Task decomposition: a framework for comparing diverse training models in human brain plasticity studies

And how is your doctor reorganizing your brain after your stroke insult? You do expect an answer, Don't you?
http://www.frontiersin.org/Journal/10.3389/fnhum.2013.00640/full?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Neuroscience-w43-2013
Training studies, in which the structural or functional neurophysiology is compared before and after expertise is acquired, are increasingly being used as models for understanding the human brain’s potential for reorganization. It is proving difficult to use these results to answer basic and important questions like how task training leads to both specific and general changes in behavior and how these changes correspond with modifications in the brain. The main culprit is the diversity of paradigms used as complex task models. An assortment of activities ranging from juggling to deciphering Morse code has been reported. Even when working in the same general domain, few researchers use similar training models. New ways to meaningfully compare complex tasks are needed. We propose a method for characterizing and deconstructing the task requirements of complex training paradigms, which is suitable for application to both structural and functional neuroimaging studies. We believe this approach will aid brain plasticity research by making it easier to compare training paradigms, identify “missing puzzle pieces,” and encourage researchers to design training protocols to bridge these gaps.

Introduction

The idea that the structure and function of the human brain remains somewhat open to alteration by experience over the lifespan is now well established (Wan and Schlaug, 2010; Zatorre et al., 2012), although researchers have not yet formed a comprehensive view of how – and under which conditions – this occurs.

In this paper, we focus on the research looking at training-related plasticity in human subjects that uses complex skills as models, such as juggling (e.g., Draganski et al., 2004; Boyke et al., 2008; Scholz et al., 2009), golfing (e.g., Bezzola et al., 2011), or various aspects of making music (e.g., Lappe et al., 2008; Hyde et al., 2009). Work using such skills complements earlier and ongoing research on more basic aspects of brain–behavior relationships, such as learning a simple finger-tapping task (e.g., Ungerleider et al., 2002).

Much more at link for your doctor.