Brain plasticity: how a child gets smarter. Structural neuroplasticity: a developmental constant. If during the “critical” period the child does not hear the language, then he may have not only problems with speech, but also developmental delays

The human brain is highly plastic. This means that he is able to change and adapt to emerging new living conditions.

It was once believed that if a person is no longer a child, then his brain is stable and retains the same shape. But, in the process of research, it turned out that changes can occur in the brain - both in a single neuron that changes its connections, and in entire areas of the brain.

Brain structures can change many factors - memory training, playing musical instruments, learning foreign languages, dancing, sports, acquiring new motor skills, etc.

Brain plasticity has a huge positive value. The brain can rewire itself, for example, after a stroke. But - the presence of phantom pains after the loss of a limb is also the result of plasticity.
It has several varieties. With synaptic changes, the connection between neurons can increase or decrease, depending on their activity, which is relevant for the learning process. Repetition of educational material activates interneuronal synapses and strengthens connections between nerve cells.

At the same time, the reverse process is also launched, weakening unnecessary connections. For example, the names of people who are unpleasant for you are forgotten, when learning to dance, the movements become more complicated, they become more beautiful (more complex connections are strengthened and simple ones are weakened).

The motor zones corresponding to the fingers of the hands have increased and spread even to neighboring areas, like weeds in the garden.

There is a well-known example of brain plasticity in London taxi drivers. They have to memorize the map of the city, thousands of streets, dozens of sights.
It was found that they have an enlarged part of the hippocampus that is responsible for spatial orientation and spatial memory. Moreover, an increase in the size of the hippocampus positively correlates with the duration of the period spent behind the steering wheel.

The more experience the taxi driver has, the more the brain is adapted. In bus drivers with a regular route, the hippocampus has the usual size.

An example of brain plasticity can also be observed in the long-term practice of meditation. With regular meditation, focusing on prayer, there is a thickening of the cerebral cortex due to an increase in the number of gray cells (neurons) in areas associated with memory, attention, and control of emotions. There is an improvement in cognitive functions.

Against this background, there is a decrease in the size of the amygdala, which is associated with emotions of fear and anxiety. Its interactions with the prefrontal cortex of the brain are weakened,the ventral part of which is interconnected with the departments responsible for emotions.
Responses to stress become more deliberate and instinctive processes less reactive. The flow of thoughts becomes smooth, logical, there is less jumping from one object to another.

Physical exercise also changes the brain for the better. Three - four hours brisk walking per week ornordic walking , favor the growth and birth of nerve cells, which reduces the risk of age-related brain shrinkage(encephalopathy) .

found to respond best to physical activities forebrain and hippocampus. Against the background of prolonged exercise, their volume increases.
Our brain is with us in different periods life - in good times and bad, in sickness and in health. After the cranial brain injury or afterstroke its plasticity helps rehabilitation. Scientists have found that the brain reorganizes cells and connections around the lesion.

For example, as a result of brain damage, movements in the left hand are limited. If, at the same time, we limit the use of a healthy, right hand and try to do everything only with a “sick”, left hand, then this leads to an increase in the volume of gray matter in the motor zone of the right (affected) hemisphere, changes the zones adjacent to the damaged area so that their cells take on additional functions.


The brain rebuilds itself, it adapts to new conditions. Our brain is not definitively delimited into certain zones, its map may change.

It reflects the style of our life, our emotions, movements, decisions, stereotypes, living environment. And, change a lot in better side In fact, it's never too late.

Neuroplasticity: Reshaping the Brain

• Popular Science,
• Brain

• Translation

Our brains are remarkably plastic. Not like plastic dishes or a Barbie doll – in neuroscience, plasticity refers to the amazing ability of the brain to change and adapt to almost everything that happens to us. In the old days, scientists believed that when a person ceased to be a child, his brain froze like a clay pot and remained in one form. But piles of research have refuted their opinion - the brain is more like plasticine. These changes can occur at different scales: from a single neuron changing connections to an entire cortical area shrinking or swelling. Many factors can change the structure of the brain, from injuries and strokes, to meditation, exercise, or daily piano practice. And like everything in life, plasticity is a double-edged sword. The upside is that the brain can rewire itself during stroke rehabilitation. Minus - phantom pain after the loss of a limb. Let's see how, what and why happens.

