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Neuroplasticity
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{{Short description|Ability of the brain to continuously change}}{{cs1 config|name-list-style=vanc|display-authors=6}}{{Redirect|Neural plasticity|the journal|Neural Plasticity (journal)|the 2014 Cold Specks album|Neuroplasticity (album)}}{{Use dmy dates|date= July 2015}}Neuroplasticity, also known as neural plasticity or brain plasticity, is the ability of neural networks in the brain to change through growth and reorganization. It is when the brain is rewired to function in some way that differs from how it previously functioned.BOOK, Costandi, Moheb,weblink Neuroplasticity, 19 August 2016, MIT Press, 978-0-262-52933-4, 987683015, These changes range from individual neuron pathways making new connections, to systematic adjustments like cortical remapping or neural oscillation. Other forms of neuroplasticity include homologous area adaptation, cross modal reassignment, map expansion, and compensatory masquerade.JOURNAL, Grafman, Jordan, July 1, 2000, Conceptualizing functional neuroplasticity,weblink Journal of Communication Disorders, en, 33, 4, 345â356, 10.1016/S0021-9924(00)00030-7, 11001161, Examples of neuroplasticity include circuit and network changes that result from learning a new ability, information acquisition, environmental influences, pregnancy,JOURNAL, Paternina-Die, MarÃa, MartÃnez-GarcÃa, Magdalena, MartÃn de Blas, Daniel, Noguero, Inés, Servin-Barthet, Camila, Pretus, Clara, Soler, Anna, López-Montoya, Gonzalo, Desco, Manuel, Carmona, Susana, February 2024, Women's neuroplasticity during gestation, childbirth and postpartum, Nature Neuroscience, en, 27, 2, 319â327, 10.1038/s41593-023-01513-2, 38182834, 10849958, 1546-1726, caloric intake, practice/training, and psychological stress.Neuroplasticity was once thought by neuroscientists to manifest only during childhood,JOURNAL, Leuner B, Gould E, Structural plasticity and hippocampal function, Annual Review of Psychology, 61, 1, 111â140, January 2010, 19575621, 3012424, 10.1146/annurev.psych.093008.100359, BOOK, Kusiak AN, Selzer ME,weblink Neurological Rehabilitation, 2013, Elsevier Inc. Chapters, 978-0-12-807792-4, Barnes MP, Good DC, 3rd, China, en, Neuroplasticity in the spinal cord, 3 June 2020, 13 July 2020,weblink live, but research in the latter half of the 20th century showed that many aspects of the brain can be altered (or are "plastic") even through adulthood. However, the developing brain exhibits a higher degree of plasticity than the adult brain.JOURNAL, Hensch TK, Bilimoria PM, Re-opening Windows: Manipulating Critical Periods for Brain Development, Cerebrum, 2012, 11, July 2012, 23447797, 3574806, Activity-dependent plasticity can have significant implications for healthy development, learning, memory, and recovery from brain damage.JOURNAL, Ganguly K, Poo MM, Activity-dependent neural plasticity from bench to bedside, Neuron, 80, 3, 729â741, October 2013, 24183023, 10.1016/j.neuron.2013.10.028, free, JOURNAL, Carey L, Walsh A, Adikari A, Goodin P, Alahakoon D, De Silva D, Ong KL, Nilsson M, Boyd L, Finding the Intersection of Neuroplasticity, Stroke Recovery, and Learning: Scope and Contributions to Stroke Rehabilitation, Neural Plasticity, 2019, 5232374, 2 May 2019, 31191637, 6525913, 10.1155/2019/5232374, free, - the content below is remote from Wikipedia
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History
Origin
The term plasticity was first applied to behavior in 1890 by William James in The Principles of Psychology where the term was used to describe "a structure weak enough to yield to an influence, but strong enough not to yield all at once".JOURNAL, Warraich, Zuha, Kleim, Jeffrey A., 2010-12-01, Neural Plasticity: The Biological Substrate For Neurorehabilitation,weblink PM&R, en, 2, 12 Suppl 2, S208âS219, 10.1016/j.pmrj.2010.10.016, 21172683, 36928880, The first person to use the term neural plasticity appears to have been the Polish neuroscientist Jerzy Konorski.One of the first experiments providing evidence for neuroplasticity was conducted in 1793, by Italian anatomist Michele Vicenzo Malacarne, who described experiments in which he paired animals, trained one of the pair extensively for years, and then dissected both. Malacarne discovered that the cerebellums of the trained animals were substantially larger than the cerebellum of the untrained animals. However, while these findings were significant, they were eventually forgotten.JOURNAL, Rosenzweig MR, Aspects of the search for neural mechanisms of memory, Annual Review of Psychology, 47, 1â32, 1996, 8624134, 10.1146/annurev.psych.47.1.1, In 1890, the idea that the brain and its function are not fixed throughout adulthood was proposed by William James in The Principles of Psychology, though the idea was largely neglected. Up until the 1970s, neuroscientists believed that the brain's structure and function was essentially fixed throughout adulthood.While the brain was commonly understood as a nonrenewable organ in the early 1900s, Santiago Ramón y Cajal, father of neuroscience, used the term neuronal plasticity to describe nonpathological changes in the structure of adult brains. Based on his renowned neuron doctrine, Cajal first described the neuron as the fundamental unit of the nervous system that later served as an essential foundation to develop the concept of neural plasticity. Many neuroscientists used the term plasticity to explain the regenerative capacity of the peripheral nervous system only. Cajal, however, used the term plasticity to reference his findings of degeneration and regeneration in the adult brain (a part of the central nervous system). This was controversial.JOURNAL, Fuchs E, Flügge G, Adult neuroplasticity: more than 40 years of research, Neural Plasticity, 2014, 5, 541870, 2014, 24883212, 4026979, 10.1155/2014/541870, free, The term has since been broadly applied:
{{blockquote|Given the central importance of neuroplasticity, an outsider would be forgiven for assuming that it was well defined and that a basic and universal framework served to direct current and future hypotheses and experimentation. Sadly, however, this is not the case. While many neuroscientists use the word neuroplasticity as an umbrella term it means different things to different researchers in different subfields ... In brief, a mutually agreed-upon framework does not appear to exist.
