Fredagskollokvium: Kristine Beate Walhovd: Dynamics of brain and cognition through the lifespan - magnetic resonance imaging markers of plasticity and change

The human brain undergoes tremendous changes throughout the lifespan, along with changes in cognitive and behavioral skills. Development of neuroimaging techniques and tools for image analysis now yield new possibilities for studying alive human brains in detail. How are differences in cognitive abilities at different ages linked to changes of brain structures as measured by neuroimaging techniques, in particular morphometric and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) measures? Can cognitive processes like memory be improved by training, and can such influences be reflected in brain characteristics as captured by MRI? New evidence on MR markers of plasticity and change is presented.