Dr's Casebook: ​Juggling is good for the brain

Dr Keith Souter writes: I really want to master the technique because research shows that the learning process in juggling actually helps the brain to stay healthy.

The brain has grey matter and white matter. The outermost surface of the brain is called grey matter, because it has a pinkish-grey appearance. This is made up of the main bodies of nerve cells. This is where most of our cognitive functions take place.

The inside of the brain is composed of white matter. It is made up of axons, or the outgrowths of the nerve cells, which transmit messages up and down to the spinal cord and the nerves of the body.

It has been found using imaging that learning a complex new skill, like juggling actually boosts the connections between the different parts of the brain by increasing the brain’s white matter.

In one study a group of 24 young adults were given training packs for juggling and asked to practice for half an hour a day for six weeks. Before and after this they all had brain scans using a technique called diffusion tensor imaging. This permits the researchers to assess the structure of the brain’s white matter. Another group of 24 adults were studied as controls, but were not asked to learn to juggle.

After six weeks when the scans were compared, it was found that the non-jugglers white matter had not changed. By contrast the juggling group had grown more white matter in the parietal lobe, the part of the brain involved in linking up what we see with how we move. Clearly very important in juggling.

Yet fascinatingly, the growth of white matter happened in all of the jugglers, no matter how proficient some became. The conclusion was that it is the initial learning activity that seems to spur on the brain development. Further practice doesn’t really give any added improvement. It seems that the brain responds to the initial puzzle.

So how am I doing? Well, I am dropping fewer balls now but as it is good for my brain I’ll keep juggling.