A study in Switzerland found that the intense study of language does in fact cause the brain to grow in specific regions. The article "Language Learning Makes the Brain Grow, Swedish Study Suggests" from ScienceDaily.com explains that students of language at Swedish Armed Forces Interpreter Academy went through an intense course where they learned how to speak a new language fluently in thirteen months. These participants were compared to a group of hard studying science students from Umeå University. The researchers found from fMRI scans taken before and after a 3 month learning period that only the language students showed changes in the brain. The hippocampus and three parts of the cerebral cortex not only grew in size in the language students, but these areas grew proportionally with how well the student mastered the language.
The concept of the brain changing due to learning new information is not entirely new. Gary Marcus explains in Guitar Zero that the brain can form new connections from the circuits that already exist. Performing a certain task, such as speaking or learning to play an instrument, require various regions of the brain to work together. Those regions form neural networks to get the task done. When a person learns something new, the brain can form new connections. The creation of novel networks is responsible for the growth in these brain regions which is seen in the increase of gray matter. Learning a new language requires the hippocampus, the superior temporal gyrus, and the middle frontal gyrus therefore those are the regions that grew in the language students. It is surprising that the students studying sciences did not have any change in gray matter. Gary Marcus notes that the increase of gray matter is a staple of all types of learning, and what varies is the regions that grow. However, this study did not find any growth in the science group. Perhaps the time length was not long enough to find a difference in size in the pre- and post- studying fMRI scans. It is very likely that the brain regions that change would not be the same, but it seems that there should be at least a small difference.
Perhaps the most interesting finding in this study is that the growth is correlated with how hard the students studied and how well the language was developed. In both situations there was a large increase in the brain for students that studied more and for students that had better language skills. It is hard to find a better example of the importance of practice. Gary Marcus stresses that to learn something new one must constantly practice. It is not enough just to practice what you already are good at, but you need to practice the trouble areas too. The students who put more effort into learning the language showed a greater increase in gray matter. These students formed more neural connections than the students who did not put in as much effort, and it showed not only in their performance but also in their brains. The more work you put into learning something the better the pay off will be.
Furthermore, not only are there differences in the amount of growth that takes place during learning, but there are differences in the regions of growth depending on the strengths of the student. For students that had better language skills there was an increase in the superior temporal gyrus, but for students who put more work into studying there was an increase in the middle frontal gyrus. Not only are there differences in the amount of growth that takes place during learning, but there are differences in the regions of growth depending on the strengths of the student. However, both types of changes the growth occurred because the students were studying. In essence, practice makes a difference so go hit the books, pick up that instrument, or start kicking that ball around because your brain is ready to grow.
Article Link: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/10/121008082953.htm
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