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Importance of brain plasticity
Importance of brain plasticity
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Neural Plasticity:
The Growth of Learning
Over the years, the brain’s ability to rejuvenate or dynamically adapt has been meticulously researched and documented, regarding questions of learning, injury, aging and disease. “Neural plasticity (also referred to as brain plasticity, cortical plasticity or cortical re-mapping)…was first proposed in 1890 by William James in The Principles of Psychology, though the idea was largely neglected for the next fifty years." (Squidoo, 2010, para. 1)
Since that time, many questions have been asked and answered, such as: Is it possible for humans improve cognitive skills or abilities through regenerative measures? In order to better understand the processes and many benefits of plasticity, further assessment of information related to the following areas will be necessary:
1. What is Neural Plasticity?
2. Does this process offer relief to brain injury victims?
3. What are the effects of plasticity to an aging brain?
4. Can plasticity ever be harmful?
What is Neural Plasticity?
“Plasticity IS the capacity of the brain to change with learning” (Michelon, 2008, para. 8). More specifically, it is a process of modifying the purpose and configuration of neurons, as well as the construction and fortification of synaptic connections. These adaptive alterations to the mapping of the brain, which most profoundly take place in younger people, are in response to positive or negative stimulation from a person’s body or factors of their environment.
Axonal growth, as part of this development, allows for substantial connectivity towards sensory perception, reflexes and many other daily actions that are generally taken for granted. Successful repair of nerve damage or improve overall brain functio...
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...e very people, for in the course of their dilemmas, I gained most of the knowledge used herein.
References
Jones, S., Nyberg, L., Sandblom, J., Neely, A. S., Ingvar, M., Petersson, K. M., & Backman, L. (2006). Cognitive and neural plasticity in aging: General and task-specific limitations. Neuroscience and Biobehavioral reviews, 30, 864-871. Retrieved May 15, 2010, from http://cat.inist.fr/?aModele=afficheN&cpsidt=18145821
Moller, A. (2008, July 22). Neural Plasticity: For Good and Bad. Progress of Theoretical Physics, 173, 48-65. doi: 10.1177
Squidoo. (2010). Neuroplasicity Explained. Retrieved May 14, 2010, from http://www.squidoo.com/newbrain
Michelon, P. (2008, Feb 26). Brain Plasticity: How learning changes your brain. SharpBrains.
Retrieved May 15, 2010, from http://www.sharpbrains.com/blog/2008/02/26/brain-plasticity-how-learning-changes-your-brain/
Carr mentions the affect that technology has on the neurological processes of the brain. Plasticity is described as the brains response through neurological pathways through experiences. The brain regions “change with experience, circumstance, and need” (29). Brain plasticity also responds to experiences that cause damage to the nervous system. Carr explains that injuries in accidents “reveal how extensively the brain can reorganize itself” (29).I have heard stories in which amputees are said to have a reaction to their amputated limb; it is known as a phantom limb. These types of studies are instrumental in supporting the claim that the brain can be restructured. Carr asserts that the internet is restructuring our brains while citing the brain plasticity experiments and studies done by other scientists. I have experienced this because I feel like by brain has become accustomed to activities that I do on a regular basis. For example, I rarely realize that I am driving when coming to school because I am used to driving on a specific route.
Experiments performed on animals and humans are showing that the brain has evolved to shape itself according to what it e...
The control center of the human body is none other than the mighty brain. Due to its incredible importance in basic human functioning, both voluntary and involuntary, any injury or trauma to this organ will have a great influence on the body and it's capabilities (Burrus, 2013). Exploring how the brain deals with various injuries and damage proves that the functionality of the brain is fitting to make the brain the power house of the body. But before exploring this with the help of case studies, it is important to first make sense of the the anatomy and functioning of the nervous system as a whole in order to understand how it is affected during injury, the functioning of the body that is lost, the intervention implemented for treatment or rehabilitation and the changes experienced.
Introduction This essay discusses processes involved in brain recovery after brain injury or trauma. This will be accomplished through discussing neural networks and the phenomenon they use to launch action potentials. The main focus in this writing explains the process of neuroplasticity in brain recovery and the use of Music therapy as a psychotherapy treatment used in brain rehabilitation. The essay will go further to describe the importance of learning experience in brain remission.
Xu, J., Kobayashi, S., Yamaguchi, S., Iijima, K. I., Okada, K., & Yamashita, K. (2000). Gender effects on age-related changes in brain structure. American Journal of Neuroradiology, 21(1), 112-118.
Joe Dispenza suggests, in his book ‘Evolve the Brain’, that if we choose to solely rely on our genetics, we are struck with our traits: the good, bad, or indifferent. However, if we choose to alter our neuroplasticity and experiences, we can thereby alter our genetics as well. It is possible to make new synaptic connections in the brain by two methods: learning new things and having new experiences. A new suggested theory is that the brain can be altered by attuning to our conscious mind and refining it.