}}Research and discovery
In 1923, Karl Lashley conducted experiments on rhesus monkeys that demonstrated changes in neuronal pathways, which he concluded were evidence of plasticity. Despite this, and other research that suggested plasticity, neuroscientists did not widely accept the idea of neuroplasticity.In 1945, Justo Gonzalo concluded from his research on brain dynamics, that, contrary to the activity of the projection areas, the "central" cortical mass (more or less equidistant from the visual, tactile and auditive projection areas), would be a "maneuvering mass", rather unspecific or multisensory, with capacity to increase neural excitability and re-organize the activity by means of plasticity properties. He gives as a first example of adaptation, to see upright with reversing glasses in the Stratton experiment,JOURNAL, Stratton GM, 13147419, George M. Stratton, 1896, Some preliminary experiments on vision without inversion of the retinal image, Psychological Review, 3, 6, 611â7, 10.1037/h0072918, and specially, several first-hand brain injuries cases in which he observed dynamic and adaptive properties in their disorders, in particular in the inverted perception disorder [e.g., see pp 260â62 Vol. I (1945), p 696 Vol. II (1950)]. He stated that a sensory signal in a projection area would be only an inverted and constricted outline that would be magnified due to the increase in recruited cerebral mass, and re-inverted due to some effect of brain plasticity, in more central areas, following a spiral growth.JOURNAL, Justo Gonzalo, Trabajos del Instituto Cajal de Investigaciones Biológicasvolume=44, 1952 | first=Justo | title=Dinámica cerebral, 10347/4341,weblink Marian Diamond of the University of California, Berkeley, produced the first scientific evidence of anatomical brain plasticity, publishing her research in 1964.JOURNAL, Diamond MC, Krech D, Rosenzweig MR, The effects of an enriched environment on the histology of the rat cerebral cortex, The Journal of Comparative Neurology, 123, 111â120, August 1964, 14199261, 10.1002/cne.901230110, 30997263, JOURNAL, Bennett EL, Diamond MC, Krech D, Rosenzweig MR, Chemical and Anatomical Plasticity of Brain, Science, 146, 3644, 610â619, October 1964, 14191699, 10.1126/science.146.3644.610, 1964Sci...146..610B, Other significant evidence was produced in the 1960s and after, notably from scientists including Paul Bach-y-Rita, Michael Merzenich along with Jon Kaas, as well as several others.Brain Science Podcast Episode #10, "Neuroplasticity"In the 1960s, Paul Bach-y-Rita invented a device that was tested on a small number of people, and involved a person sitting in a chair, embedded in which were nubs that were made to vibrate in ways that translated images received in a camera, allowing a form of vision via sensory substitution.WEB,weblink Wired Science . Video: Mixed Feelings, PBS, 12 June 2010, 22 December 2007,weblink live, Studies in people recovering from stroke also provided support for neuroplasticity, as regions of the brain that remained healthy could sometimes take over, at least in part, functions that had been destroyed; Shepherd Ivory Franz did work in this area.WEB,weblinkweblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20120203003746weblink">weblink 2012-02-03, Shepherd Ivory Franz, Rkthomas.myweb.uga.edu, 12 June 2010, JOURNAL, Colotla VA, Bach-y-Rita P, Shepherd Ivory Franz: his contributions to neuropsychology and rehabilitation, Cognitive, Affective & Behavioral Neuroscience, 2, 2, 141â148, June 2002, 12455681, 10.3758/CABN.2.2.141,weblink unfit, 45175011, free,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20120301092815weblink">weblink 1 March 2012, Eleanor Maguire documented changes in hippocampal structure associated with acquiring the knowledge of London's layout in local taxi drivers.JOURNAL, Maguire EA, Frackowiak RS, Frith CD, Recalling routes around london: activation of the right hippocampus in taxi drivers, The Journal of Neuroscience, 17, 18, 7103â7110, September 1997, 9278544, 6573257, 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.17-18-07103.1997, JOURNAL, Woollett K, Maguire EA, Acquiring "the Knowledge" of London's layout drives structural brain changes, Current Biology, 21, 24, 2109â2114, December 2011, 22169537, 3268356, 10.1016/j.cub.2011.11.018, 2011CBio...21.2109W, JOURNAL, Maguire EA, Gadian DG, Johnsrude IS, Good CD, Ashburner J, Frackowiak RS, Frith CD, Navigation-related structural change in the hippocampi of taxi drivers, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 97, 8, 4398â4403, April 2000, 10716738, 18253, 10.1073/pnas.070039597, free, 2000PNAS...97.4398M, A redistribution of grey matter was indicated in London Taxi Drivers compared to controls. This work on hippocampal plasticity not only interested scientists, but also engaged the public and media worldwide.Michael Merzenich is a neuroscientist who has been one of the pioneers of neuroplasticity for over three decades. He has made some of "the most ambitious claims for the field â that brain exercises may be as useful as drugs to treat diseases as severe as schizophrenia â that plasticity exists from cradle to the grave, and that radical improvements in cognitive functioning â how we learn, think, perceive, and remember are possible even in the elderly." Merzenich's work was affected by a crucial discovery made by David Hubel and Torsten Wiesel in their work with