball sports and thirty-four nonathlete controls were recruited for the study. We found that athletes showed greater gray matter volume in the right sensorimotor area, the limbic lobe, and the anterior lobe of the cerebellum. Furthermore, SFC analysis demonstrated that athletes displayed significantly smaller optimal connectivity distance from those seed regions to the dorsal attention network (DAN) and larger optimal connectivity distance to the default mode network (DMN) compared to controls. The Attention Network Test showed that the reaction time of the orienting attention subnetwork was positively correlated with SFC between the seeds and the DAN, while negatively correlated with SFC between the seeds and the DMN. Our findings suggest that neuroplastic adaptations on functional connectivity streams after motor skill training may enable novel information flow from specific areas of the cortex toward distributed networks such as the DAN and the DMN. This could potentially regulate the focus of external and internal attention synchronously in athletes, and consequently accelerate the reaction time of orienting attention in athletes.

Structural Plasticity in Adulthood with Motor Learning and Stroke Rehabilitation

The development of advanced noninvasive techniques to image the human brain has enabled the demonstration of structural plasticity during adulthood in response to motor learning. Understanding the basic mechanisms of structural plasticity in the context of motor learning is essential to improve motor rehabilitation in stroke patients. Here, we review and discuss the emerging evidence for motor-learning-related structural plasticity and the implications for stroke rehabilitation. In the clinical context, a few studies have started to assess the effects of rehabilitation on structural measures to understand recovery poststroke and additionally to predict intervention outcomes. Structural imaging will likely have a role in the future in providing measures that inform patient stratification for optimal outcomes.

Occupational functional plasticity revealed by brain entropy: A resting-state fMRI study of seafarers

Recently, functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) has been increasingly used to assess brain function. Brain entropy is an effective model for evaluating the alteration of brain complexity. Specifically, the sample entropy (SampEn) provides a feasible solution for revealing the brain's complexity. Occupation is one key factor affecting the brain's activity, but the neuropsychological mechanisms are still unclear. Thus, in this article, based on fMRI and a brain entropy model, we explored the functional complexity changes engendered by occupation factors, taking the seafarer as an example. The whole-brain entropy values of two groups (i.e., the seafarers and the nonseafarers) were first calculated by SampEn and followed by a two-sample t test with AlphaSim correction (p < .05). We found that the entropy of the orbital-frontal gyrus (OFG) and superior temporal gyrus (STG) in the seafarers was significantly higher than that of the nonseafarers. In addition, the entropy of the cerebellum in the seafarers was lower than that of the nonseafarers. We conclude that (1) the lower entropy in the cerebellum implies that the seafarers' cerebellum activity had strong regularity and consistency, suggesting that the seafarer's cerebellum was possibly more specialized by the long-term career training; (2) the higher entropy in the OFG and STG possibly demonstrated that the seafarers had a relatively decreased capability for emotion control and auditory information processing. The above results imply that the seafarer occupation indeed impacted the brain's complexity, and also provided new neuropsychological evidence of functional plasticity related to one's career.

Roles of the Declive, Folium, and Tuber Cerebellar Vermian Lobules in Sportspeople

The cerebellum plays vital roles in balance control and motor learning, including in saccadic adaptation and coordination. It consists of the vermis and two hemispheres and is anatomically separated into ten lobules that are designated as I–X. Although neuroimaging and clinical studies suggest that functions are compartmentalized within the cerebellum, the function of each cerebellar lobule is not fully understood. Electrophysiological and lesion studies in animals as well as neuroimaging and lesion studies in humans have revealed that vermian lobules VI and VII (declive, folium, and tuber) are critical for controlling postural balance, saccadic eye movements, and coordination. In addition, recent structural magnetic resonance imaging studies have revealed that these lobules are larger in elite basketball and short-track speed skaters. Furthermore, in female short-track speed skaters, the volume of this region is significantly correlated with static balance. This article reviews the function of vermian lobules VI and VII, focusing on the control of balance, eye movements, and coordination including coordination between the eyes and hands and bimanual coordination.

