RT Journal Article SR Electronic T1 Temporal and Spatial Dynamics of Brain Structure Changes during Extensive Learning JF The Journal of Neuroscience JO J. Neurosci. FD Society for Neuroscience SP 6314 OP 6317 DO 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.4628-05.2006 VO 26 IS 23 A1 Bogdan Draganski A1 Christian Gaser A1 Gerd Kempermann A1 H. Georg Kuhn A1 Jürgen Winkler A1 Christian Büchel A1 Arne May YR 2006 UL http://www.jneurosci.org/content/26/23/6314.abstract AB The current view regarding human long-term memory as an active process of encoding and retrieval includes a highly specific learning-induced functional plasticity in a network of multiple memory systems. Voxel-based morphometry was used to detect possible structural brain changes associated with learning. Magnetic resonance images were obtained at three different time points while medical students learned for their medical examination. During the learning period, the gray matter increased significantly in the posterior and lateral parietal cortex bilaterally. These structural changes did not change significantly toward the third scan during the semester break 3 months after the exam. The posterior hippocampus showed a different pattern over time: the initial increase in gray matter during the learning period was even more pronounced toward the third time point. These results indicate that the acquisition of a great amount of highly abstract information may be related to a particular pattern of structural gray matter changes in particular brain areas.