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Towards a stronger science of human plasticity

Nature Reviews Neuroscience volume 18, pages 261–262 (2017)Cite this article

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People have been told that 'brain training' will make them not only better at playing certain games but smarter in general. However, evidence indicates that brain plasticity is specific to the acquired skill. The search for neural mechanisms of transfer of training-induced benefits needs to build on this evidence.

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References

  1. Lövdén, M. et al. A theoretical framework for the study of adult cognitive plasticity. Psychol. Bull. 136, 659–676 (2010).

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank L. Carstensen, J. Delius, S. Kühn, U. Mayr and N. Raz for valuable discussions, and the Max Planck Society for continued support.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Lifespan Psychology, Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Lentzeallee 94, Berlin (Dahlem), 14195, Germany

    Ulman Lindenberger, Elisabeth Wenger & Martin Lövdén

  2. Max Planck University College London Centre for Computational Psychiatry and Ageing Research, Berlin (Dahlem), London, 14195, WC1B 5EH, Germany, UK

    Ulman Lindenberger

  3. European University Institute, San Domenico di Fiesole, 50014, Fiesole, Italy

    Ulman Lindenberger

  4. Aging Research Center, Karolinska Institutet and Stockholm University, Stockholm, 11330, Sweden

    Martin Lövdén

Authors
  1. Ulman Lindenberger
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  2. Elisabeth Wenger
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  3. Martin Lövdén
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Correspondence to Ulman Lindenberger.

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The authors declare no competing financial interests.

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Lindenberger, U., Wenger, E. & Lövdén, M. Towards a stronger science of human plasticity. Nat Rev Neurosci 18, 261–262 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrn.2017.44

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