Interesting Discoveries about the Brain (I)

Did you know that your brain continues to change and develop throughout your life?

This is called Neuroplasticity and it is a discovery that has opened an exciting area of scientific research. Knowledge about neuroplasticity not only helps us to understand how we ‘tick’ but also offers hope to those suffering as a result of brain-related injury and illness.

Dr.  Michael Mezenich, one of the best known researchers in this field, describes it thus,

Brain plasticity is a term that sounds odd to the average person, for whom the word “plastic” brings up images of tupperware and Saran Wrap. Among neuroscientists, though, brain plasticity refers to the brain’s ability to change—for better or worse—throughout life. It’s an incredibly important and personal process: by defining our brain development, it shapes each of our distinct personalities.

Brain plasticity is a concept that is at once very simple and extraordinarily complex. That the brain is not static; that it responds to circumstances, to new learning, is fairly easy to grasp. How and why it does so is quite a bit more complicated, and one that scientists are digging into…

Changes in the physical brain manifest as changes in our abilities. For example, each time we learn a new dance step, it reflects a change in our physical brains: new “wires” (neural pathways) that give instructions to our bodies on how to perform the step. Each time we forget someone’s name, it also reflects brain change— “wires” that once connected to the memory have been degraded, or even severed…

The Plasticity Revolution
The growing understanding of and interest in brain plasticity is driving a revolution in brain health and science…Ultimately, brain-plasticity based programs might help schizophrenics improve their symptoms and live more normal lives. Musicians stricken with focal dystonia might learn to play again, without pain. People with mild cognitive impairment or early-stage Alzheimer’s might halt the progression of their disease. Cancer patients whose ability to function has been impeded by the lasting cognitive effects of chemotherapy treatment might find their old selves again. Stroke or traumatic brain injury victims may relearn skills they thought were lost forever. The list goes on. (1)

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Photograph – Auguste Deter – 1901 – first patient described as suffering with Alzheimer’s Disease

(1) http://merzenich.positscience.com/?page_id=143

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