Document Type
Book Chapter
Publication Date
4-25-2025
Keywords
adult brain, axonal growth, brain development, brain plasticity, brain recovery
Disciplines
Developmental Psychology
Abstract
For decades, it was assumed that people are born with a certain number of neurons in the brain, and these neurons slowly died off with age. However, scientific studies have shown that the infant brain goes through very dramatic changes in the first few months and years of life (including adding additional neurons), and the brain can recover (although perhaps not fully) after a traumatic brain injury or stroke. Very recently, it has even been shown that new neurons can grow in the healthy adult brain. Brain plasticity involves long-lasting changes due to generation of new neurons, as well as other structural changes, such as axonal growth and increases in myelin (the fatty white tissue surrounding the neurons that allows for more efficient transmission of information). Among the first to support the idea that the brain is malleable in later periods of the lifespan was Ramon y Cajal at the beginning of the 19th century. But it is only recent that the concept of plasticity in adulthood has become more widely accepted with the increase in experimental studies and the invention of advanced neurological techniques, especially magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) with human adults. This entry will provide a brief overview of theories of brain plasticity in human adults and experimental studies that provide evidence for these theories.
Recommended Citation
Wu, Rachel, "Brain Plasticity" (2025). Essays in Developmental Psychology. 31.
https://nsuworks.nova.edu/edp/31