kittens. The experiment involved sewing one eye shut and recording the cortical brain maps. Hubel and Wiesel saw that the portion of the kitten's brain associated with the shut eye was not idle, as expected. Instead, it processed visual information from the open eye. It was "â¦as though the brain didn't want to waste any 'cortical real estate' and had found a way to rewire itself."This implied neuroplasticity during the critical period. However, Merzenich argued that neuroplasticity could occur beyond the critical period. His first encounter with adult plasticity came when he was engaged in a postdoctoral study with Clinton Woosley. The experiment was based on observation of what occurred in the brain when one peripheral nerve was cut and subsequently regenerated. The two scientists micromapped the hand maps of monkey brains before and after cutting a peripheral nerve and sewing the ends together. Afterwards, the hand map in the brain that they expected to be jumbled was nearly normal. This was a substantial breakthrough. Merzenich asserted that, "If the brain map could normalize its structure in response to abnormal input, the prevailing view that we are born with a hardwired system had to be wrong. The brain had to be plastic." Merzenich received the 2016 Kavli Prize in Neuroscience "for the discovery of mechanisms that allow experience and neural activity to remodel brain function."WEB,weblink 2016 Kavli Prize in Neuroscience, 2016-06-02, 2 June 2016, 5 June 2016,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20160605124441weblink">weblink live, NeurobiologyThere are different ideas and theories on what biological process allow for neuroplasticity to occur. The core of this phenomenon is based upon synapses and how connections between them change based on neuron functioning. It is widely agreed upon that neuroplasticity takes on many forms, as it is a result of a variety of pathways. These pathways, mainly signaling cascades, allow for gene expression alterations that lead to neuronal changes, and thus neuroplasticity.There are a number of other factors that are thought to play a role in the biological processes underlying the changing of neural networks in the brain. Some of these factors include synapse regulation via phosphorylation, the role of inflammation and inflammatory cytokines, proteins such as Bcl-2 proteins and neutrophorins, and energy production via mitochondria.JOURNAL, Gulyaeva, N. V., March 2017, Molecular mechanisms of neuroplasticity: An expanding universe,weblink Biochemistry (Moscow), en, 82, 3, 237â242, 10.1134/S0006297917030014, 28320264, 6539117, 0006-2979, JT Wall and J Xu have traced the mechanisms underlying neuroplasticity. Re-organization is not cortically emergent, but occurs at every level in the processing hierarchy; this produces the map changes observed in the cerebral cortex.TypesChristopher Shaw and Jill McEachern (eds) in "Toward a theory of Neuroplasticity", state that there is no all-inclusive theory that overarches different frameworks and systems in the study of neuroplasticity. However, researchers often describe neuroplasticity as "the ability to make adaptive changes related to the structure and function of the nervous system."JOURNAL, Zilles K, Neuronal plasticity as an adaptive property of the central nervous system, Annals of Anatomy - Anatomischer Anzeiger, 174, 5, 383â391, October 1992, 1333175, 10.1016/s0940-9602(11)80255-4, Correspondingly, two types of neuroplasticity are often discussed: structural neuroplasticity and functional neuroplasticity.Structural neuroplasticityStructural plasticity is often understood as the brain's ability to change its neuronal connections. New neurons are constantly produced and integrated into the central nervous system throughout the life span based on this type of neuroplasticity.BOOK, Puderbaugh, Matt, Emmady, Prabhu D., StatPearls, 2023, StatPearls Publishing,weblink 10 October 2023, Neuroplasticity, 32491743, Researchers nowadays use multiple cross-sectional imaging methods (i.e. magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), computerized tomography (CT)) to study the structural alterations of the human brains.JOURNAL, Chang Y, Reorganization and plastic changes of the human brain associated with skill learning and expertise, Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 8, 55, 35, 2014, 24550812, 3912552, 10.3389/fnhum.2014.00035, free, This type of neuroplasticity often studies the effect of various internal or external stimuli on the brain's anatomical reorganization. The changes of grey matter proportion or the synaptic strength in the brain are considered as examples of structural neuroplasticity. Structural neuroplasticity is currently investigated more within the field of neuroscience in current academia.Functional neuroplasticityFunctional plasticity refers to the brain's ability to alter and adapt the functional properties of neurons. Functional plasticity can occur in four known ways namely homologous area adaptation, map expansion, cross- model reassignment, and compensatory masquerade. Through homologous area adaptation a cognitive task is shifted from a damaged part of the brain to its homologous area in the brain. Functional changes like this occur usually in children rather than adults. In map expansion, cortical maps related to particular cognitive tasks expand due to frequent exposure to stimuli. Map expansion has