Plasticity In The Brain

*. By repeatedly obtaining brain scans of the same children for up to four years, researchers found that the children’s brains experience undergo dramatic anatomical change between the ages of 3 and 15.

& Li, 2001). With the brain developing at its fastest rate in childhood, it is especially

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.

drawn from this finding. One is that no shift from one hemisphere to the other has occurred

Whereas, all bodily functions depends on the neurotransmissions of the nerve cells and synapse connections, when these cells and connections die, removal is the only option to assure the functions such as memory and cognition continue. The frontal cortex is responsible for cognitive functions such as planning, action execution, and impulse control. By the time a child reaches the age of puberty his or her brain resembles an adult brain in context of weight, size, areas of the brain specific to certain functions, and folding. However, the development of the brain is incomplete (Powell, 2006).

There are three stages to plasticity, the first stage is your immature brain that you had at the beginning of your life organizes its self. The second stage is when your brain starts to learn something new or memorizes something. The final stage is when your brain makes up for a function that was lost. Your brain is so tremendous that it is made up of 100 billion neutrons that can send pulses at 250mph through the brain. Your brain is

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.

hormones, neurotropic factors, environmental demands) are essential for typical differentiation. Especially at this age range, strong region-specific maturational changes occur in the rolandic gray matter, which present an increased susceptibility to deviations from the normal developmental trajectory by improper signaling (Andersen, 2003; Lenroot and Giedd, 2006). Moreover, during development, preadolescent influences are incorporated into the (further) maturation of anatomy and function as they determine set points for adult function, with possibly lasting effects (Andersen, 2003). The phase of preadolescent cortical thinning is preceded by a tremendous overshoot of neurons and connections, during which the brain is established as an over-complete network (Andersen, 2003; Lenroot and Giedd, 2006). The subsequent pruning process removes redundant neurons and connections to optimize the network for environmental needs, the level of redundancy determining the degree of adaptation (Muftuler et al.,

Infant learning and brain development is fragile and contingent upon numerous intrinsic and extrinsic factors. The most critical time frame for infant brain development is from the second trimester to the first three months of life (Marshall, 2011). During this time, neural pathways are forming, areas of the brain are maturing, and brain development is rapid. From infancy until the age of 3 years, neural pathways are still being formed in response to stimulation and for this reason, it is extremely important for caregivers and parents to be aware of the many factors that can influence brain development in infants (Marshall, 2011).

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.

To what extent can cognitive development be understood in terms of the specialization of function in specific structures of the brain?

This editorial concerns an interesting paper, recently published in Acta Physiologica, showing evidence that the focus of attention - internal or external - during execution of a motor task can cause transient neuroplastic-like responses in motor areas of the brain (Khun et al., 2016). Neuroplasticity refers to the capacity of the brain to reorganise itself in response to our experiences throughout life. Typically, changes to the organization of the brain come about to support brain function. For instance, after a spinal cord injury or stroke, the brain must adapt to allow functional recovery (Rao et al., 2016). The recognition that the brain must change to improve function has led to several attempts to boost neuroplasticity. Cutting-edge

The two types of brain plasticity are functional and structural plasticity. Functional plasticity refers to the brain’s ability to move “functions” from one damaged area of the brain to other undamaged areas. When a person has a brain injury, wherever the damage has occurred, loss of ability to perform a task or do something happens. For example, a person could have a brain injury that causes them to lose their ability to use their right hand. Because our brains have functional plasticity, healthy parts of the brain may take over those functions and the abilities can be restored. Neurons can reorganize and form new connections through undamaged neurons and new pathways are developed. Through rehabilitation and relearning of how to use their

e process Nelson (2011) describes is neural plasticity. In my own words, it refers to how and why our brains are changed throughout the course of our life. The book goes on to say that there can be negative and positive experiences that impact how the brain functions. One example of a negative impact would be growing up in an abusive home, seeing your parents argue and fight daily. A positive impact would be talking, singing, reading, and playing with a child everyday. This will prepare the child for school, reading, and increase vocabulary to mention a few.

A newborns brain growth is rapid and their growth and development reflects their experiences and social relationships (Berger,2014). From two weeks after conception until two weeks after birth the brain grows more rapidly than any other organ in the body (Berger,2014). We will now examine what biologically takes place inside the brain of an infant to better try to understand why development at this stage is so crucial. A newborns brain has billions of neurons, that are located in the portion of the brain called the Cortex, and they regulate and control thought, feeling, and sensation (Berger, 2014). In addition, research has found that children younger than