Exploring Neuroplasticity in the Classroom: Teaching Cortical Reorganization in the Visual System with a Stroke...

Neuroscience education often dedicates a substantial amount of time to the study of neuroplasticity and cortical reorganization. Research articles that demonstrate neuroplasticity and cortical reorganization in human patients provide opportunities for neuroscience education. Dilks et al., in a 2007 article published in the Journal of Neuroscience provided evidence for cortical reorganization within the human primary visual cortex by utilizing both behavioral and fMRI data. The study examined stroke patient B.L. who was cortically blind in the upper left visual field. In the presence of visual stimuli from the lower left visual field, cortical reorganization allowed for the activation of areas of V1 that would not normally respond to this visual information. Therefore, B.L. perceived visual stimuli presented in the lower left visual field to be vertically elongated into the upper left visual field (Dilks et al., 2007). This paper is an ideal platform for teaching an undergraduate neuroscience audience about neuroplasticity within the human brain. The article allows students to combine knowledge of both the visual system and neuroplasticity and provides a visual representation of cortical reorganization that helps facilitate understanding of principles of neuroscience.