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open-connectome-classes / StatConn-Spring-2015-Info

introductory material
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Brain activity and growth #34

Open mblohr opened 9 years ago

mblohr commented 9 years ago

We discussed in class how the brain can physically grow in certain areas when someone is learning a subject, e.g., driving a cab in London. I’ve also heard and read that when someone masters a subject, there is decreased activity in his or her brain regions involved in “effortful control and attention” but increased activity in other regions involved in “self-reflective” activities, e.g. daydreaming. Is the physical growth of the brain during training directly related to this increase/decrease in activity, and if so, would it initially grow and then decrease in one region, and simultaneously decrease and grow in another?

ajulian3 commented 9 years ago

From my research it seems that the growth of the brain is directly related to the increase in activity. Specifically, this is evident during formative years of brain development. In regards to the simultaneous decrease in one region and growth in another, I have yet to see evidence of that.

ghost commented 9 years ago

Apparently Einstein's brain had different folding patterns in some regions compared to the average brain. Is it possible for folding pattern to change with training if the region is growing?