Assessing brain neuroplasticity: Surface morphometric analysis of cortical changes induced by Quadrato motor training.
F Spani, F Carducci, C Piervincenzi, T D Ben-Soussan, C A Mallio, C C Quattrocchi
Journal of anatomy May 1, 2025 DOI: 10.1111/joa.14104 via PubMed
Summary
AI-generated from the abstractA landmark-free method called generalized Procrustes surface analysis (GPSA) can detect shape changes in the brain's cortical surface associated with neuroplasticity. In 40 healthy volunteers who practiced Quadrato motor training (QMT), a sensorimotor walking meditation, brain MRIs taken at baseline and after 6 and 12 weeks were compared with those of six non-practicing volunteers. Cortical regions showing the most shape variation included the supplementary motor cortex, inferior frontal gyrus, anterior insula, visual cortex, and inferior parietal lobule. The results suggest GPSA can assess brain plasticity processes stimulated by motor training.
Study at a glance
| Characteristics | Observational cohort with a practice group and a naïve comparison group Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 46 |
| Population | Healthy volunteers (40 in the practice group, 6 in the naïve group) |
| Intervention | Quadrato motor training (QMT) |
| Duration | 12-week intervention with MRIs at baseline, 6 weeks, and 12 weeks |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Keywords | 3d brain cortex Magnetic resonance imaging Sensorimotor training Shape variation |
| Citations | 5 |
| Key finding | Generalized Procrustes surface analysis detected cortical shape variations in the supplementary motor cortex, inferior frontal gyrus, anterior insula, visual cortex, and inferior parietal lobule in participants who practiced Quadrato motor training. |
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.