Motor control of handwriting in the developing brain: A review

This review focuses on the acquisition of writing motor aspects in adults, and in 5-to 12-year-old children without learning disabilities. We first describe the behavioural aspects of adult writing and dominant models based on the notion of motor programs. We show that handwriting acquisition is characterized by the transition from reactive movements programmed stroke-by-stroke in younger children, to an automatic control of the whole trajectory when the motor programs are memorized at about 10 years old. Then, we describe the neural correlates of adult writing, and the changes that could occur with learning during childhood. The acquisition of a new skill is characterized by the involvement of a network more restricted in space and where neural specificity is increased in key regions. The cerebellum and the left dorsal premotor cortex are of fundamental importance in motor learning, and could be at the core of the acquisition of handwriting.

Motor learning in a complex balance task and associated neuroplasticity: a comparison between endurance athletes and nonathletes

Studies suggested that motor expertise is associated with functional and structural brain alterations, which positively affect sensorimotor performance and learning capabilities. The purpose of the present study was to unravel differences in motor skill learning and associated functional neuroplasticity between endurance athletes (EA) and nonathletes (NA). For this purpose, participants had to perform a multimodal balance task (MBT) training on 2 sessions, which were separated by 1 wk. Before and after MBT training, a static balance task (SBT) had to be performed. MBT-induced functional neuroplasticity and neuromuscular alterations were assessed by means of functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) and electromyography (EMG) during SBT performance. We hypothesized that EA would showed superior initial SBT performance and stronger MBT-induced improvements in SBT learning rates compared with NA. On a cortical level, we hypothesized that MBT training would lead to differential learning-dependent functional changes in motor-related brain regions [such as primary motor cortex (M1)] during SBT performance. In fact, EA showed superior initial SBT performance, whereas learning rates did not differ between groups. On a cortical level, fNIRS recordings (time × group interaction) revealed a stronger MBT-induced decrease in left M1 and inferior parietal lobe (IPL) for deoxygenated hemoglobin in EA. Even more interesting, learning rates were correlated with fNIRS changes in right M1/IPL. On the basis of these findings, we provide novel evidence for superior MBT training-induced functional neuroplasticity in highly trained athletes. Future studies should investigate these effects in different sports disciplines to strengthen previous work on experience-dependent neuroplasticity.NEW & NOTEWORTHY Motor expertise is associated with functional/structural brain plasticity. How such neuroplastic reorganization translates into altered motor learning processes remains elusive. We investigated endurance athletes (EA) and nonathletes (NA) in a multimodal balance task (MBT). EA showed superior static balance performance (SBT), whereas MBT-induced SBT improvements did not differ between groups. Functional near-infrared spectroscopy recordings revealed a differential MBT training-induced decrease of deoxygenated hemoglobin in left primary motor cortex and inferior parietal lobe between groups.

Volume and density of microglomeruli in the honey bee mushroom bodies do not predict performance on a foraging task

The mushroom bodies (MBs) are insect brain regions important for sensory integration, learning, and memory. In adult worker honey bees (Apis mellifera), the volume of neuropil associated with the MBs is larger in experienced foragers compared with hive bees and less experienced foragers. In addition, the characteristic synaptic structures of the calycal neuropils, the microglomeruli, are larger but present at lower density in 35-day-old foragers relative to 1-day-old workers. Age- and experience-based changes in plasticity of the MBs are assumed to support performance of challenging tasks, but the behavioral consequences of brain plasticity in insects are rarely examined. In this study, foragers were recruited from a field hive to a patch comprising two colors of otherwise identical artificial flowers. Flowers of one color contained a sucrose reward mimicking nectar; flowers of the second were empty. Task difficulty was adjusted by changing flower colors according to the principle of honey bee color vision space. Microglomerular volume and density in the lip (olfactory inputs) and collar (visual inputs) compartments of the MB calyces were analyzed using anti-synapsin I immunolabeling and laser scanning confocal microscopy. Foragers displayed significant variation in microglomerular volume and density, but no correlation was found between these synaptic attributes and foraging performance. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Develop Neurobiol 77: 1057-1071, 2017.

Increased cerebellar gray matter volume in head chefs

OBJECTIVE

Chefs exert expert motor and cognitive performances on a daily basis. Neuroimaging has clearly shown that that long-term skill learning (i.e., athletes, musicians, chess player or sommeliers) induces plastic changes in the brain thus enabling tasks to be performed faster and more accurately. How a chef's expertise is embodied in a specific neural network has never been investigated.

