Professionals use caudate nucleus in the centre of the brain
A new Japanese study shows that professional chess players use a different part of their brains than amateurs do. Tracking blood flow in the brain to see spikes of activity, they found that master players of shogi (a Japanese game that’s similar to chess) use two regions of the brain to make important moves. Amateur players use the precuneus area of the parietal lobe, but professionals use the caudate nucleus in the centre of the brain. Extensive training seems to have shifted the area of the brain.