Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 18, 2026

05:01
Inducing Long-Term Plasticity of Intrinsic Neuronal Excitability in Neurons of the Dorsal Lateral Geniculate Nucleus
Published on: September 20, 2024
Extending lifetime of plastic changes in the human brain
Thomas Nyffeler1, Pascal Wurtz, Hans-Rudolf Lüscher
1Perception and Eye Movement Laboratory, Department of Neurology, University Hospital, University of Bern, Freiburgstrasse 10, 3010 Bern, Switzerland.
The European Journal of Neuroscience
|December 13, 2006
Summary
Repeated theta burst transcranial magnetic stimulation can extend the brain
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Cognitive Science
Background:
- The brain's ability to adapt relies on neural plasticity.
- Understanding how to prolong neural plasticity is crucial for recovery and learning.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate if repeated theta burst transcranial magnetic stimulation (TBS) can extend short-term neural plasticity.
- To determine the duration of plasticity changes induced by TBS in the human cortex.
Main Methods:
- An eye movement paradigm was used to assess neural plasticity.
- Theta burst transcranial magnetic stimulation (TBS) was applied repeatedly to the frontal eye field.
Main Results:
- Repeated TBS applications extended short-lived neural plasticity to several hours.
- This protocol demonstrated the consolidation of transient plasticity into long-lasting changes.
Conclusions:
- Repeated TBS is a viable method for prolonging neural plasticity.
- This finding has implications for enhancing learning and recovery from brain damage.
Related Concept Videos
Neuroplasticity
Neuroplasticity reflects the brain's remarkable capacity to adapt and evolve, responding dynamically to learning, experiences, or injury by reorganizing its neural circuitry. This reorganization involves creating new neural connections and refining old ones through a series of biological processes that contribute to the brain's lifelong development and adaptability.
Plastic Behavior
A material's elastic behavior is characterized by the disappearance of stress once the load is removed, allowing the material to return to its original state. However, when stress surpasses the yield point, yielding commences, marking the onset of plastic deformation or permanent set. This change from elastic to plastic behavior is influenced by the peak stress value and the duration before the load is removed. An intriguing observation occurs when a specimen is loaded, unloaded, and reloaded.
Plasticity
Plasticity is the property where an object loses its elasticity and undergoes irreversible deformation, even after the deformation forces are eliminated. If a material deforms irreversibly without increasing stress or load, then this is called ideal plasticity. For example, when a force is applied to an aluminum rod, it changes its shape, but it does not return to its original shape once the force is removed. Plastic deformation or ductility is thus a permanent deformation or change in the...
Plastic Deformations
Plastic deformation represents a fundamental concept in materials science, which explains the irreversible change in the shape of a material when it experiences stress beyond its elastic capability. This phenomenon is important in structural engineering, especially in designing and analyzing cantilever beams—structures that are securely fixed at one end and bear loads at the opposite end. When these beams are subjected to loads within their elastic range, they will return to their original...
Plastic Deformations
It is essential to understand how structural members behave under plastic deformation when the bending stress exceeds the material's yield strength. This state of deformation permanently alters the shape of the member, in contrast to the linear elastic behavior observed before yielding. The strain at any point in the member is expressed in terms of maximum strain. Notably, the neutral axis, which coincides with the centroid during elastic bending, shifts away from the centroid under plastic...
Long-term Potentiation
Long-term potentiation, or LTP, is one of the ways by which synaptic plasticity—changes in the strength of chemical synapses—can occur in the brain. LTP is the process of synaptic strengthening that occurs over time between pre- and postsynaptic neuronal connections. The synaptic strengthening of LTP works in opposition to the synaptic weakening of long-term depression (LTD) and together are the main mechanisms that underlie learning and memory.

