TY  - JOUR
A1  - Lövdén, Martin
A1  - Bodammer, Nils Christian
A1  - Kühn, Simone
A1  - Kaufmann, Jörn
A1  - Schütze, Hartmut
A1  - Tempelmann, Claus
A1  - Heinze, Hans-Jochen
A1  - Düzel, Emrah
A1  - Schmiedek, Florian
A1  - Lindenberger, Ulman
T1  - Experience-dependent plasticity of white-matter microstructure extends into old age
T2  - Neuropsychologia
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.
KW  - Aging
KW  - Cognitive training
KW  - Plasticity
KW  - White-matter microstructure
Y1  - 2010
UR  - http://publikationen.ub.uni-frankfurt.de/frontdoor/index/index/docId/76526
UR  - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:hebis:30:3-765268
SN  - 0028-3932
VL  - 48
IS  - 13
SP  - 3878
EP  - 3883
PB  - Elsevier
CY  - Amsterdam
ER  -