Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 15, 2026
08:25
Investigating Functional Regeneration in Organotypic Spinal Cord Co-cultures Grown on Multi-electrode Arrays
Published on: September 23, 2015
Neural plasticity and its contribution to functional recovery
Nikhil Sharma1, Joseph Classen, Leonardo G Cohen
1National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, NIH, Bethesda, MD, USA.
Handbook of Clinical Neurology
|January 15, 2013
Summary
Neural plasticity enables the central nervous system to adapt to environmental changes or injury. This involves cellular and structural adaptations supporting functional recovery and cognitive reorganization in both healthy and damaged brains.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Cellular Biology
- Cognitive Science
Background:
- Neural plasticity is the central nervous system's capacity to adapt.
- Adaptation occurs in response to environmental shifts or neurological damage.
- Understanding these mechanisms is crucial for brain health and recovery.
Purpose of the Study:
- To define and explore neural plasticity.
- To examine cellular and structural changes underlying plasticity.
- To link plasticity to functional recovery and cognitive adaptation.
Main Methods:
- Review of cellular mechanisms: membrane excitability, synaptic plasticity.
- Analysis of structural changes: dendritic and axonal anatomy.
- Exploration of different organizational levels and their functional correlates.
Main Results:
- Neural plasticity involves cellular changes (excitability, synaptic function) and structural alterations (dendritic, axonal).
- These changes support behavioral adaptations and functional recovery after injury.
- Plasticity can manifest at various levels, influencing cognitive strategies and neural network dynamics.
Conclusions:
- Neural plasticity is fundamental to the brain's adaptability.
- It encompasses cellular, structural, and network-level modifications.
- Studying neuroplasticity offers insights into brain reorganization in both healthy and lesioned states.
Related Concept Videos
01:01Neuroplasticity
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.
01:15Neurogenesis and Regeneration of Nervous Tissue
In the CNS, neurogenesis, the birth of new neurons from stem cells, is limited to the hippocampus in adults. In other regions of the brain and spinal cord, neurogenesis is almost non-existent due to inhibitory influences from neuroglia, especially oligodendrocytes, and the absence of growth-stimulating cues. The myelin produced by oligodendrocytes in the CNS inhibits neuronal regeneration. Furthermore, astrocytes proliferate rapidly after neuronal damage, forming scar tissue that physically...
00:58Plasticity
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...
01:35Long-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.
01:25Long-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.
Hebbian LTP
LTP can occur when presynaptic neurons...
Hebbian LTP
LTP can occur when presynaptic neurons...
01:14Spinal Cord Injury ll: Pathophysiology
Spinal cord injury progresses through two interconnected phases: primary injury and secondary injury.Primary InjuryPrimary injury happens at the moment of trauma and involves immediate mechanical damage to the spinal cord.Compression happens when broken vertebrae, herniated discs, or accumulating blood (such as a hematoma) press directly against the spinal cord, distorting its normal shape and function. In cases of contusion, the cord is bruised by a blunt force (like penetrating injuries or...