Let's start with small scales and synaptic plasticity (if you don't know what a synapse is, read first). This kind of plasticity, often referred to as long-term potentiation (LTP) and long-term suppression (LTD), is critical to our understanding of memory and learning. In a very simplified way, it works like this: the connections between neurons are strengthened or weakened (potentiation or depression occurs) depending on their actions. When neuron A constantly fires neuron B, the connection between them is strengthened.

Naturally, this usually happens on several synapses - this is how entire networks can appear if they have shown activity enough times in this composition (and we believe that memory is formed in much the same way). So kiss your soul mate often enough while listening to Lou Beg's compositions, and soon the song "Mambo number five" will make you feel romantic. Donald Hebb, a Canadian neuropsychologist, coined the saying "Run Together, Braid Together" to describe this process. Initially, these bonds are fragile, but if you activate them enough times, they will become strong (they cannot be separated, like Britney and Justina in 99). reverse process, DPD, is triggered by another stimulation routine and is thought to loosen unnecessary ties - forgetting your ex's name or ennobling new dance moves. Synapse plasticity is a concept that cognitive and behavioral therapists recommend to their patients: in order to change established thought patterns, you need to form new ones step by step through practice. And new paths evolve from dirt roads to highways (on which healthy behavior moves), and broken contours float away into oblivion.

Plasticity on large scales manifests itself in a different way. A growing body of research shows that the more you use a particular muscle, the more area your brain dedicates to it. For example, one study shows that although the areas responsible for finger movements usually have same size, it is not permanent. After five days of piano practice, definite and quite visible changes in the motor cortex. The areas responsible for finger movements expanded and took over other parts of neighboring areas, like weeds growing in a garden. The researchers went even further: they showed that even if the subjects thought about exercise, the effect was almost the same! Mental exercises have proven to be just as effective in reorganizing brain structure as physical ones. Another example (of which neuroscience students have probably heard more than those living in the Bible Belt—a region of the US where Protestant fundamentalism is particularly strong—about Jesus) are London taxi drivers. Experienced taxi drivers who have to memorize a map of the capital, including tens of thousands of streets and dozens of landmarks, have a large posterior hippocampus, the brain structure responsible for spatial memory and orientation. The control group, bus drivers with regular and established routes, had a normal-sized hippocampus. To forestall the usual “correlation does not guarantee causation” comments (perhaps it was increased hippocampal size that got the taxi drivers to do this job?), the researchers showed that increased hippocampal volume was positively correlated with time spent on the steering wheel. The more you drive, the more your brain adapts.

Do you already agree that the brain is incredibly plastic? Don't rush, we have more examples. If you've given up on meditation as hippie bullshit, take note: long-term meditation practice is associated with some very positive changes in the brain. Think of it like a workout - like piano lessons. Research shows that if you sit still and meditate, you can increase the thickness of the cortex (that is, more gray cells, that is, more neurons for signal processing) in areas associated with attention, memory and emotion management. Moreover, the amygdala, the center of responses associated with fear and disgust, shrinks and weakens connections with the prefrontal cortex of the brain, the place where higher executive functions are located. Simply put, meditation allows you to respond to stress more thoughtfully and suppress instincts. Last but not least, the dormant brain network responsible for self-determination and daydreaming also reduces activity, which allows for less distraction (and prevents thoughts from jumping from yesterday's party to the inevitability of death or something like that). And while I'm here doing covert propaganda healthy lifestyle, I will mention that they also change your brain for the better physical exercises. Just three hours of brisk walking per week increases the growth and production of nerve cells, which in turn prevents age-related brain shrinkage. Research shows that the anterior regions and the hippocampus especially benefited from this - that is, their volume increased after prolonged exercise. Here is an example of how memory and reasoning ability are improved thanks to a healthy lifestyle.