been proven through experiments performed in relation to the study: experiment on effect of frequent stimulus on functional connectivity of the brain was observed in individuals learning spatial routes.JOURNAL, Keller, Timothy A., Just, Marcel Adam, 2016-01-15, Structural and functional neuroplasticity in human learning of spatial routes, NeuroImage, en, 125, 256â266, 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2015.10.015, 26477660, 2784354, 1053-8119, free, Cross-model reassignment involves reception of novel input signals to a brain region which has been stripped off its default input. Functional plasticity through compensatory masquerade occurs using different cognitive processes for an already established cognitive task.The changes can occur in response to previous activity (activity-dependent plasticity) to acquire memory or in response to malfunction or damage of neurons (maladaptive plasticity) to compensate a pathological event. In the latter case the functions from one part of the brain transfer to another part of the brain based on the demand to produce recovery of behavioral or physiological processes.JOURNAL, Freed WJ, de Medinaceli L, Wyatt RJ, Promoting functional plasticity in the damaged nervous system, Science, 227, 4694, 1544â1552, March 1985, 3975624, 10.1126/science.3975624, 1985Sci...227.1544F, Regarding physiological forms of activity-dependent plasticity, those involving synapses are referred to as synaptic plasticity. The strengthening or weakening of synapses that results in an increase or decrease of firing rate of the neurons are called long-term potentiation (LTP) and long-term depression (LTD), respectively, and they are considered as examples of synaptic plasticity that are associated with memory.JOURNAL, Patten AR, Yau SY, Fontaine CJ, Meconi A, Wortman RC, Christie BR, The Benefits of Exercise on Structural and Functional Plasticity in the Rodent Hippocampus of Different Disease Models, Brain Plasticity, 1, 1, 97â127, October 2015, 29765836, 5928528, 10.3233/BPL-150016, The cerebellum is a typical structure with combinations of LTP/LTD and redundancy within the circuitry, allowing plasticity at several sites.JOURNAL, Mitoma H, Kakei S, Yamaguchi K, Manto M, Physiology of Cerebellar Reserve: Redundancy and Plasticity of a Modular Machine, International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 22, 9, 4777, April 2021, 33946358, 8124536, 10.3390/ijms22094777, free, More recently it has become clearer that synaptic plasticity can be complemented by another form of activity-dependent plasticity involving the intrinsic excitability of neurons, which is referred to as intrinsic plasticity.JOURNAL, Zhang W, Linden DJ, The other side of the engram: experience-driven changes in neuronal intrinsic excitability, Nature Reviews. Neuroscience, 4, 11, 885â900, November 2003, 14595400, 10.1038/nrn1248, 17397545, JOURNAL, Debanne D, Inglebert Y, Russier M, Plasticity of intrinsic neuronal excitability, Current Opinion in Neurobiology, 54, 73â82, February 2019, 30243042, 10.1016/j.conb.2018.09.001,weblink 29 February 2020, live, 52812190,weblink 3 February 2020, JOURNAL, Scheler, Gabriele, Learning intrinsic excitability in medium spiny neurons, F1000Research, 2, 88, 2013, 25520776, 10.12688/f1000research.2-88.v2, 4264637, free, This, as opposed to homeostatic plasticity does not necessarily maintain the overall activity of a neuron within a network but contributes to encoding memories.JOURNAL, Grasselli G, Boele HJ, Titley HK, Bradford N, van Beers L, Jay L, Beekhof GC, Busch SE, De Zeeuw CI, Schonewille M, Hansel C, SK2 channels in cerebellar Purkinje cells contribute to excitability modulation in motor-learning-specific memory traces, PLOS Biology, 18, 1, e3000596, January 2020, 31905212, 6964916, 10.1371/journal.pbio.3000596, free, Also, many studies have indicated functional neuroplasticity in the level of brain networks, where training alters the strength of functional connections.JOURNAL, Duru AD, Balcioglu TH, Functional and Structural Plasticity of Brain in Elite Karate Athletes, Journal of Healthcare Engineering, 2018, 8310975, 2018, 30425820, 6218732, 10.1155/2018/8310975, free, JOURNAL, Kelly C, Castellanos FX, Strengthening connections: functional connectivity and brain plasticity, Neuropsychology Review, 24, 1, 63â76, March 2014, 24496903, 4059077, 10.1007/s11065-014-9252-y, Although a recent study discusses that these observed changes should not directly relate to neuroplasticity, since they may root in the systematic requirement of the brain network for reorganization.JOURNAL, Saberi M, Khosrowabadi R, Khatibi A, Misic B, Jafari G, Requirement to change of functional brain network across the lifespan, PLOS ONE, 16, 11, e0260091, 2021, 34793536, 8601519, 10.1371/journal.pone.0260091, 2021PLoSO..1660091S, free,Applications and examplesThe adult brain is not entirely "hard-wired" with fixed neuronal circuits. There are many instances of cortical and subcortical rewiring of neuronal circuits in response to training as well as in response to injury.There is ample evidenceJOURNAL, Yu, Feng, Jiang, Qing-jun, Sun, Xi-yan, Zhang, Rong-wei, 2014-08-22, A new case of complete primary cerebellar agenesis: clinical and imaging findings in a living patient,weblink Brain, 138, 6, e353, 10.1093/brain/awu239, 0006-8950, 4614135, 25149410, for the active, experience-dependent re-organization of the synaptic