Can we think our way to a better stroke?

Well, its been awhile since I started a war on the board so I thought it was about time to throw out a challenge. As you all know I'm a school psychologist. One of my doctoral minors was in neuropsychology so naturally I am interested in recent research in the feild of neuropsychology and learning. I have just been reading some research that is very interesting and could have implications for, well just about everything we want to learn. I have been reading about how 'plastic' the brain is. That is, how the brain can 're wire' its self when stimulated in a certain way. The research is showing that with extended sensory stimulation, the area of the cortex where the sensory stimulation was being 'recorded or recognized' grew larger. (okay, no cheeze jokes here). Some other researchers began asking if the mind could change the brain... in other word can thinking change the brain? So, this group of scientists came up with some research. One group of volunteers practiced a five-finger piano exercise, and a comparable group merely though about practicing it. The second group focused on each finger movement in turn, essentially playing the simple piece in their heads, one note at a time. As expected, the actual physical practice produced changes in each volunteer's motor cortex. BUT, so did mere mental rehersal. AND the change was as big as the physical practice. (I want to say here, that I haven't actually read this study, just a summary of it. I plan to look it up and read it though.) Wow, what implications if this finding can be replicated. I use visualization techniques on a regular basis. That is, I watch my coach and other swimmers and visualize myself doing the same thing. I do think it helps and maybe what I have been doing and not realizing it is 're wiring' my brain. Do any of you use visualization, what do you think, does it help or not?