The word “plasticity” in relation to our brains means that they are able to change, develop, rewire themselves and create new pathways in response to the experience of their owners.
This adaptive ability of our brains is a cause for optimism for any learner, for anyone who is experiencing something new and finding it difficult, and even for someone who has suffered from brain damage. More than we ever realised before the past two decades, the brain has the capacity to rebuild damaged pathways and forge new connections as we learn new material and expose ourselves to novel experiences. That is why we get better at whatever we practise consistently. That is how a task that once required our full concentration eventually, with practice, becomes automatic and straightforward.
Here are some quotations on the topic from experts in the field:
“When we say the brain is plastic, what we mean is that the brain can actually change how it processes information based on the information it has already processed. So in other words your brain is rewiring itself based on prior experiences.“
Professor Earl Miller – click here to view more: Genes to Cognition Online Website
“Long-term potentiation is a form of synaptic plasticity. Plasticity refers to change in the strength of synaptic connections. Long-term potentiation is a form of synaptic plasticity whereby activity in neurons gives rise to a change in synaptic strength.”
Eric Kandel – click here to view more: Genes to Cognition Online Website
The story of Jodie Miller is an example of the plasticity of the brain. Despite having had one hemisphere of her brain surgically removed, an operation that was required to save her life, she is able to live a normal life with minimal effects on her movement and other abilities. The plasticity of our brains lasts through life, but in childhood the brain is especially able to react to trauma by rerouting to new, undamaged neurons and through creating new neural circuits. Jodie’s experience provides evidence of this.
