The Effect of Brain Modulation by Voxel-based Morphometry (VBM)

Anitha Homann^*
*Correspondence: Anitha Homann, Department of Pharmacy, Osmania University, Hyderabad, Telangana, India, Email:

Introduction

This study examines brain changes observed by voxel-based morphometry (VBM) in response to two different learning circumstances in order to better understand the process of neuroplasticity. Twenty-two healthy young people learnt to slackline, a demanding balancing challenge, with their eyes open (EO, n=11) or closed (EC, n=11). The learning took place three times each week for four weeks, with one-hour learning periods, totalling 12 hours of instruction.

The scanning and testing techniques were used at three different times:

• Before learning (baseline)

• After learning (post-test)

• Two months later (follow-up) (follow-up)

On the task-specific test, the EO group outperformed the control group. At the post-test, significant group time interaction effects were discovered in sensory-motor areas, only the EO group saw an increase. The findings show that VBM-observed brain alterations in response to learning a complex balancing task vary based on learning success and visual input availability, rather than solely on learning time. Future studies with similar approaches should take these findings into account.

Description

Balance-related activity training results in neuroanatomical alterations [1] as well as increases in spatial orientation and balancing abilities [2], all of which are significant in daily living. This is true not only for healthy persons, but also for those with neurodegenerative diseases like Parkinson's disease [3]. Slackline training, for example, results in non-task-specific gains in path integration and balancing abilities as well as task-specific increases in balance [2,4]. Learning to slackline-a complicated balancing activity—has also been found to cause changes in brain connections [5].

However, there is a significant shortage of neuroanatomical information on this subject. Intensive slackline training causes neuroanatomical changes in linked brain regions, including sensory-motor cortices, according to our own still unpublished volumetric data gathered from a previously published study [2]. The results, however, were only in the predicted direction of volumetric increases inside the paracentral lobules, with considerable declines in other regions. No earlier investigations combining structural Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) and voxel-based morphometry have found such significant declines in the insula and subcortical locations (VBM).

There is a significant gap in our understanding of the neuroanatomical correlates of behavioural variations. As a result, we conducted a separate research with the identical intervention (i.e., slacklining training) but no visual input. We expected that grey matter volumetric changes in response to the two conditions-open and closed eyes training-would not occur in the same brain regions. Despite the fact that both groups spent the same amount of time practising, it is reasonable to predict that the participants who practise with open eyes will be more effective in mastering this complex skill than those who practise with closed eyes.

Conclusion

As a result, we wondered if how effectively the job was learnt in a given length of time might influence future grey matter alterations. To put it another way, we wanted to see if the observed brain alterations were primarily due to the amount of time spent studying, or if they also reflected learning success.

As a result, the goal of our research was to determine the neuroanatomical alterations that occur as a result of learning an intensive balancing task under two different conditions: with and without visual input.

Conflict of Interest

None.

References

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