Structural and functional improvements due to military training in the brain

Introduction: Military deployment includes a large number of stressful and life-threateningsituations. To keep soldiers healthy, they should have a healthy cognition and high resilience.The military trainings and education is suggested to be a determinant factor for structural andfunctional changes of the brain towards a healthier and robust cognition. The aim of thisstudy was to investigate any differences between the structures of the brain of a professionalmilitary group compared to normal individuals; in addition, the maps of brain activations ofthe two groups in response to observing life-threatening footage of real combat werecompared.Materials and Methods: Forty-six right-handed male subjects were included in this study.Of these, 26 were normal healthy participants and the second group included 20 youngmilitary officers who had successfully passed the basic training courses of the Iranian army,such as heavy physical, martial and military trainings, as well as the theoretical militaryeducations. The fMRI paradigm was designed to simulate a stressful, life-threateningsituation for the participants. Magnetic Resonance Imaging of the brain was carried at theNational Brain Mapping Lab, Tehran, Iran.Results: Our results showed a higher volume in 5 areas of the brain in the military group,including posterior cingulate, precentral and middle temporal gyrus, hippocampus andthalamus. In addition, the military group had higher brain activations in the visual processingareas of the brain when observing combat footage, whereas this was in the motor andexecutive processing areas of the brain in controls.Conclusion: This study showed that military training is associated with structural plasticityof the brain, as well as with a more efficient pattern of brain activation when being in astressful situation, both showing the importance of a qualified military training.

Keywords:

Brain Volume , Brain Function , Military Training