networks of the brain involving multiple inter-related structures including the cerebral cortex.JOURNAL, Scheler, Gabriele, January 2023, Sketch of a novel approach to a neural model | language=en, The specific details of how this process occurs at the molecular and ultrastructural levels are topics of active neuroscience research. The way experience can influence the synaptic organization of the brain is also the basis for a number of theories of brain function including the general theory of mind and neural Darwinism. The concept of neuroplasticity is also central to theories of memory and learning that are associated with experience-driven alteration of synaptic structure and function in studies of classical conditioning in invertebrate animal models such as Aplysia.There is evidence that neurogenesis (birth of brain cells) occurs in the adult, rodent brainâand such changes can persist well into old age.JOURNAL, Duque, Alvaro, Arellano, Jon I., Rakic, Pasko, January 2022, An assessment of the existence of adult neurogenesis in humans and value of its rodent models for neuropsychiatric diseases, Molecular Psychiatry, en, 27, 1, 377â382, 10.1038/s41380-021-01314-8, 34667259, 8967762, 1476-5578, The evidence for neurogenesis is mainly restricted to the hippocampus and olfactory bulb, but research has revealed that other parts of the brain, including the cerebellum, may be involved as well. However, the degree of rewiring induced by the integration of new neurons in the established circuits is not known, and such rewiring may well be functionally redundant.JOURNAL, França TF, November 2018, Plasticity and redundancy in the integration of adult born neurons in the hippocampus, Neurobiology of Learning and Memory, 155, 136â142, 10.1016/j.nlm.2018.07.007, 30031119, free, 51710989, Treatment of brain damageA surprising consequence of neuroplasticity is that the brain activity associated with a given function can be transferred to a different location; this can result from normal experience and also occurs in the process of recovery from brain injury. Neuroplasticity is the fundamental issue that supports the scientific basis for treatment of acquired brain injury with goal-directed experiential therapeutic programs in the context of rehabilitation approaches to the functional consequences of the injury.Neuroplasticity is gaining popularity as a theory that, at least in part, explains improvements in functional outcomes with physical therapy post-stroke. Rehabilitation techniques that are supported by evidence which suggest cortical reorganization as the mechanism of change include constraint-induced movement therapy, functional electrical stimulation, treadmill training with body-weight support, and virtual reality therapy. Robot assisted therapy is an emerging technique, which is also hypothesized to work by way of neuroplasticity, though there is currently insufficient evidence to determine the exact mechanisms of change when using this method.JOURNAL, Young JA, Tolentino M, Neuroplasticity and its applications for rehabilitation, American Journal of Therapeutics, 18, 1, 70â80, January 2011, 21192249, 10.1097/MJT.0b013e3181e0f1a4, One group has developed a treatment that includes increased levels of progesterone injections in brain-injured patients. "Administration of progesterone after traumatic brain injuryweblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20060626124922weblink">Traumatic Brain Injury (a story of TBI and the results of ProTECT using progesterone treatments) Emory University News Archives (TBI) and stroke reduces edema, inflammation, and neuronal cell death, and enhances spatial reference memory and sensory-motor recovery."JOURNAL, Cutler SM, Pettus EH, Hoffman SW, Stein DG, Tapered progesterone withdrawal enhances behavioral and molecular recovery after traumatic brain injury, Experimental Neurology, 195, 2, 423â429, October 2005, 16039652, 10.1016/j.expneurol.2005.06.003, 6305569, In a clinical trial, a group of severely injured patients had a 60% reduction in mortality after three days of progesterone injections. However, a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine in 2014 detailing the results of a multi-center NIH-funded phase III clinical trial of 882 patients found that treatment of acute traumatic brain injury with the hormone progesterone provides no significant benefit to patients when compared with placebo.WEB,weblink Progesterone offers no significant benefit in traumatic brain injury clinical trial,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20150327011928weblink">weblink 27 March 2015, Emory University, Atlanta, GA,Binocular visionFor decades, researchers assumed that humans had to acquire binocular vision, in particular stereopsis, in early childhood or they would never gain it. In recent years, however, successful improvements in persons with amblyopia, convergence insufficiency or other stereo vision anomalies have become prime examples of neuroplasticity; binocular vision improvements and stereopsis recovery are now active areas of scientific and clinical research.JOURNAL, Maino DM, Neuroplasticity: Teaching an old brain new tricks., Review of Optometry, January 2009, 39, 46,weblinkweblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20140819102836weblink">weblink 19 August 2014, JOURNAL, Vedamurthy I, Huang SJ, Levi DM, Bavelier D, Knill DC, Recovery of stereopsis in adults through