Extensive long-term verbal memory training is associated with brain plasticity

Title

Extensive long-term verbal memory training is associated with brain plasticity

Creator

Kumar U.; Singh A.; Paddakanya P.

Description

The human brain has a remarkable capacity to store a lifetime of information through visual or auditory routes. It excels and exceeds any artificial memory system in mixing and integrating multiple pieces of information encoded. In this study, a group of verbal memory experts was evaluated by multiple structural brain analysis methods to record the changes in the brain structure. The participants were professional Hindu pandits (priests/scholars) trained in reciting Vedas and other forms of Hindu scriptures. These professional Vedic priests are experts in memorization and recitation of oral texts with precise diction. Vedas are a collection of hymns. It is estimated that there are more than 20,000 mantras and shlokas in the four Vedas. The analysis included the measurement of the grey and white matter density, gyrification, and cortical thickness in a group of Vedic pandits and comparing these measures with a matched control group. The results revealed an increased grey matter (GM) and white matter (WM) in the midbrain, pons, thalamus, parahippocampus, and orbitofrontal regions in pandits. The whole-brain corelation analysis using length ofpost-training teachingduration showed significant correlation with the left angular gyrus. We also found increased gyrification in the insula, supplementary motor area, medial frontal areas, and increased cortical thickness (CT) in the right temporal pole and caudate regions of the brain. These findings, collectively, provide unique information regarding the association between crucial memory regions in the brain and long-term practice of oral recitation of scriptures from memory with the proper diction that also involved controlled breathing. 2021, The Author(s).

Source

Scientific Reports, Vol-11, No. 1

Date

2021-01-01

Publisher

Nature Research

Coverage

Kumar U., Centre of Bio-Medical Research, Sanjay Gandhi Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences Campus, Lucknow, 226014, Uttar Pradesh, India; Singh A., Centre of Bio-Medical Research, Sanjay Gandhi Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences Campus, Lucknow, 226014, Uttar Pradesh, India; Paddakanya P., Department of Psychology, Christ University, Bengaluru, India

Rights

All Open Access; Gold Open Access; Green Open Access

Relation

ISSN: 20452322; PubMed ID: 33958676

Format

Online

Language

English

Type

Article

Identifier

https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-89248-7

https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85105443958&doi=10.1038%2fs41598-021-89248-7&partnerID=40&md5=a4cc7066a61beb18ef60d5a6b0949366