William James was conceivably the initial pioneer in addressing the topic of brain plasticity from a contemporary viewpoint, as he showed an association between the
In order to avoid the physical effects of aging, it is suggested that individuals engage in frequent exercise. Doing so will enhance muscular and cardiac ability, and will reduce one’s risk of various forms of heart disease and obesity (Myers & DeWall, 2016). Due to an increase in oxygen flow, exercise may also stimulate neurogenesis (Myers & Dewall, 2016), a process that promotes growth in hippocampal nerve cells that may result in an improved ability to retain memory. In relation to physical exercise, it is also suggested that adults in middle or late adulthood participate in “brain training” exercises, which have shown to make small improvements in one’s depreciating cognitive development. As a result of the brain’s neural plasticity, such brain exercises have the potential to enhance an individual’s ability to complete control tasks, while other research indicates that it can result in an overall sharpness of the mind (Myers & DeWall, 2016). Despite the onset of an aging mind and body that is characteristic of adulthood, exercise of all forms can induce positive outcomes for older individuals in both their physical and cognitive
The human brain is the most complex organ in the known universe. It controls everything in the human body and has produced marvelous ingenuity. The basic size, shape, and location of the human brain does not vary much from person to person. But the way in which humans use their brain varies greatly. Learning is defined as “the act or process of acquiring knowledge or skill” or “the modification of behavior through practice, training, or experience” (Dictionary.com, Year?). The different sections of the brain can impact how and individual will learn and in what manner they will be most comfortable learning.
Although the brain lies just below the surface of the human body, it has intrigued and puzzled neuroscientist for decades. …..There are numerous complex processes that are involved in brain recovery after attaining an injury or experiencing some sort of trauma. This essay will examine the concepts of neural networks, neuroplasticity and how exercise, surgery or therapy assist in the brain repair process by referring to a number of case studies.
As the human body goes through different experiences, the brain grows, develops, and changes according to the environmental situations it has been exposed to. Some of these factors include drugs, stress, hormones, diets, and sensory stimuli. [1] Neuroplasticity can be defined as the ability of the nervous system to respond to natural and abnormal stimuli experienced by the human body. The nervous system then reorganizes the brain’s structure and changes some of its function to theoretically repair itself by forming new neurons. [2] Neuroplasticity can occur during and in response to many different situations that occur throughout life. Some examples of these situations are learning, diseases, and going through therapy after an injury.
“Anatomically and functionally, the brain is the most complex structure in the body. It controls our ability to think, our awareness of things around us, and our interactions with the outside world” (Mattson Porth, 2007, p. 823). Carol Mattson Porth described it the best; the brain is the control room in our body. The brain is the organ in our skull that tells the rest of our body what to do; our lungs to breath, our eyelids to blink, and our heart to pump blood are just a couple examples of bodily functions our brain controls. And although those controls stay constant throughout life, the brain matures and develops new tricks. Many might not know much about the brain, and many may not know what the difference is between a child’s brain and a fully developed brain especially. But this is one subject that is important and relevant; it is one of the biggest developments of the human body. The brain develops and grows immensely between being
Neuroplasticity Neuroplasticity refers to the brain’s ability to remap itself in response to experience. The theory was first proposed by Psychologist William James who stated “Organic matter, especially nervous tissue, seems endowed with a very extraordinary degree of plasticity". Simply put, the brain has the ability to change. He used the word plasticity to identify the degree of difficulty involved in the process of change. He defined plasticity as ".the possession of a structure weak enough to yield to an influence, but strong enough not to yield all at once" (James, 1890).
During this corse I lean multiple ways that the brain changes mentally as a person ages, such as cognitive development. There are many theories about how cognitive development occurs in children. Jean Piaget had a theory of cognitive development that included 3 different stages, the sensorimotor stage, the preoperational stage, and the concrete operational stage. The stages begin with learning though senses and actions, to have magical and egotistic thinking, to being able to think logically but not abstractly. Piaget also believed that people’s brains create schemas, almost like folders for the ideas of the brain, in order to organized they can understand them. When someone takes in new information,
Learning is defined as a “process of change that occurs as a result of an individual’s experience” (Mazure, 2006). Researchers assume that the process of learning follows certain general principles, which were developed, into the general process learning theories. These include operant conditioning and classical conditioning which has been put forward by leading psychologists like Pavlov, B.F.Skinner and Thorndike. However, in learning, operant and classical conditoning are opposed by biological constraints that state that there are limitations to the theories. Some of these biological constraints on learning will be discussed below.