training in a virtual reality task, Journal of Vision, 27 December 2012, 12, 14, 53, 10.1167/12.14.53, free, JOURNAL, Hess RF, Thompson B, New insights into amblyopia: binocular therapy and noninvasive brain stimulation, Journal of AAPOS, 17, 1, 89â93, February 2013, 23352385, 10.1016/j.jaapos.2012.10.018,Phantom limbs(File:Mirror-box-comic.jpg|thumb|right|200px|A diagrammatic explanation of the mirror box. The patient places the intact limb into one side of the box (in this case the right hand) and the amputated limb into the other side. Due to the mirror, the patient sees a reflection of the intact hand where the missing limb would be (indicated in lower contrast). The patient thus receives artificial visual feedback that the "resurrected" limb is now moving when they move the good hand.)In the phenomenon of phantom limb sensation, a person continues to feel pain or sensation within a part of their body that has been amputated. This is strangely common, occurring in 60â80% of amputees.JOURNAL, Beaumont G, Mercier C, Michon PE, Malouin F, Jackson PL, Decreasing phantom limb pain through observation of action and imagery: a case series, Pain Medicine, 12, 2, 289â299, February 2011, 21276185, 10.1111/j.1526-4637.2010.01048.x, free, An explanation for this is based on the concept of neuroplasticity, as the cortical maps of the removed limbs are believed to have become engaged with the area around them in the postcentral gyrus. This results in activity within the surrounding area of the cortex being misinterpreted by the area of the cortex formerly responsible for the amputated limb.The relationship between phantom limb sensation and neuroplasticity is a complex one. In the early 1990s V.S. Ramachandran theorized that phantom limbs were the result of cortical remapping. However, in 1995 Herta Flor and her colleagues demonstrated that cortical remapping occurs only in patients who have phantom pain.JOURNAL, Flor H, Elbert T, Knecht S, Wienbruch C, Pantev C, Birbaumer N, Larbig W, Taub E, Phantom-limb pain as a perceptual correlate of cortical reorganization following arm amputation, Nature, 375, 6531, 482â484, June 1995, 7777055, 10.1038/375482a0,weblink 21 December 2018, live, 205025856, 1995Natur.375..482F,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20201120201812weblink">weblink 20 November 2020, Her research showed that phantom limb pain (rather than referred sensations) was the perceptual correlate of cortical reorganization.JOURNAL, Flor H, Cortical reorganisation and chronic pain: implications for rehabilitation, Journal of Rehabilitation Medicine, 35, 41 Suppl, 66â72, May 2003, 12817660, 10.1080/16501960310010179, free, This phenomenon is sometimes referred to as maladaptive plasticity.In 2009, Lorimer Moseley and Peter Brugger carried out an experiment in which they encouraged arm amputee subjects to use visual imagery to contort their phantom limbs into impossible{{Clarify|reason=Explain what is meant by 'impossible'|date=July 2020}} configurations. Four of the seven subjects succeeded in performing impossible movements of the phantom limb. This experiment suggests that the subjects had modified the neural representation of their phantom limbs and generated the motor commands needed to execute impossible movements in the absence of feedback from the body.JOURNAL, Moseley GL, Brugger P, Interdependence of movement and anatomy persists when amputees learn a physiologically impossible movement of their phantom limb, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 106, 44, 18798â18802, November 2009, 19858475, 2774040, 10.1073/pnas.0907151106, free, 2009PNAS..10618798M, The authors stated that: "In fact, this finding extends our understanding of the brain's plasticity because it is evidence that profound changes in the mental representation of the body can be induced purely by internal brain mechanismsâthe brain truly does change itself."Chronic painIndividuals who have chronic pain experience prolonged pain at sites that may have been previously injured, yet are otherwise currently healthy. This phenomenon is related to neuroplasticity due to a maladaptive reorganization of the nervous system, both peripherally and centrally. During the period of tissue damage, noxious stimuli and inflammation cause an elevation of nociceptive input from the periphery to the central nervous system. Prolonged nociception from the periphery then elicits a neuroplastic response at the cortical level to change its somatotopic organization for the painful site, inducing central sensitization.JOURNAL, Seifert F, Maihöfner C, Functional and structural imaging of pain-induced neuroplasticity, Current Opinion in Anesthesiology, 24, 5, 515â523, October 2011, 21822136, 10.1097/aco.0b013e32834a1079, 6680116, For instance, individuals experiencing complex regional pain syndrome demonstrate a diminished cortical somatotopic representation of the hand contralaterally as well as a decreased spacing between the hand and the mouth.JOURNAL, Maihöfner C, Handwerker HO, Neundörfer B, Birklein F, Patterns of cortical reorganization in complex regional pain syndrome, Neurology, 61, 12, 1707â1715, December 2003, 14694034, 10.1212/01.wnl.0000098939.02752.8e, 23080189, Additionally, chronic pain has been reported to significantly reduce the volume of grey matter in the brain globally, and more specifically at the prefrontal cortex and right thalamus.JOURNAL, Apkarian