December 13, 2016

What is Neuroplasticity?

The new buzzword in science these days is Neuroplasticity, but what is it exactly?

ORLANDO, FL, December 13, 2016 -- Imagine for a minute, your brain as a busy network of roads and highways that crisscross and connect, wind and turn; and each one of those roads and highways gets you to a specific destination. Then imagine if you will that due to any number of reasons, an accident or natural disaster, the road or highway is closed. You don't end your journey; you plot a new way to get to your destination. That's pretty much what Neuroplasticity is. It is our brain repairing its circuitry - finding new routes - new connections due to any number of reasons. The brain adjusts in response to disease, accident, environmental factors, behavior, thinking or emotions.

Much of what was once believed about the brain's plasticity, or its ability to change and adapt is being overturned by modern scientific research, especially as it relates to the adult brain's ability to reorganize. It was once thought that the brain developed during early childhood and then stopped and that injury to the brain that occurred in adults was permanent. That notion has been dispelled.

What science is now discovering is that our brains, even in adulthood, can form new connections, it can optimize itself to accommodate changes due to injury, disease or other factors. Of course maintaining natural brain health adds to our ability to recover some or all of the brain's capacities if anything was to disrupt our natural brain functionality.

The brain is an elegant and remarkable organ containing billions of nerve cells. It is like the computer that manages, monitors, and controls every function in your body. Each section of the brain is responsible for relaying vital information critical to our survival. If any part of the brain is injured or impaired for any reason, it will have a corresponding effect on the body function it is responsible for regulating. The idea that the brain can repair itself is as profound as it is exciting. The age of understanding the brain's neuroplasticity is here - let the adventure begin.

Plasticity Brain Centers offers non-invasive neuro rehabilitation based on a single scientific principle: the brain is capable of learning and changing throughout a patient's entire life.

Learn more about our approach here.

1. Liou, S. Neuroplasticity, 26 Jun, 2010 Neurobiology (http://web.stanford.edu/group/hopes/cgi-bin/hopes_test/neuroplasticity/)
2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neuroplasticity
3. Davidson, R.J. & McEwen, B.S. Social influence on neuroplasticity: stress and interventions to promote well-being Nature Neuroscience 15, 689-695 (2012) doi:10.1038/nn.3093 Published online 15 April 2012
4. Honan, D BigThink, 2015 Neuroplasticity: You Can Teach an Old Brain New Tricks http://bigthink.com/think-tank/brain-exercise
5. Adam, T The Guardian, 8 Feb, 2015 Norman Doidge: the man teaching us to change our minds

 

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