Your brain, like an ideal spouse, exists with you in Good times and in bad, in sickness and in health. After an injury or stroke, neuroplasticity helps you. Rehabilitation training after a stroke or injury has shown that the brain is reorganizing around the damaged region. Suppose a stroke damaged the part of the brain responsible for the movements of the left hand. The use of a technology called "forced movement restriction therapy" (where you are forced to use the "bad" hand, while the other hand is restricted in movement), leads to an increase in the volume of gray matter in the motor region, changes the regions adjacent to the damaged so that they take over its functions and even force the contralateral hemisphere to participate in the recovery. The brain rewires itself to adapt to new circumstances and make it happen the best way. However, it doesn't always go so well. Sometimes the brain can screw up and get you in trouble - that's me about phantom pains. You've probably heard of people who still have the feeling of an amputated arm or leg. This is also the merit of our restless plastic brain, although this process has not been 100% studied. One of the generally accepted theories says that the area of ​​​​the somatosensory cortex, adjacent to the one responsible for the functions of the missing limb, grabs onto new opportunity and fills the vacancy. For example, the area of ​​the face is located next to the area of ​​the hands. And if you lose your hand, the area of ​​​​the face takes the place of its neighbor and perceives all the sensations of the face doubly: both coming from the cheek and from the non-existent thumb.

It becomes clear that we are not limited to the cards that nature has given us: it is possible to change some of them (and this will not even be perceived as cheating). The brain reflects our environment, our decisions, emotions and lifestyle, and it's never too late to change all of this, in fact.

Many scientists believed that our brain does not change from childhood. Since growing up, he no longer transforms. New discoveries made in recent decades show that the old claims are not true. The theory of neuroplasticity of the brain confirms that this body can change and does it, because it is flexible, like plasticine.

What is neuroplasticity?

Neuroplasticity is the ability of the brain to change itself throughout life. Metamorphoses can be both physical and functional; be influenced by both external and internal factors.

The concept of neuroplasticity of the brain is a very new vision, because scientists used to believe that this organ has the ability to change only in early age and loses this ability adulthood. They were partly right, because in childhood it is much more plastic, but this does not mean at all that the adult brain is a static organ.

Brain plasticity determines our ability to learn. If a person can acquire new knowledge, skills, get rid of old bad habits- His brain is plastic. It is attention and the ability to concentrate it that helps in acquiring new ways of thinking.

How does neuroplasticity work?

Our brain is a complete energy system in which a large number of various labyrinths and passages. Some paths are well known to us, we move along them with a certain regularity - these are our habits.

It is not worth the trouble for us to repeat this action again, because it has been brought to automatism and moved to an even higher supraconscious level, when we do not need to connect consciousness. These automatic actions that we do correctly, easily and without effort, do not develop our brain in any way.

For example, if a musician confidently owns an instrument, he does not look at the keys, while a beginner has to watch his fingers all the time. Also, the familiar paths of our thinking include the methods that we resort to to solve certain problems, our emotions and feelings that we experience every day. This road has already been trodden and well known, it is now easier for our brain to overcome this path.

How does the brain react to new tasks?

If we have to solve previously unfamiliar tasks, experience new emotions or feelings, our thinking leads us in a different way. The first step along unfamiliar roads is always difficult, you can even physically feel how your convolutions began to work, your head may ache or pulsate in certain areas - these neurons that until recently were asleep are included in the work sound sleep. This is neuroplasticity. By rebuilding the brain, we can achieve a qualitatively new level of its functioning.

