Assessing brain neuroplasticity: Surface morphometric analysis of cortical changes induced by Quadrato motor training.
Journal of anatomy – May 01, 2025
Source: PubMed
Summary
Engaging in Quadrato motor training (QMT), a sensorimotor walking meditation, significantly influences brain structure. In a study with 40 healthy participants practicing QMT over 12 weeks, brain imaging revealed notable shape variations in key cortical regions, including the supplementary motor cortex and inferior frontal gyrus. Using advanced techniques like generalized procrustes surface analysis, researchers visualized these changes on a 3D brain cortex model. This suggests that mindfulness practices can lead to measurable neuroplasticity, enhancing coordination and cognitive-emotional balance.
Abstract
Morphological markers for brain plasticity are still lacking and their findings are challenged by the extreme variability of cortical brain surface. Trying to overcome the "correspondence problem," we applied a landmark-free method (the generalized procrustes surface analysis (GPSA)) for investigating the shape variation of cortical surface in a group of 40 healthy volunteers (i.e., the practice group) subjected to daily motor training known as Quadrato motor training (QMT). QMT is a sensorimotor walking meditation that aims at balancing body, cognition, and emotion. More specifically, QMT requires coordination and attention and consists of moving in one of three possible directions on corners of a 50 × 50 cm2. Brain magnetic resonance images (MRIs) of practice group (acquired at baseline, as well as after 6 and 12 weeks of QMT), were 3D reconstructed and here compared with brain MRIs of six more volunteers never practicing the QMT (naïve group). Cortical regions mostly affected by morphological variations were visualized on a 3D average color-scaled brain surface indicating from higher (red) to lower (blue) levels of variation. Cortical regions interested in most of the shape variations were as follows: (1) the supplementary motor cortex; (2) the inferior frontal gyrus (pars opercolaris) and the anterior insula; (3) the visual cortex; (4) the inferior parietal lobule (supramarginal gyrus and angular gyrus). Our results show that surface morphometric analysis (i.e., GPSA) can be applied to assess brain neuroplasticity processes, such as those stimulated by QMT.