Neuromodulation for restoring and amplifying brain function

Neuromodulation aims to improve brain function by altering neural activity. While many rehabilitation strategies seek to restore normal, healthy-like dynamics, some adopt a complementary strategy, using neuromodulation to strengthen repurposed processes that support function. Here we formalize these approaches as 'restorative normalization' (RN) and 'compensatory amplification' (CA), respectively. Drawing on cognitive neurophysiology, we evaluate the following four factors that enable CA to be effective: multiple realizability, multiscale neuroplasticity, precision readiness and activity selectivity. We analyze the interplay between RN and CA across clinical goals, such as stroke rehabilitation, and identify opportunities in neurodegeneration, psychiatry and aging where CA could delay decline, facilitate remission or increase neural processing capacity. We propose that positioning CA alongside RN as a core design principle can sharpen target selection, guide stratified treatments and translate known compensatory signatures into testable neuromodulation protocols.