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In Motor Learning, New Brain Connections Form Rapidly
Science Daily has a report on research demonstrating directly that new connections begin to form between brain cells almost immediately as animals learn a new task. A team lead by researchers at UC Santa Cruz performed "...detailed observations of the rewiring processes that take place in the brain during motor learning. The researchers studied mice as they were trained to reach through a slot to get a seed. They observed rapid growth of... synapses between nerve cells in the motor cortex... The study used mice that had been genetically altered to make a fluorescent protein within certain neurons in the brain. The researchers were then able to use a special microscopy technique (two-photon microscopy) to obtain clear images of those neurons near the surface of the brain. The noninvasive imaging technique enabled them to view changes in individual brain cells of the mice before, during, and after the mice were trained in the seed-reaching task."
Not many if its an automatic, that's why stick-shift drivers are more intelligent.
So, what connections are formed when one learns to drive a motor vehicle?
Seems that the "posting task" for some reduces the number of connections by half.
but live shorter because makeuping your self while phoning while driving is more difficult on stick cars
God's gift to chicks
... and that, kids, is why I proudly drive my M1 Abrams. With a track width of more than 3.5 metres, it won't flip over sideways, and it has that stalk extending forward to stop it from flipping over it's front when braking sharply.
On a more serious note, though, this is quite probably the most awesome news I've heard today. Well, anything that'll increase mortality in SUV drivers is a good thing. Let's hope this sells a few extra Priuses or even Del Sols.
They flip on a dime. True story: saw an accident between a Honda Del Sol [swaqvalley.com] and a Ford Expedition* at an intersection. The Del Sol was dented but able to drive away from the scene while the Expedition was flipped, turned upside down...
And I'd like to take a second just sit right there, I'll tell you how I became the prince of a town called Bel Air.
Show me.