Tuning the brain to the beat

In 1905, Einstein described the Brownian motion of fluids & gases as a ‘random walk’, i.e., molecules moving randomly as if drunk. MRI scanners can ‘listen in’ as water molecules go for a drunken walk about the brain, bouncing off tiny structures like cells. From these signals we create detailed maps of brain ‘microstructure’ & explore how we are all ‘wired up’ in health and disease. Using the world’s most powerful microstructure scanner, we’ve created the most detailed (& beautiful!) pictures of the brain’s wiring to date – & all from a drunken walk!

Learning in the brain happens at the level of synapses, but it also involves white matter connections, which allow brain regions to talk to each other. These connections are covered in myelin, a fatty substance that regulates information speed and can be remodelled rapidly in response to learning. I will show how white matter changes in adults after only a few weeks of brain training (working memory training and Bongo drumming). In the future it may become possible to exploit white matter plasticity for learning and memory and in the rehabilitation of people with brain disease or injury.