What is it about?
Learning remodels the brain through synaptic and glial reorganization, but it also triggers biological processes that transiently alter brain structure without leading to neuroplasticity. To date, distinguishing these two biological processes in humans has been unattainable. Using advanced diffusion MRI in humans to discern the contributions of cell bodies and cell processes, we found that learning induced two dissociable responses with different dynamics: a transient increase in cell-body density, consistent with a homeostatic mechanism, and a sustained increase in cell-process density, consistent with structural neuroplasticity.
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Why is it important?
By resolving the diffusion signal into its cellular constituents, this approach helps distinguish plastic from non-plastic structural changes — a step toward bridging animal and human neuroscience.
Perspectives
This was a fun and enriching interdisciplinary effort with the Martinos Center and CUBRIC. I hope it serves a first step toward inferring biological mechanisms of structural neuroplasticity directly in the living human brain — helping bridge the gap between animal and human neuroscience.
Valeria Della-Maggiore
Universidad Nacional de San Martin
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Learning engages transient and sustained cellular mechanisms in the human brain, PLoS Biology, June 2026, PLOS,
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.3003861.
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