Neuroplasticity

Over time peoples ideas tend to become entangled as part of their own identity and when questioning those ideas it can be interpreted as a threat to their integrity. Neuroplasticity is the ability of the brain to rapidly change its default activity in response to stimuli by reorganizing how it works by modifying connectivity. Humans lose their neuroplasticity after 35 years of age (see figure 1), recent studies have shown this can be temporarily reversed by types of shock.

Figure 1. Neuroplasticity Vs Age.

The brain is neurochemical in nature, meaning it is part electric and part chemical. When these systems combine they work like hiking trails; the pathways that get a lot of traffic get smoother and wider, with brush stomped down and pushed back. The neural pathways that sit unused grow over, becoming less likely to be used. Your brain uses the more accessible pathways as it takes lower energy to do so. In times of crisis people nimble on their feet are of paramount importance.

<<<Back to front page.

---

References