METHODS

Eleven Italian head chefs with long-term brigade management expertise and 11 demographically-/ psychologically- matched non-experts underwent morphological evaluations.

RESULTS

Voxel-based analysis performed with SUIT, as well as, automated volumetric measurement assessed with Freesurfer, revealed increased gray matter volume in the cerebellum in chefs compared to non-experts. The most significant changes were detected in the anterior vermis and the posterior cerebellar lobule. The magnitude of the brigade staff and the higher performance in the Tower of London test correlated with these specific gray matter increases, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

We found that chefs are characterized by an anatomical variability involving the cerebellum. This confirms the role of this region in the development of similar expert brains characterized by learning dexterous skills, such as pianists, rock climbers and basketball players. However, the nature of the cellular events underlying the detected morphological differences remains an open question.

Differences in Resting State Functional Connectivity between Young Adult Endurance Athletes and Healthy Controls

Expertise and training in fine motor skills has been associated with changes in brain structure, function, and connectivity. Fewer studies have explored the neural effects of athletic activities that do not seem to rely on precise fine motor control (e.g., distance running). Here, we compared resting-state functional connectivity in a sample of adult male collegiate distance runners (n = 11; age = 21.3 ± 2.5) and a group of healthy age-matched non-athlete male controls (n = 11; age = 20.6 ± 1.1), to test the hypothesis that expertise in sustained aerobic motor behaviors affects resting state functional connectivity in young adults. Although generally considered an automated repetitive task, locomotion, especially at an elite level, likely engages multiple cognitive actions including planning, inhibition, monitoring, attentional switching and multi-tasking, and motor control. Here, we examined connectivity in three resting-state networks that link such executive functions with motor control: the default mode network (DMN), the frontoparietal network (FPN), and the motor network (MN). We found two key patterns of significant between-group differences in connectivity that are consistent with the hypothesized cognitive demands of elite endurance running. First, enhanced connectivity between the FPN and brain regions often associated with aspects of working memory and other executive functions (frontal cortex), suggest endurance running may stress executive cognitive functions in ways that increase connectivity in associated networks. Second, we found significant anti-correlations between the DMN and regions associated with motor control (paracentral area), somatosensory functions (post-central region), and visual association abilities (occipital cortex). DMN deactivation with task-positive regions has been shown to be generally beneficial for cognitive performance, suggesting anti-correlated regions observed here are engaged during running. For all between-group differences, there were significant associations between connectivity, self-reported physical activity, and estimates of maximum aerobic capacity, suggesting a dose-response relationship between engagement in endurance running and connectivity strength. Together these results suggest that differences in experience with endurance running are associated with differences in functional brain connectivity. High intensity aerobic activity that requires sustained, repetitive locomotor and navigational skills may stress cognitive domains in ways that lead to altered brain connectivity, which in turn has implications for understanding the beneficial role of exercise for brain and cognitive function over the lifespan.

Defining the neuroanatomic basis of motor coordination in children and its relationship with symptoms of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder

BACKGROUND

When children have marked problems with motor coordination, they often have problems with attention and impulse control. Here, we map the neuroanatomic substrate of motor coordination in childhood and ask whether this substrate differs in the presence of concurrent symptoms of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

METHOD

Participants were 226 children. All completed Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fifth edition (DSM-5)-based assessment of ADHD symptoms and standardized tests of motor coordination skills assessing aiming/catching, manual dexterity and balance. Symptoms of developmental coordination disorder (DCD) were determined using parental questionnaires. Using 3 Tesla magnetic resonance data, four latent neuroanatomic variables (for the cerebral cortex, cerebellum, basal ganglia and thalamus) were extracted and mapped onto each motor coordination skill using partial least squares pathway modeling.

RESULTS

The motor coordination skill of aiming/catching was significantly linked to latent variables for both the cerebral cortex (t = 4.31, p < 0.0001) and the cerebellum (t = 2.31, p = 0.02). This effect was driven by the premotor/motor cortical regions and the superior cerebellar lobules. These links were not moderated by the severity of symptoms of inattention, hyperactivity and impulsivity. In categorical analyses, the DCD group showed atypical reduction in the volumes of these regions. However, the group with DCD alone did not differ significantly from those with DCD and co-morbid ADHD.

