Neuroplasticity, Memory, and Learning Neuroplasticity

Neuroplasticity, Memory, And Learning

Neuroplasticity in Principle:

The human brain consists of billions of individual neurons, each with thousands of connections to other neurons. It is the myriad patterns and the neural architecture of these complex interconnections that are the basis of cognitive processes, memory, and learning. Certain patterns of neural architectural development are determined by evolutionary influences, but the brain retains a tremendous ability to adapt to environmental influences, including the external needs imposed by the environment, traumatic damage, and disease.

This flexibility or neuroplasticity is evident in the way that neurons from certain regions of the brain sometimes adapt to take on the role of other regions through four specific processes that have been identified by neurological researchers. The theoretical implications and therapeutic applications of neuroplasticity are the potential methods of treating traumatic brain injury through rehabilitation approaches exploiting the natural flexibility of neural development. It may also contribute significantly to the modern understanding and treatment of brain-based disease and structural malformation.

Four Types of Neuroplasticity:

The process of neural network growth attributable to neuroplasticity comes in four variations that have been identified. Functional map extension refers to the manner in which neurons close to the site of traumatic brain injury can alter their function and shape in order to form new pathways to assist damaged regions of the brain perform their designated functions. Compensatory masquerade refers to the aspect of neural plasticity that allows existing neural circuits adapt to necessity by changing their specific function.

Homologous region adoption is the form of neuroplasticity that allows entire regions of the brain to assume the functions and roles of entirely different regions of the brain, such as in response to traumatic brain injury that destroys brain matter. It is also thought to be the process responsible for the observation that blind individuals (for one example) tend to develop exceptional abilities in their other senses to compensate for the additional burdens on cognition.

Cross model reassignment refers to the full-scale replacement of certain types of sensory input for entirely different types. The process by which the blind learn to read Braille provides an example of cross model reassignment whereby it is believed that unused regions of the brain normally dedicated to receiving and processing visual stimuli are transformed into neurological structures capable of processing sensory input from the fingertips.

The Role of Neuroplasticity in Memory and Learning: