What is brain plasticity? Does it mean that our brains are made of plastic? Of course not. Brain plasticity, also known as neuroplasticity or cortical remapping, is a term that refers to the brain’s ability to change and adapt as a result of experience.
Up until the 1960s, researchers believed that changes in the brain could only take place during infancy and childhood. By early adulthood, it was believed that the brain’s physical structure was permanent. Modern research has demonstrated that the brain continues to create new neural pathways and alter existing ones in order to adapt to new experiences, learn new information and create new memories.
How Does Brain Plasticity Work?
The human brain is composed of approximately 100 billion neurons. Early researchers believed that neurogenesis, or the creation of new neurons, stopped shortly after birth. Today, it is understood that the brain possesses the remarkable capacity to reorganize pathways, create new connections and, in some cases, even create new neurons.
According to the website Neuroscience for Kids, there are four key facts about neuroplasticity:
1. It can vary by age; while plasticity occurs throughout the lifetime, certain types of changes are more predominant during specific life ages.
2. It involves a variety of processes; plasticity is ongoing throughout life and involves brain cells other than neurons, including glial and vascular cells.
3. It can happen for two different reasons; as a result of learning, experience and memory formation, or as a result of damage to the brain.
4. Environment plays an essential role in the process, but genetics can also have an influence.
The first few years of a child’s life are a time of rapid brain growth. At birth, every neuron in the cerebral cortex has an estimated 2,500 synapses; by age of three, this number has grown to a whopping 15,000 synapses per neuron.
The average adult, however, has about half that number of synapses. Why? Because as we gain new experiences, some connections are strengthened while others are eliminated. This process is known as synaptic pruning. Neurons that are used frequently develop stronger connections and those that are rarely or never used eventually die. By developing new connections and pruning away weak ones, the brain is able to adapt to the changing environment.
source: www.psychology.about.com “What is Brain Plasticity?”
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