CONCLUSIONS

The superior cerebellar lobules and the premotor/motor cortex emerged as pivotal neural substrates of motor coordination in children. The dimensions of these motor coordination regions did not differ significantly between those who had DCD, with or without co-morbid ADHD.

Differences in Cortical Representation and Structural Connectivity of Hands and Feet between Professional Handball Players and Ballet Dancers

It is known that intensive training and expertise are associated with functional and structural neuroadaptations. Most studies, however, compared experts with nonexperts; hence it is, specifically for sports, unclear whether the neuroplastic adaptations reported are sport-specific or sport-general. Here we aimed at investigating sport-specific adaptations in professional handball players and ballet dancers by focusing on the primary motor and somatosensory grey matter (GM) representation of hands and feet using voxel-based morphometry as well as on fractional anisotropy (FA) of the corticospinal tract by means of diffusion tensor imaging-based fibre tractography. As predicted, GM volume was increased in hand areas of handball players, whereas ballet dancers showed increased GM volume in foot areas. Compared to handball players, ballet dancers showed decreased FA in both fibres connecting the foot and hand areas, but they showed lower FA in fibres connecting the foot compared to their hand areas, whereas handball players showed lower FA in fibres connecting the hand compared to their foot areas. Our results suggest that structural adaptations are sport-specific and are manifested in brain regions associated with the neural processing of sport-specific skills. We believe this enriches the plasticity research in general and extends our knowledge of sport expertise in particular.

White matter plasticity in the cerebellum of elite basketball athletes

Recent neuroimaging studies indicate that learning a novel motor skill induces plastic changes in the brain structures of both gray matter (GM) and white matter (WM) that are associated with a specific practice. We previously reported an increased volume of vermian lobules VI-VII (declive, folium, and tuber) in elite basketball athletes who require coordination for dribbling and shooting a ball, which awakened the central role of the cerebellum in motor coordination. However, the precise factor contributing to the increased volume was not determined. In the present study, we compared the volumes of the GM and WM in the sub-regions of the cerebellar vermis based on manual voxel analysis with the ImageJ program. We found significantly larger WM volumes of vermian lobules VI-VII (declive, folium, and tuber) in elite basketball athletes in response to long-term intensive motor learning. We suggest that the larger WM volumes of this region in elite basketball athletes represent a motor learning-induced plastic change, and that the WM of this region likely plays a critical role in coordination. This finding will contribute to gaining a deeper understanding of motor learning-evoked WM plasticity.

Adaptation and aftereffects of split-belt walking in cerebellar lesion patients

To walk efficiently and stably on different surfaces under various constrained conditions, humans need to adapt their gait pattern substantially. Although the mechanisms behind locomotor adaptation are still not fully understood, the cerebellum is thought to play an important role. In this study we aimed to address the specific localization of cerebellar involvement in split-belt adaptation by comparing performance in patients with stable focal lesions after cerebellar tumor resection and in healthy controls. We observed that changes in symmetry of those parameters that were most closely related to interlimb coordination (such as step length and relative double stance time) were similar between healthy controls and cerebellar patients during and after split-belt walking. In contrast, relative stance times (proportions of stance in the gait cycle) were more asymmetric for the patient group than for the control group during the early phase of the post-split-belt condition. Patients who walked with more asymmetric relative stance times were more likely to demonstrate lesions in vermal lobules VI and Crus II. These results confirm that deficits in gait adaptation vary with ataxia severity and between patients with different types of cerebellar damage.

Investigating Neuroanatomical Features in Top Athletes at the Single Subject Level

In sport events like Olympic Games or World Championships competitive athletes keep pushing the boundaries of human performance. Compared to team sports, high achievements in many athletic disciplines depend solely on the individual's performance. Contrasting previous research looking for expertise-related differences in brain anatomy at the group level, we aim to demonstrate changes in individual top athlete's brain, which would be averaged out in a group analysis. We compared structural magnetic resonance images (MRI) of three professional track-and-field athletes to age-, gender- and education-matched control subjects. To determine brain features specific to these top athletes, we tested for significant deviations in structural grey matter density between each of the three top athletes and a carefully matched control sample. While total brain volumes were comparable between athletes and controls, we show regional grey matter differences in striatum and thalamus. The demonstrated brain anatomy patterns remained stable and were detected after 2 years with Olympic Games in between. We also found differences in the fusiform gyrus in two top long jumpers. We interpret our findings in reward-related areas as correlates of top athletes' persistency to reach top-level skill performance over years.

