[Neuroplasticity: from physiological adaptation to the concept of therapeutic plasticity]

There is considerable evidence that the human brain maintains the ability to reorganize itself throughout life, an ability known as neuroplasticity. Initially demonstrated in physiological situations, neuroplasticity includes, and relies on, a number of adaptive mechanisms that include not only phenotypic modifications of neurons or synaptic reorganisation but also major modifications of brain circuitry after insults. Recently, the presence of neurogenic zones in the adult brain has unveiled a new aspect of brain plasticity that, together with emerging stem cell therapy, opens the possibility to take advantage of these natural reminders of the developmental period to repair lesioned tissues, a concept known as "therapeutic plasticity".