The National Institutes of Health recently published a news release regarding an exciting breakthrough detecting changes in brain connectivity with behavioural treatment. The findings are leading to a new approach being tested in the treatment of mental disorders, which increasingly appear to be due to problems in specific brain circuits.
Using a technology called diffusion tensor imaging, the researchers were able to measure structural properties of the children’s white matter, the insulation-clad fibers that provide efficient communication in the central nervous system. Specifically, DTI shows the movement of water molecules through white matter, reflectign the quality of white matter connections. The better the connection, the more the water molecules move in the same direction, providing a higher ‘bandwidth’ for information transfer between brain regions.
35 poor readers ages 8-12 were assigned an intensive remedial reading program for five days a week in 50 minute sessions (total 100 hours), with the focus on improving readers’ ability to decode unfamiliar words. At the outset, poor readers showed lower quality white matter than average readers. Six months later, at the completion of the study, poor readers showed significant increases in the quality of particular regions of the brain – and improvements in reading skills. Children not given the training did not show the increase. Full details in the news release.