Structural differences in basal ganglia of elite running versus martial arts athletes: a diffusion tensor imaging study

The aim of this study was to use diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) to characterize and compare microscopic differences in white matter integrity in the basal ganglia between elite professional athletes specializing in running and martial arts. Thirty-three young adults with sport-related skills as elite professional runners (n = 11) or elite professional martial artists (n = 11) were recruited and compared with non-athletic and healthy controls (n = 11). All participants underwent health- and skill-related physical fitness assessments. Fractional anisotropy (FA) and mean diffusivity (MD), the primary indices derived from DTI, were computed for five regions of interest in the bilateral basal ganglia, including the caudate nucleus, putamen, globus pallidus internal segment (GPi), globus pallidus external segment (GPe), and subthalamic nucleus. Results revealed that both athletic groups demonstrated better physical fitness indices compared with their control counterparts, with the running group exhibiting the highest cardiovascular fitness and the martial arts group exhibiting the highest muscular endurance and flexibility. With respect to the basal ganglia, both athletic groups showed significantly lower FA and marginally higher MD values in the GPi compared with the healthy control group. These findings suggest that professional sport or motor skill training is associated with changes in white matter integrity in specific regions of the basal ganglia, although these positive changes did not appear to depend on the type of sport-related motor skill being practiced.

Structural brain correlates associated with professional handball playing

Background

There is no doubt that good bimanual performance is very important for skilled handball playing. The control of the non-dominant hand is especially demanding since efficient catching and throwing needs both hands.

Methodology/Hypotheses

We investigated training-induced structural neuroplasticity in professional handball players using several structural neuroimaging techniques and analytic approaches and also provide a review of the literature about sport-induced structural neuroplastic alterations. Structural brain adaptations were expected in regions relevant for motor and somatosensory processing such as the grey matter (GM) of the primary/secondary motor (MI/supplementary motor area, SMA) and somatosensory cortex (SI/SII), basal ganglia, thalamus, and cerebellum and in the white matter (WM) of the corticospinal tract (CST) and corpus callosum, stronger in brain regions controlling the non-dominant left hand.

Results

Increased GM volume in handball players compared with control subjects were found in the right MI/SI, bilateral SMA/cingulate motor area, and left intraparietal sulcus. Fractional anisotropy (FA) and axial diffusivity were increased within the right CST in handball players compared with control women. Age of handball training commencement correlated inversely with GM volume in the right and left MI/SI and years of handball training experience correlated inversely with radial diffusivity in the right CST. Subcortical structures tended to be larger in handball players. The anatomical measures of the brain regions associated with handball playing were positively correlated in handball players, but not interrelated in control women.

Discussion/Conclusion

Training-induced structural alterations were found in the somatosensory-motor network of handball players, more pronounced in the right hemisphere controlling the non-dominant left hand. Correlations between handball training-related measures and anatomical differences suggest neuroplastic adaptations rather than a genetic predisposition for a ball playing affinity. Investigations of neuroplasticity specifically in sportsmen might help to understand the neural mechanisms of expertise in general.

Altered baseline brain activity in experts measured by amplitude of low frequency fluctuations (ALFF): a resting state fMRI study using expertise model of acupuncturists

It is well established that expertise modulates evoked brain activity in response to specific stimuli. Recently, researchers have begun to investigate how expertise influences the resting brain. Among these studies, most focused on the connectivity features within/across regions, i.e., connectivity patterns/strength. However, little concern has been given to a more fundamental issue whether or not expertise modulates baseline brain activity. We investigated this question using amplitude of low-frequency (<0.08 Hz) fluctuation (ALFF) as the metric of brain activity and a novel expertise model, i.e., acupuncturists, due to their robust proficiency in tactile perception and emotion regulation. After the psychophysical and behavioral expertise screening procedure, 23 acupuncturists and 23 matched non-acupuncturists (NA) were enrolled. Our results explicated higher ALFF for acupuncturists in the left ventral medial prefrontal cortex (VMPFC) and the contralateral hand representation of the primary somatosensory area (SI) (corrected for multiple comparisons). Additionally, ALFF of VMPFC was negatively correlated with the outcomes of the emotion regulation task (corrected for multiple comparisons). We suggest that our study may reveal a novel connection between the neuroplasticity mechanism and resting state activity, which would upgrade our understanding of the central mechanism of learning. Furthermore, by showing that expertise can affect the baseline brain activity as indicated by ALFF, our findings may have profound implication for functional neuroimaging studies especially those involving expert models, in that difference in baseline brain activity may either smear the spatial pattern of activations for task data or introduce biased results into connectivity-based analysis for resting data.

