White matter plasticity in the cerebellum of elite basketball athletes

• 발행기관: 대한해부학회
• 저자명: In Sung Park Ye Na Lee Soonwook Kwon Nam Joon Lee Im Joo Rhyu
• 간행물 정보: 『Anatomy and Cell Biology』Vol.48(4), 262~267쪽, 전체 6쪽
• 주제분류: 의약학 > 의학일반
• 파일형태: PDF
• 발행일자: 2015.12.01

영문 초록

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.

목차

Introduction

Materials and Methods

Results

Discussion

Acknowledgements

키워드

Coordination Motor learning Magnetic resonance imaging Vermis