Neuroplasticity Of The Human Brain

Of the five senses that humans employ in everyday life, taste and sight are two of the more interesting senses. They are continually developed throughout our entire lives and we are exposed to new sights and tastes everyday. Many people think that our senses are all unique and independent of each other, but taste and sight are surprising similar in many aspects, such as their development. Not only are taste and sight developed similarly, but they are also affected by familiarity, socialization, and memory. Although many people in the world believe that all our senses are different in function and development, taste and sight have a unique connection between the two senses that makes them very similar.

Describe the anatomy of the neuron and the ways that neurons communicate with each other.

The nematode Caenorhabditis elegans has ended up being a capable model for the investigation of maturing science. Strikingly, C. elegans tissues fall apart at various rates in maturing grown-ups, with specific highlights of age-related decrease strikingly reminiscent of those in higher life forms. Here they report two striking highlights of the maturing C. elegans sensory system—auxiliary regrowth and synaptic weakening. Morphological changes that happen amid maturing are neuron-particular and incorporate new dendrite outgrowth from forms or somata, with mitochondria regularly arranged at the branch point for the new neurite. Since morphological expanding or growing and synaptic decrease without cell passing exemplifies maturing human mind, enter factors in age-related neuronal decay might be preserved crosswise over phyla.

The concept of neuroplasticity has long been questioned. The term of “neuroplasticity” did not even come about until the mid-late 20th century. When the term “plastic” was used to describe the brain by a select few neuroscientists, they were laughed at and the term was never thought of as a description for the human brain. The human brain was seen as a closed circuit and one that once you had it, you definitely had it. Scientists thought the brain would not develop anymore past a certain point in your life. Norman Doidge brings the concept of neuroplasticity into reality in his book “The Brain that Changes Itself,” a book about the triumphs in the frontier of brain science.

The videos that I watched we very informative and intriguing. In the neuroplasticity video it told us that neuroplasticity is the brain's ability to reorganize itself by forming new neural connections throughout life. Neuroplasticity is how we become better at problem solving, learning a new language, and increasing our ability to focus. An example, of my road to mastering a subject would be me learning how to play the clarinet. I vividly remember the first day I played the clarinet, I still remember that I had to look at my fingers to see if I they were on the right keys. Doing anything the first time most of the time is hard at first, but with time it becomes a habit. At first when I got my clarinet they told me to get reeds, when I saw them the first time I just saw thick strips of wood.

The concept of neuroplasticity is new and upcoming in the field of medicine. Neuroplasticity is defined as “the process in which your brain's neural synapses and pathways are altered as an effect of environmental, behavioral and neural changes.” Simply put, neuroplasticity is how your brain grows and changes. This is crucial to individuals who have sustained severe brain or spinal injuries. In order for these new synapses to form the neurons must be constantly stimulated through physical and occupational therapies. However, not all therapies are covered under health insurances, and when they are covered patients and families are still forced to pay hefty co-pays if they wish to receive treatments. Physical, Occupational, and Psychological therapies

For example, John Hull, a religious professor who lost his sight once he became forty-eight years old, is able to obtain a “new intensity of auditory experience (or attention) [and comes] to feel a sense of intimacy with nature [along with] an intensity of being-in-the-world” (330). He becomes “intellectually and spiritually bolder, more confident,” and is able to create a different identity for himself as a result of his blindness (330). His brain is able to adapt to such a drastic adjustment and the hyperacuity he experiences alters how his brain recognizes the world around him. Hull is a convincing example of the brain’s plasticity and how the senses can define a person’s identity. We respond to our experiences using our senses and the brain’s ability to utilize sensory inputs. Having sensory loss essentially enhances the other senses that remain functional, resulting in an improvement of the brain’s ability to communicate images, sounds, smells, and textures. Experiences become more vivid and vibrant than they naturally would be. Even though the actual experience of losing one of the senses can be severely traumatic and damaging, the brain works to recover from that loss. In the case of sensory loss, the brain is able to significantly recover better than it would in regards to psychological trauma. Sensory loss represents the extent to which our responses to life experiences can contribute to

Though our sensory organs may be working fine, environmental influences may distort our interpretation of the data the organ is sending to us. For example, we could look down a street and not see anyone and think it is safe to walk down that street, but someone could be behind a tree or other object. We do not always interpret sensory data correctly no matter what sensory organ we are using. That is the most important reason we should be aware that we may not always rely on sensory information. Our senses are who we are, without them we are left to isolation and our ability to think and learn due to lack of experience. Senses are our connection from the physical world into the realm of our mind. “There is nothing in the mind unless it is first in the senses” (Kirby &

Neuroplasticity is the change of pathways in the brain that allows us to do certain activities and change the way we do them. It works through a connection of neurons that allow us to think and react.

Sensory processing develops naturally and is done without effort (What is, n.d., para 2). The brain’s “ability to process and organize sensations begins to emerge in the womb and continues into adolescence” (Bolles, 2001). “The human body takes in sensory input from several different sensory systems, organizes it in the brain for functional use, and then sends out signals to the rest of the body to activate” adaptive response (An Introduction, 2014). There are eight sensory systems found in the human body (SPD, n.d, para 1). Five of the eight sensory systems are known as the

Humans all share similarities brains to chimpanzees and mice. To understanding the long-term change of brain regulation, and particularly as they occur after birth, is crucial in determining the force that nutrition and environmental have on healthy development during stage of life cycles. Furthermore, most of human brains develop after birth. Environmental can the main affect that functioning our brain later in life (during early childhood and adolescence), environmental factor can either destroy the brain further and increase the risk of schizophrenia (long-term mental disorder). Mental disorder or mental illness caused by biological, psychological and social factors. When teenagers are having stressful day, they tend to use drug to relieve their stress out.

In my life, I have experienced neuroplasticity a lot in sports, school, and other hobbies/skills. I’m a soccer player so I learn lots of new techniques and skills at practice and games. For example, when my coach taught me how to do a stepover, I struggled with it at first. I would step on the ball, trip over my foot, and tons of other little mistakes that resulted in lots of frustration. But I kept practicing it at home, at practice, and at games. Finally I learned the skill and now it comes naturally to me.

It has been found that the increased use of a prosthetic limb can reduce phantom limb pain (PLP) in amputees suffering from strong pain. How that occurs is still up for research and debate, but some ideas have been formulated as to how the brain can adapt to the trauma of losing a limb. In their article, Preißler et al. (2013), detail the relationships between cortical plasticity, the use of prosthesis, and reduction in PLP linked with prosthesis use. Furthermore, by understanding the effects of cortical plasticity and reorganization that occurs in the aftermath of limb amputation, we are better able to comprehend how prosthetic use can mitigate pain in severe PLP sufferers.

For a long time, the common consensus among neuroscientists was that neurons were relatively immutable after a certain age in early childhood. It is now believed that the brain remains plastic throughout adulthood as well, and that neurogenesis may persist well into old age. Research indicates that experience can actually change both the brain 's physical structure and functional organization. For example, if one hemisphere of the brain is damaged, the intact hemisphere may take over some of the impaired side’s functions. The brain compensates for damage by reorganizing and forming new connections between intact neurons. To reconnect again, the neurons need to be stimulated through activity.2