NEUROPLASTICITY

Presented by:
Advincula, Arnina
Fortus, Jacyrone
Pitpit, Marcus
 According to Dr. Campbell:
“It refers to the physiological changes in the brain
that happen as the result of our interactions with
Neuroplasticity: our environment. From the time the brain begins
to develop in utero until the day we die, the

Definition connections among the cells in our brains

reorganize in response to our changing needs.
This dynamic process allows us to learn from and
adapt to different experiences”
 Brief History
The term “neuroplasticity” was
first used by Polish Researchers found that stress
neuroscientist Jerzy Konorski. can actually kill brain cells

1948 1990s

1900s 1960s
Santiago Ramón y Cajal talked It was discovered that neurons
about “neuronal plasticity”. could “reorganize” after a
traumatic event.

3
Mechanisms
The most common mechanism in neuroplasticity is axonal
sprouting and synaptic pruning
Mechanisms
Axonal sprouting
• Healthy axons sprout new nerve endings
that connect to other pathways in the
nervous system.
• This can be used to strengthen existing
connections or to repair damaged parts of
the nervous system by repairing damaged
neural pathways and restoring them to full
functionality.
Synapse

• Neurons communicate with one another at

junctions called synapses. At a synapse,
one neuron sends a mesage to another
neuron- another cell.
Mechanisms

Synaptic pruning
• It is a natural process that occurs in the
brain from early childhood to adulthood.
• The brain eliminates extra neurons and
synaptic connections in order to increase
the efficiency of neuronal transmissions
• “Use it or lose it”
Neuroplasticity with
age
Neuroplasticity in
children
Types of neuroplasticity observed in
children
1. Adaptive - changes that occur when
children practice a special skill and allow
the brain to adapt to functional or
structural changes
2. Impaired - changes occur due to genetic or
acquired disorders
3. Excessive - the reorganization of new,
maladaptive pathways that can cause
disability and disorders
4. Plasticity that makes the brain vulnerable
to injury - harmful neuronal pathways are
formed that make injury more likely or
more impactful
Neuroplasticity in
adults
• Still present in adults, but it is generally
observed less than in children and at lower
strengths
• It can restore old, lost connections and
functions that have not been used in some
time and enhance memore
Neuroplasticity
Is related to:
• Habituation
• Learning and Memory
• Cellular Recovery from Injury
Neuroplasticity
Habituation
• Habituation is decreased response to a
repeated stimuli.

Learning & Memory

• when we learn, we form new pathways in
the brain.
• During motor learning, large & diffuse
regions of the brain show synaptic activity.
• With repetition of a task, there is a
reduction in the number of active regions in
the brain.
Neuroplasticity

Cellular Recovery from Injury

• Injuries that damage or severe the axons of
neurons cause degenerative changes but is
not permanent.
Applications

1. Vision
• Successful improvements in persons with
amblyopia, convergence insufficiency or
other stereo vision anomalies.

2. Phantom Limbs
• A person continues to feel pain or sensation
within a part of their body that has been
amputated.
• 60-80% of amputees
• Ss the cortical maps of the removed limbs
are believed to have become engaged with
the area around them in the postcentral
gyrus.
Three Principles of
Neuroplasticity
Motor skilled practice
Practice of motor skills with enough repetition
enhances both the adaptive changes in the
brain & improve skills.

Enriched environment
Providing the recovering brain with stimuli
enhances both functional recovery and
underlying neural processes including synaptic
plasticity.

Aerobic exercises
Physical activity in itself, particularly aerobic
activity enhances neural plasticity.
References
• https://www.slideshare.net/duttamonasen/15-
neuroplasticity-17228288
• https://positivepsychology.com/neuroplasticity/