Neuroplasticity and Motor Learning in Sport activity

Plasticity is the ability of the nervous system to change structurally and functionally, following physiological, harmful and environmental stimuli. Thanks to a series of non-invasive technologies, such as Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS), the Motor Evoked Potential (MEP), Magnetoencephalography (MEG), the Positron Emission Tomography (PET), the Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI), the Near-Infrared Spectroscopy (NIRS) and Blood oxygenation level-dependent MRI (BOLD-MRI), and Motion Capture System, it is now possible to study how different physiological and pathological conditions can affect the brain architecture and its functions.Thanks to neuronal plasticity it is possible to obtain alterations that can be useful for both recovering the functionality of areas compromised by a traumatic event (such as the loss of a limb, a stroke or blindness), but are also useful for another fundamental aspect of animal and human life: the acquisition of motor skills, and therefore of motor learning. This is a process that is influenced by experiences, and is crucial for the cortical organization and reorganization phenomena. The experience-dependent conditions such as the physical activity seem to have a prominent role in brain architecture. In fact, the physical activity determines an increase of synapse formation and causes the release of hormonal factors that promote neurogenesis and neuronal function, these phenomena inducing an improvement of neurocognitive functions.The purpose of this work is to briefly summarize the scientific studies that highlight the effect of motor learning on the anatomical- functional modification of the brain,underlining how sport is fundamental to favour the phenomena of neuronal flexibility and the maintenance of a good health.