Neuroplasticity

1948

Jerzy Konorski (1903–1973)

At age four, little Alexander speaks English, Spanish, and Greek fluently. Since birth, his father has spoken Spanish and his mother has spoken Greek to him, while he learned English at day care. It is not surprising that Alexander and other children with similar experiences could be so linguistically skilled. Scientists and parents have long observed how quickly children learn. This is because the brain for the first decade or so of life is highly plastic, or malleable, constantly adding new neural connections from experience. Polish neuroscientist Jerzy Konorski first described this in 1948. It was long thought that this plasticity ended sometime in adolescence and that adult brains were rigid and not capable of major changes. However, research conducted since the 1990s has revealed that, in fact, there is significant plasticity even in the adult brain. As we learn new things, our brains change. When we learn, neural connections involved in the learning are strengthened. Neuroscientists contend that our experiences change both our actual brain structure and how it is organized.

This is possible because within the brain the connections between neurons are constantly changing depending on their usage. The other key concept is the organization of our sensory and motor systems in the cortex. Sensory input from the body is relayed to an area of the brain called the somatosensory strip, while the output—our response—comes from the primary motor cortex.

Research has shown that these areas change and reorganize depending on experience. One study on touch discrimination involving blind volunteers showed that the subjects experienced changes in the visual cortex, which is normally only responsive to visual stimulation in sighted individuals. Scientists now think that the human brain remains plastic throughout life as we constantly adapt to changing experiences.

SEE ALSO Brain Imaging (1924), Split-Brain Studies (1962), The BRAIN Initiative (2013)

Research demonstrates that neural connections in the brain continue to reorganize, based on life experience, well into adulthood.