NEUROPLASTICITY B

Neuroplasticity is not breaking news. But what has been revelatory is the recent discovery of how rapid, extensive, and enduring this neural remodeling is. These are the main ways it happens: • sensitizing (or desensitizing) existing synaptic connections between neurons • increasing (or decreasing) the excitability of individual neurons • altering the expression of genes in the nuclei of neurons (epigenetic effects) • making new connections between neurons • birthing new neurons (neurogenesis) and weaving them into existing networks • increasing (or decreasing) activity in specific regions • reshaping particular neural networks • changing the glial cells in the brain that support neural networks • changing ebbs and flows of neurochemicals such as serotonin • increasing neurotrophic factors that help neurons survive, grow, and connect with one another • rapid changes in the hippocampus and parietal cortex in the first stages of new learning • “replay events” in the hippocampus that reinforce initial encoding • transferring information from the hippocampus to long-term storage in the cortex • increasing the coordination of the hippocampus and cortex • general “systems-level” consolidation of learning in the cortex • consolidation during slow-wave and rapid eye movement (REM) sleep