WHAT IS NEUROPLASTICITY?

Neuroplasticity—also known as brain plasticity—is the brain’s ability to change, adapt, and reorganize itself throughout life in response to experience, learning, environment, and even injury.

Key Features of Neuroplasticity:

1. Synaptic Plasticity
• The strength of connections (synapses) between neurons can increase or decrease based on how frequently they're used. This is the foundation of learning and memory.
2. Structural Plasticity
• The brain can grow new neurons (neurogenesis, mainly in the hippocampus) and rewire itself by forming new neural pathways.
3. Experience-Dependent Changes
• Activities such as practicing a skill, therapy, or even social interaction can reshape the brain’s networks.
4. Developmental and Lifelong
• Most dramatic in early childhood (critical for learning language, sensory skills), but it continues throughout adulthood—though typically at a slower pace.
5. Compensation After Injury
• In response to damage (e.g., stroke or trauma), other parts of the brain can sometimes take over lost functions through targeted rehabilitation and repetition.

Examples:

• A child learning to read develops new neural circuits for language and comprehension.
• A person who loses their sight may experience heightened auditory and tactile processing as the brain reallocates resources.
• Stroke survivors can relearn lost motor skills through physical therapy that engages neuroplastic mechanisms.