AV, Sosa Y, Sonty S, Levy RM, Harden RN, Parrish TB, Gitelman DR, Chronic back pain is associated with decreased prefrontal and thalamic gray matter density, The Journal of Neuroscience, 24, 46, 10410â10415, November 2004, 15548656, 6730296, 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.2541-04.2004,weblink 8 September 2019, live,weblink 22 June 2020, However, following treatment, these abnormalities in cortical reorganization and grey matter volume are resolved, as well as their symptoms. Similar results have been reported for phantom limb pain,JOURNAL, Karl A, Birbaumer N, Lutzenberger W, Cohen LG, Flor H, Reorganization of motor and somatosensory cortex in upper extremity amputees with phantom limb pain, The Journal of Neuroscience, 21, 10, 3609â3618, May 2001, 11331390, 6762494, 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.21-10-03609.2001, chronic low back painJOURNAL, Flor H, Braun C, Elbert T, Birbaumer N, Extensive reorganization of primary somatosensory cortex in chronic back pain patients, Neuroscience Letters, 224, 1, 5â8, March 1997, 9132689, 10.1016/s0304-3940(97)13441-3,weblink 21 December 2018, live, 18151663,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20201120201813weblink">weblink 20 November 2020, and carpal tunnel syndrome.JOURNAL, Napadow V, Kettner N, Ryan A, Kwong KK, Audette J, Hui KK, Somatosensory cortical plasticity in carpal tunnel syndrome--a cross-sectional fMRI evaluation, NeuroImage, 31, 2, 520â530, June 2006, 16460960, 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2005.12.017, 7367285,MeditationA number of studies have linked meditation practice to differences in cortical thickness or density of gray matter.JOURNAL, Sasmita AO, Kuruvilla J, Ling AP, Harnessing neuroplasticity: modern approaches and clinical future, The International Journal of Neuroscience, 128, 11, 1061â1077, November 2018, 29667473, 10.1080/00207454.2018.1466781, 4957270, JOURNAL, Pagnoni G, Cekic M, Age effects on gray matter volume and attentional performance in Zen meditation, Neurobiology of Aging, 28, 10, 1623â1627, October 2007, 17655980, 10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2007.06.008, 16755503, 11380/609140, JOURNAL, Vestergaard-Poulsen P, van Beek M, Skewes J, Bjarkam CR, Stubberup M, Bertelsen J, Roepstorff A, Long-term meditation is associated with increased gray matter density in the brain stem, NeuroReport, 20, 2, 170â174, January 2009, 19104459, 10.1097/WNR.0b013e328320012a, 14263267, JOURNAL, Luders E, Toga AW, Lepore N, Gaser C, The underlying anatomical correlates of long-term meditation: larger hippocampal and frontal volumes of gray matter, NeuroImage, 45, 3, 672â678, April 2009, 19280691, 3184843, 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2008.12.061, One of the most well-known studies to demonstrate this was led by Sara Lazar, from Harvard University, in 2000.JOURNAL, Lazar SW, Kerr CE, Wasserman RH, Gray JR, Greve DN, Treadway MT, McGarvey M, Quinn BT, Dusek JA, Benson H, Rauch SL, Moore CI, Fischl B, Meditation experience is associated with increased cortical thickness, NeuroReport, 16, 17, 1893â1897, November 2005, 16272874, 1361002, 10.1097/01.wnr.0000186598.66243.19, Richard Davidson, a neuroscientist at the University of Wisconsin, has led experiments in collaboration with the Dalai Lama on effects of meditation on the brain. His results suggest that meditation may lead to change in the physical structure of brain regions associated with attention, anxiety, depression, fear, anger, and compassion as well as the ability of the body to heal itself.JOURNAL, Lutz A, Greischar LL, Rawlings NB, Ricard M, Davidson RJ, Long-term meditators self-induce high-amplitude gamma synchrony during mental practice, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 101, 46, 16369â16373, November 2004, 15534199, 526201, 10.1073/pnas.0407401101, free, 2004PNAS..10116369L, JOURNAL, Davidson RJ, Lutz A, Buddha's Brain: Neuroplasticity and Meditation, IEEE Signal Processing Magazine, 25, 1, 176â174, January 2008, 20871742, 2944261, 10.1109/MSP.2008.4431873,weblink 19 April 2018, live, 2008ISPM...25..176D,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20120112084117weblink">weblink 12 January 2012,Artistic engagement and art therapyThere is substantial evidence that artistic engagement in a therapeutic environment can create changes in neural network connections as well as increase cognitive flexibility.JOURNAL, Lin, Chia-Shu, Liu, Yong, Huang, Wei-Yuan, Lu, Chia-Feng, Teng, Shin, Ju, Tzong-Ching, He, Yong, Wu, Yu-Te, Jiang, Tianzi, Hsieh, Jen-Chuen, 2013, Sculpting the Intrinsic Modular Organization of Spontaneous Brain Activity by Art, PLOS ONE, 8, 6, e66761, 10.1371/journal.pone.0066761, 1932-6203, 3694132, 23840527, 2013PLoSO...866761L, free, JOURNAL, Patel, Aniruddh D., July 2003, Language, music, syntax and the brain,weblink Nature Neuroscience, en, 6, 7, 674â681, 10.1038/nn1082, 12830158, 15689983, 1546-1726, In one 2013 study, researchers found evidence that long-term, habitual artistic training (e.g. musical instrument practice, purposeful painting, etc.) can "macroscopically imprint a neural network system of spontaneous activity in which the related brain regions become functionally and topologically modularized in both domain-general and domain-specific manners".JOURNAL, Lin, Chia-Shu, Liu, Yong, Huang, Wei-Yuan, Lu, Chia-Feng, Teng, Shin, Ju, Tzong-Ching, He, Yong, Wu, Yu-Te, Jiang, Tianzi, Hsieh, Jen-Chuen, 