Neuroplasticity

[bcblondie]

I just watched a really cool discovery channel show about neuroplasticity.

Wiki describes it as:
a non-specific neuroscience term referring to the ability of the brain and nervous system in all species to change structurally and functionally as a result of input from the environment.

For example, a person who suffered a stroke might lose most of the control of their right arm. By practicing using the affected arm, other parts of the brain begin to control use of that arm.

In one experiment they did, they found that by playing keys on a piano repeatedly, the area of the brain used to move those fingers increased. In another group they had people imagine themselves playing the same keys, not actually moving their fingers. The area of the brain affected grew as well.

Immediately I thought about lucid dreaming, and how some people use it to "practice" for a big sports event, etc. Finally now we have proof that it actually works!

[Rik]

Sorry to burst your bubble here, but that has been known for a long time.

Paul Tholey did research in the 1980's (I think), investigating training in lucid dreams using people who played sports at a very high level and found a positive correlation. A summary of this research is somewhere in EWOLD, around page 120.
The full manuscript Tholey wrote can be found here.
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[bcblondie]

Ummm. Shut up. jk lol. I'd read in various places that it helped but I'd never seen proof to confirm until now!