Researchers at Oxford University have found that complicated tasks, like if you learn juggling, produces significant changes to the structure of the brain.
The work, appearing in the journal Nature Neuroscience, finds a 5% increase in white matter, the so-called cabling of the brain. Earlier work has shown changes due to experience in our grey matter, where processing and computation happens; enhancements in the white matter of the healthy adult brain haven't been demonstrated, until now.
The subjects in this study were taught a complex visual/motor task, juggling three balls, and had brain scans at both the beginning and end of the study period.(Read More)