anuary 29 , 2013 by Eileen Marable What is Neuroplasticity ? As the survivor of a traumatic brain surgery I ’ ve heard a lot of things about the power of the brain . A neurosurgeon even said to me , “ The brain is mysterious and changing – even us experts only know about 10 % of what is happening in there . ” Strangely that comforted me as it meant there was room for growth in my recovery ; that what I might have lost I could work on again . It turns out there is even a name for the idea of rehabilitating your brain , or even just continuing to learn over the course of our lifetimes . It ’ s called neuroplasticity , and it is defined as the adaptability and changes in the neural cells and synapses that make up our grey matter . For a long time , the common belief was that when a person reached adulthood their brain stopped growing – just like their bodies . Further , it was thought that if something happened to your brain cells they were forever gone . Fortunately , researchers in the late 1940 ’ s began to realize there were connections between areas of the cells . When one group was excited , there was activity or metabolic changes in nearby regions . The knowledge even led to a simple sentence , “ Neurons that fire together , wire together . ” It ’ s a basic insight as to how we learn . Remember back in school you had to practice at learning a foreign language or study facts over and over again for a history test ? You knew your own language and had your own memories or history of your life to that point , but you acquired knowledge you didn ’ t have before because you repeated your thinking about the new subject until gradually new neural pathways were built and connections made . A Walk In the Forest The site whatisneuroplasticity . com provides a great analogy to understand what neuroplasticity is and how it works : “ Imagine you grew up in the woods . Everyday you took the same few paths to get the things you needed to sustain yourself . You never strayed from those paths at all . Then one day as you walk down your normal path that is heavily worn from years of use down to the river you notice a little building way off the trail you ' re on . You think wow I ' d like to check that out , but you ' ve never been off the trail . You decide to go check it out . You leave the worn path that you were on to ground that you ' ve never stepped foot on before . You approach the door of the building then walk inside to notice that there is a large volume of books on the subject of building log cabins . You are looking around the room and notice a note on a table that states you are welcome to use the place anytime you want but please never take the books from the building with you . So you begin to come and go everyday to read and focus on learning how to build new log cabins . Everyday as you come and go you begin to develop two fresh paths that diverge off of the worn river path that you use to get to the building . When walking to the cabin everyday these fresh paths begin to become worn and easily noticeable . Even though the paths never become as ingrained and worn as your original paths they are still distinct and worn . This is similar to how neuroplasticity occurs in our brains as we learn something new . The more we repeat something and use that portion of the brain in a focused way new neural pathways might develop in your brain . ” The Promise of Neuroplasticity Neuroplasticity has become a buzzword lately , not just in medicine , but in popular culture . People searching for ways to prolong their lives , or at the very least extend the quality of their lives have turned to the idea of neuroplasticity to keep their minds sharp . We often hear about it as ‘ training your brain ’ and have seen the abundance of brain - teasers , memory games , and other cognition activities flood the market . Whether it ’ s on your laptop or the crossword in your daily newspaper , undertaking a daily exercise of the brain has been shown to stretch those neural pathways . Continuing to learn can have other benefits – taking an active learning vacation , an organic cooking class , or learning to swim for example – not only stretches the mind by learning a new skill but also keeps the body healthy as well by working body and mind together . Neuroplasticity is also crucial in the treatment of those with traumatic brain injuries or health issues . one focused area of research is using neuroplasticity to rehabilitate those with injuries sustained in combat zones . According to Dr . Celeste Campbell , PsyD , a neuropsychologist in the Polytrauma Program at the Washington , DC Veterans Administration Medical Center , “ Part of rehabilitation is aimed at trying to rebuild connections among the nerve cells — or neurons . This " re - wiring " of the brain can make it possible for a function previously managed by a damaged area to be taken over by another undamaged area . The connections among the cells are infinitely receptive to this type of change and expansion . In addition , we are now learning more about neurogenesis — the actual generation of new brain cells . Recent research has demonstrated that neurogenesis does indeed continue into and throughout adult life , although only in specific areas of the brain . ” For patients neuroplasticity has come to mean you aren ’ t necessarily defined by your injury . With rehab , there could be ways to create a new normal way of thinking and moving . Now You Know You Have It – Use It ! Isn ’ t it great to know your brain ’ s cells can move off their existing pathways into new directions and that it doesn ’ t stop at adulthood ? You ’ re not limited to thinking you can only go so far . The neuroplasticity of your brain and continuing to learn keeps you from staying in a rut . It can be emotionally stimulating driving you to branch out with new hobbies and skills . It ’ s not bad for your career either – being open - minded , being willing to entertain new methods and opinions helps you be a better boss or team member . Properly nurtured , continued learning is a powerful tool to have . Even experts at the top of their field – like my neurosurgeon are willing to admit they have a lot to learn – and that ’ s a good thing . After all , wouldn ’ t you want to work with , or be treated by someone who keeps exercising their brain and has an open mind to new developments even at the top of their field ? As for me , a brain surgery survivor , neuroplasticity means hope . The parts of my brain that were affected may be lost – but instead of focusing on what ’ s missing I ’ ve started to focus on making the parts that are left stronger and perhaps one day even bigger . So do you want to exercise your brain ? Well here is where you have to start : http : / / www . lumosity . com http : / / www . gamesforthebrain . com / http : / / www . proprofs . com / games / http : / / www . mindgames . com / : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : ::::::::::::::::::::::::: Resources : http : / / www . brainfitnessforlife . com / plasticity / what - is - neuroplasticity / http : / / www . whatisneuroplasticity . com / http : / / www . brainline . org / content / 2009 / 02 / ask - expert - what - neuroplasticity . html http : / / www . pickthebrain . com / blog / why - you - should - never - stop - learning /