This seems to be specifically about the effects of high g-force, but I'll say that learning to fly a military helicopter (in which coping with high g-force isn't a factor) felt like it probably demanded more neuroplasticity than anything else I've ever done.
A typical test was being on the aircraft controls while navigating at 100+ knots and 50 feet above the trees, looking out for a nondescript clearing or dirt road on the map while wearing night vision goggles[1], ensuring that you hit checkpoints and land +/- 60 seconds from the designated times, listening to (and responding as necessary) to multiple external radios plus the internal intercom system, and being asked to also recite from memory (or suddenly execute) the procedures for some contingency (e.g aircraft emergency, change to the tactical situation). Everyone struggles through the training, because no prior experience or schooling really prepares you for all that[2], and I suspect that coming out the other end entails a massive reorganization of the brain.
[1] Or substitute that with wearing a hood so you can only see the instruments and translating a 2D instrument procedure on paper into a 3D (4D?) reality.
[2] Of course selection is based on school and athletic performance, which seems to help, but I don't know how much evidence supports that.
A typical test was being on the aircraft controls while navigating at 100+ knots and 50 feet above the trees, looking out for a nondescript clearing or dirt road on the map while wearing night vision goggles[1], ensuring that you hit checkpoints and land +/- 60 seconds from the designated times, listening to (and responding as necessary) to multiple external radios plus the internal intercom system, and being asked to also recite from memory (or suddenly execute) the procedures for some contingency (e.g aircraft emergency, change to the tactical situation). Everyone struggles through the training, because no prior experience or schooling really prepares you for all that[2], and I suspect that coming out the other end entails a massive reorganization of the brain.
[1] Or substitute that with wearing a hood so you can only see the instruments and translating a 2D instrument procedure on paper into a 3D (4D?) reality.
[2] Of course selection is based on school and athletic performance, which seems to help, but I don't know how much evidence supports that.