2013-06-26, Sculpting the Intrinsic Modular Organization of Spontaneous Brain Activity by Art, PLOS ONE, en, 8, 6, e66761, 10.1371/journal.pone.0066761, 1932-6203, 3694132, 23840527, 2013PLoSO...866761L, free, In simple terms, brains repeatedly exposed to artistic training over long periods develop adaptations to make such activity both easier and more likely to spontaneously occur.Some researchers and academics have suggested that artistic engagement has substantially altered the human brain throughout our evolutionary history. D.W Zaidel, adjunct professor of behavioral neuroscience and contributor at VAGA, has written that "evolutionary theory links the symbolic nature of art to critical pivotal brain changes in Homo sapiens supporting increased development of language and hierarchical social grouping".JOURNAL, Zaidel, Dahlia W, February 2010, Art and brain: insights from neuropsychology, biology and evolution, Journal of Anatomy, 216, 2, 177â183, 10.1111/j.1469-7580.2009.01099.x, 0021-8782, 2815940, 19490399,Fitness and exercise{{See also|Neurobiological effects of physical exercise#Structural growth}}Aerobic exercise increases the production of neurotrophic factors (compounds that promote growth or survival of neurons), such as brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1), and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF).JOURNAL, Tarumi T, Zhang R, Cerebral hemodynamics of the aging brain: risk of Alzheimer disease and benefit of aerobic exercise, Frontiers in Physiology, 5, 6, January 2014, 24478719, 3896879, 10.3389/fphys.2014.00006, Exercise-related improvements in brain function and structure may be conferred by the concurrent adaptations in vascular function and structure. Aerobic exercise increases the peripheral levels of growth factors (e.g., BDNF, IFG-1, and VEGF) that cross the blood-brain barrier (BBB) and stimulate neurogenesis and angiogenesis (Trejo et al., 2001; Lee et al., 2002; Fabel et al., 2003; Lopez-Lopez et al., 2004)., free, JOURNAL, Szuhany KL, Bugatti M, Otto MW, A meta-analytic review of the effects of exercise on brain-derived neurotrophic factor, Journal of Psychiatric Research, 60, 56â64, January 2015, 25455510, 4314337, 10.1016/j.jpsychires.2014.10.003, Consistent evidence indicates that exercise improves cognition and mood, with preliminary evidence suggesting that brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) may mediate these effects. The aim of the current meta-analysis was to provide an estimate of the strength of the association between exercise and increased BDNF levels in humans across multiple exercise paradigms. We conducted a meta-analysis of 29 studies (N = 1111 participants) examining the effect of exercise on BDNF levels in three exercise paradigms: (1) a single session of exercise, (2) a session of exercise following a program of regular exercise, and (3) resting BDNF levels following a program of regular exercise. Moderators of this effect were also examined. Results demonstrated a moderate effect size for increases in BDNF following a single session of exercise (Hedges' g = 0.46, p | < 0.001). Further, regular exercise intensified the effect of a session of exercise on BDNF levels (Hedges' g = 0.59, p = 0.02). Finally, results indicated a small effect of regular exercise on resting BDNF levels (Hedges' g = 0.27, p = 0.005). ... Effect size analysis supports the role of exercise as a strategy for enhancing BDNF activity in humans, Exercise-induced effects on the hippocampus are associated with measurable improvements in spatial memory.JOURNAL, Lees C, Hopkins J, Effect of aerobic exercise on cognition, academic achievement, and psychosocial function in children: a systematic review of randomized control trials, Preventing Chronic Disease, 10, E174, October 2013, 24157077, 3809922, 10.5888/pcd10.130010, JOURNAL, Carvalho A, Rea IM, Parimon T, Cusack BJ, Physical activity and cognitive function in individuals over 60 years of age: a systematic review, Clinical Interventions in Aging, 9, 661â682, 2014, 24748784, 3990369, 10.2147/CIA.S55520, free, Consistent aerobic exercise over a period of several months induces marked clinically significant improvements in executive function (i.e., the "cognitive control" of behavior) and increased gray matter volume in multiple brain regions, particularly those that give rise to cognitive control.JOURNAL, Guiney H, Machado L, Benefits of regular aerobic exercise for executive functioning in healthy populations, Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 20, 1, 73â86, February 2013, 23229442, 10.3758/s13423-012-0345-4, free, JOURNAL, Buckley J, Cohen JD, Kramer AF, McAuley E, Mullen SP, Cognitive control in the self-regulation of physical activity and sedentary behavior, Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 8, 747, 2014, 25324754, 4179677, 10.3389/fnhum.2014.00747, free, The brain structures that show the greatest improvements in gray matter volume in response to aerobic exercise are the prefrontal cortex and hippocampus; moderate improvements are seen in the anterior cingulate cortex, parietal cortex, cerebellum, caudate nucleus, and nucleus accumbens. Higher physical fitness scores (measured by VO2 max) are associated with better executive function, faster processing speed, and greater volume of the hippocampus, caudate nucleus, and nucleus accumbens.