Brain organization of gorillas reflects species differences in ecology

Gorillas include separate eastern (Gorilla beringei) and western (Gorilla gorilla) African species that diverged from each other approximately 2 million years ago. Although anatomical, genetic, behavioral, and socioecological differences have been noted among gorilla populations, little is known about variation in their brain structure. This study examines neuroanatomical variation between gorilla species using structural neuroimaging. Postmortem magnetic resonance images were obtained of brains from 18 captive western lowland gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla), 15 wild mountain gorillas (Gorilla beringei beringei), and 3 Grauer's gorillas (Gorilla beringei graueri) (both wild and captive). Stereologic methods were used to measure volumes of brain structures, including left and right frontal lobe gray and white matter, temporal lobe gray and white matter, parietal and occipital lobes gray and white matter, insular gray matter, hippocampus, striatum, thalamus, each hemisphere and the vermis of the cerebellum, and the external and extreme capsules together with the claustrum. Among the species differences, the volumes of the hippocampus and cerebellum were significantly larger in G. gorilla than G. beringei. These anatomical differences may relate to divergent ecological adaptations of the two species. Specifically, G. gorilla engages in more arboreal locomotion and thus may rely more on cerebellar circuits. In addition, they tend to eat more fruit and have larger home ranges and consequently might depend more on spatial mapping functions of the hippocampus.

The Human Motor System Supports Sequence-Specific Representations over Multiple Training-Dependent Timescales

Motor sequence learning is associated with increasing and decreasing motor system activity. Here, we ask whether sequence-specific activity is contingent upon the time interval and absolute amount of training over which the skill is acquired. We hypothesize that within each motor region, the strength of any sequence representation is a non-linear function that can be characterized by 3 timescales. We had subjects train for 6 weeks and measured brain activity with functional magnetic resonance imaging. We used repetition suppression (RS) to isolate sequence-specific representations while controlling for effects related to kinematics and general task familiarity. Following a baseline training session, primary and secondary motor regions demonstrated rapidly increasing RS. With continued training, there was evidence for skill-specific efficiency, characterized by a dramatic decrease in motor system RS. In contrast, after performance had reached a plateau, further training led to a pattern of slowly increasing RS in the contralateral sensorimotor cortex, supplementary motor area, ventral premotor cortex, and anterior cerebellum consistent with skill-specific specialization. Importantly, many motor areas show changes involving more than 1 of these 3 timescales, underscoring the capacity of the motor system to flexibly represent a sequence based on the amount of prior experience.

Experts bodies, experts minds: How physical and mental training shape the brain

Skill learning is the improvement in perceptual, cognitive, or motor performance following practice. Expert performance levels can be achieved with well-organized knowledge, using sophisticated and specific mental representations and cognitive processing, applying automatic sequences quickly and efficiently, being able to deal with large amounts of information, and many other challenging task demands and situations that otherwise paralyze the performance of novices. The neural reorganizations that occur with expertise reflect the optimization of the neurocognitive resources to deal with the complex computational load needed to achieve peak performance. As such, capitalizing on neuronal plasticity, brain modifications take place over time-practice and during the consolidation process. One major challenge is to investigate the neural substrates and cognitive mechanisms engaged in expertise, and to define “expertise” from its neural and cognitive underpinnings. Recent insights showed that many brain structures are recruited during task performance, but only activity in regions related to domain-specific knowledge distinguishes experts from novices. The present review focuses on three expertise domains placed across a motor to mental gradient of skill learning: sequential motor skill, mental simulation of the movement (motor imagery), and meditation as a paradigmatic example of “pure” mental training. We first describe results on each specific domain from the initial skill acquisition to expert performance, including recent results on the corresponding underlying neural mechanisms. We then discuss differences and similarities between these domains with the aim to identify the highlights of the neurocognitive processes underpinning expertise, and conclude with suggestions for future research.