Neuroplasticity; the brain's ability to reorganize itself by forming new neural connections throughout life. Neuroplasticity allows the neurons (nerve cells) in the brain to compensate for injury and disease and to adjust their activities in response to new situations or changes in their environment.

Brain reorganization takes place by mechanisms such as "axonal sprouting" in which undamaged axons grow new nerve endings to reconnect neurons whose links were injured or severed. Undamaged axons can also sprout nerve endings and connect with other undamaged nerve cells, forming new neural pathways to accomplish a needed function.

For example, if one hemisphere of the brain is damaged, the intact hemisphere may take over some of its functions. The brain compensates for damage in effect by reorganizing and forming new connections between intact neurons. To reconnect, the neurons need to be stimulated through activity.

Neuroplasticity sometimes may also contribute to impairment. For example, people who are deaf may suffer from a continual ringing in their ears (tinnitus), the result of the rewiring of brain cells starved for sound. For neurons to form beneficial connections, they must be correctly stimulated. Neuroplasticity is also called brain plasticity or brain malleability.

Our brains are constantly being shaped by experience. Most of us have very different behaviors and thoughts today than we did 20 years ago. This shift is neuroplasticity in action; changes in brain structure and organization as we experience, learn and adapt.

With every repetition of a thought or emotion, we reinforce a neural pathway - and with each new thought, we begin to create a new way of being. These small changes, frequently enough repeated, lead to changes in how our brains work. 

Neuroplasticity is the 'muscle building' part of the brain; the things we do often we become stronger at, and what we do not use fades away. That is the physical basis of why making a thought or action repeatedly increases its power. Over time, it becomes automatic; a part of us. We become what we think and do.

Neuroplasticity is at work throughout life. Connections within the brain are constantly becoming stronger or weaker, depending on what is being used. Younger people change easily; their brains are very plastic. As we age change does not come as easily; the brain loses some of its plasticity and we become more fixed in how we think, learn, and perceive. 

Since the brain is pivotal to all we think and do, by harnessing neuroplasticity we can improve everything we do and think. Neurofeedback works with these fundamental principles of neuroplasticity to help you take control of your mind. 

Rapid change or reorganization of the brain’s cellular or neural networks can take place in many different forms and under many different circumstances. Developmental plasticity occurs when neurons in the young brain rapidly sprout branches and form synapses. Then, as the brain begins to process sensory information, some of these synapses strengthen and others weaken. Eventually, some unused synapses are eliminated, a process known as synaptic pruning, which leaves behind efficient networks of neural connections.

Other forms of neuroplasticity operate by much the same mechanism but under different circumstances and sometimes only to a limited extent. These circumstances include changes in the body, such as the loss of a limb or sense organ, that subsequently alter the balance of sensory activity received by the brain. Besides, neuroplasticity is employed by the brain during the reinforcement of sensory information through experiences, such as in learning and memory, and following actual physical damage to the brain (e.g., caused by stroke), when the brain attempts to compensate for lost activity.

The same brain mechanisms—adjustments in the strength or the number of synapses between neurons—operate in all these situations. Sometimes this happens naturally, which can result in a positive or negative reorganization, but other times behavioral techniques or brain-machine interfaces can be used to harness the power of neuroplasticity for therapeutic purposes.

In some cases, such as stroke recovery, natural adult neurogenesis can also play a role. As a result, neurogenesis has spurred an interest in stem cell research, which could lead to an enhancement of neurogenesis in adults who suffer from stroke, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, or depression. Research suggests that Alzheimer’s disease is associated with a marked decline in neurogenesis.

Types of Cortical Neuroplasticity

Developmental plasticity occurs most profoundly in the first few years of life as neurons grow very rapidly and send out multiple branches, ultimately forming too many connections. In fact, at birth, each neuron in the cerebral cortex (the highly convoluted outer layer of the cerebrum) has about 2,500 synapses. By the time, an infant is two or three years old, the number of synapses is approximately 15,000 per neuron. This amount is about twice that of the average adult brain. The connections that are not reinforced by sensory stimulation eventually weaken and the connections that are reinforced become stronger.

Eventually, efficient pathways of neural connections are carved out. Throughout the life of humans or other mammals, these neural connections are fine-tuned through the organism’s interaction with its surroundings. During early childhood, which is known as a critical period of development, the nervous system must receive certain sensory inputs to develop properly.

Once such a critical period ends, there is a precipitous drop in the number of connections that are maintained, and the ones that do remain are the ones that have been strengthened by the appropriate sensory experiences. This massive “pruning back” of excess synapses often occurs during adolescence.

Today researchers are investigating the efficacy of these forms of therapy for individuals who suffer not only from stroke and emotional disorders but also from chronic pain, psychopathy, and social phobia.


Written By - Mohammed Ghattas

Edited By - Sravanthi Cheerladinne