Experience-dependent plasticity of cerebellar vermis in basketball players.
The cerebellum is involved in the learning and retention of motor skills. Using animal and human models, a number of studies have shown that long-term motor skill training induces structural and functional plasticity in the cerebellum. The aim of this study was to investigate whether macroscopic alteration in the volume of cerebellum occurs in basketball players who had learned complex motor skills and practiced them intensively for a long time. Three-dimensional magnetic resonance imaging volumetry was performed in basketball players (n = 19) and healthy controls (n = 20), and the volumes of cerebellum and vermian lobules were compared between two groups. Although there was no macroscopic plasticity detected in the cerebellum as a whole, detailed parcellation of cerebellum revealed morphological enlargement in the vermian lobules VI-VII (declive, folium, and tuber) of basketball players (P < 0.0166), which might then be interpreted as evidence for plasticity. This finding suggests that the extensive practice and performance of sports-related motor skills activate structural plasticity of vermian lobules in human cerebellum and suggests that vermian VI-VII plays an important role in motor learning.
Park
In Sung
IS
Department of Anatomy, Korea University College of Medicine, Seoul 136-705, South Korea.
Lee
Kea Joo
KJ
Han
Jong Woo
JW
Lee
Nam Joon
NJ
Lee
Won Teak
WT
Park
Kyung Ah
KA
Rhyu
Im Joo
IJ
D001490:Basketball; D002531:Cerebellum / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods; D008297:Male; D009048:Motor Skills / Q000502:physiology; D009473:Neuronal Plasticity / Q000502:physiology*; D011364:Professional Practice; D055815:Young Adult