evidence to support plasticity

• Kuhn et al. found a significant increase in grey matter in various regions of the brain after participants played video games for 30 minutes a day over a two-month period
• Similarly, Davidson et al. demonstrated the permanent change in the brain generated by prolonged meditation: Buddhist monks who meditated frequently had a much greater activation of gamma waves (which coordinate neural activity) than did students with no experience of meditation
• These two studies(Kuhn and Davidson) highlight the idea of plasticity and the brain’s ability to adapt as a result of new experience, whether it’s video games or mediation
• There is further research to support the notion of brain plasticity. Maguire et al. found that the posterior hippocampal volume of London taxi drivers’ brains was positively correlated with their time as a taxi driver and that there were significant differences between the taxi drivers’ brains and those of controls. This shows that the brain can permanently change in response to frequent exposure to a particular task.