golfdad,
To start I just want to make it clear that I am not jumping up and down with the myelin issue. Rather it is you who strangely seems to have some problem with it and focus on it. Also don't expect to have all explained and condensed in only a few lines typical of posts on forums. I am trying hard but that is a trick beyond me.
Medical education consists, by and large, of memorizing a very large amount of information. If critical thinking would be considered essential one could never finish any such type of education as it involves a huge amount of accumulated experimental facts of which only very few can possibly be verified by the student. Hence it is all primarily based on trust.
Similarly to a medical student when I read a book, with references made to serious scientific journals for every chapter, my normal reaction is to trust the references made to interviews with experts identified by name, title and university affiliation. If such a book contained nonsense it would rapidly by signaled by experts, especially when it is very popular, hence attracting attention.
So what do experts think ?
Firing of the neural path ways increases slowly over time the myelin wrapping of the fibers of these activated neural circuits. It does not matter what causes these electrical pulses to occur. A link has been found to exist between myelin wrapping and various skills.
Who are some of these experts?
Dr. Douglas Fields, Director of the Laboratory of Developmental Neurobiology at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland.
Dr. George Bartzokis, professor of neurology at UCLA.
Who is golfdad:
Most likely a descent golfer and a good daddy for his kids.
So what did research come up with?
Just to mention only some, not related to mice, but to humans.
In 2005 Frederik Ullen scanned the brains of concert pianists and found a directly proportional relationship between hours of practice and white matter.
In 2000 Torkel Klingberg linked reading skill to white matter increases, and in 2006 Jesus Pujol did the same for vocabulary development.
In 2005 the Cincinnati Children's Hospital study of 47 normal children aged 5 to 18 correlated increased IQ with increased organization and density of white matter.
Note: myelin = white matter.
For those who are curious about deep practising. Briefly - 1) braking down the desired skill in very small chunks, 2) very attentive repetition and 3) learning to feel it.
Anyone serious about his golf game should read these two books about talents. They are a fascinating read and notwithstanding the hesitations by some who are are programmed by their education to only believe in terms of double blinded studies in humans. It opens new interesting perspectives for those who want to be part of the future right now.