While we are mastering new routes, and not using the old ones, the second ones begin to "overgrow with moss". The brain is plastic: if you do not make efforts on yourself and do not develop it, it is prone to degradation; if you train, "drill" new "wells" in it, then there will be more neural connections, in addition, their strength will increase.

The uniqueness of a person is that the brain controls him, but you can learn to control the insidious organ yourself. It's harder than you think, but it's absolutely real for everyone. If we got rid of bad habit and learned to think more positively - this is the use of brain plasticity in practice. If you can focus on the ability you wish to acquire, you can change the way your brain functions.

Principles of remodeling

• Motivation and interest - the best helpers neuroplasticity.
• The more effort you put in, the more noticeable the change.
• The first result is temporary. For changes to become permanent, you need to convince the brain of their significance.
• Neuroplasticity is not only positive changes that occur due to our efforts, but also negative ones. If you made an effort on yourself, this is a step forward; if you didn’t, then you didn’t stand still, but took two steps back.

Why does it get harder to acquire knowledge with age?

It depends not only on the development of neuroplasticity of the brain, but also on the experience gained. AT school years we acquire a lot of knowledge. Some people get it easily, some take more time. The consciousness of most diligent students is convinced that these skills will become useful, so the memory "begs" the brain to remember a certain amount of information, which it does with pleasure.

If in the future this information does not find practical application, then the brain says: "Well, why do I need this knowledge that I kept in my archives for so long?". It turns out that these data occupied a serious niche in our head, it’s good if at least once they managed to show off in front of friends or superiors.

The next time the brain will no longer be able to take into its "library" information that cannot be practically applied. Now he selects only vital knowledge. If skills or facts lie idle in our head, at some point they will begin to "decompose" and harm our mental health. All knowledge must be involved. How to do it? Read the next paragraph.

How to train your brain?

Practicing will help keep the material in our head from stagnating. The neuroplasticity of the brain depends not only on external factors, but also on ourselves.

So here are a few ways to keep your mind sharp:

• Solve Sudoku and crossword puzzles every day. They will help make your thinking more flexible.
• Read as much as possible. This applies not only fiction but also educational. It is very good if the material is unfamiliar and forces you to open a dictionary or Google. It is important that it is relevant and interesting.
• Communication with other people. Any information remains in our brain forever, whether it is reading, communication, something heard or seen. We may not be aware of this for the time being, but it has been deposited in our subconscious and sooner or later will make itself felt. Connect with people who are better than you. If, as part of your profession, you have to contact with dysfunctional individuals, then try to control yourself as much as possible in the process of communication and abstract yourself.
• Reading is useful, but an even more fruitful activity is writing. Get into rewriting or copywriting, write a fictional story or poem, even if you think you have no talent.
• Do not watch TV and useless channels on Youtube. The media offer us fully processed information, which is chewed as much as possible. It passes by the brain and immediately "swallows". If you really choose a program, then one that will not relax.
• Solve puzzles, collect Rubik's cube and puzzles.
• You can devote your free time to games for the development of logic, speed of thinking or concentration.
• Apply your skills in everyday life.
• Use both hands at the same time more often.
• The work of the brain also depends on the general physical form so you need to exercise and eat right.
• Dream - the best remedy"reboot" for the brain. During this period, it is cleared of toxins and processes the information accumulated during the day, sorts it. No wonder they say that the morning is wiser than the evening.
• Learn new musical instrument or start learning new language. You should not improve your English if 10 years at school and 5 at the institute did not give proper results. You may not have been taught the way your brain would like. You need to choose a language and try to master it by your own methods. When you manage to open a personal learning algorithm, you can use it to collect the rest of the scattered knowledge.

Check how your brain works

1. Walking around the supermarket, for example, in the tea department, close your eyes and name 10 brands of goods. If you managed to remember 7 or more - this is a good result.
2. Ask someone to write the names of 10 different items, study the list for 30 seconds and set it aside. Try to remember all the things in the specified sequence (8 or more is a good result).
3. Decipher the anagrams: fetenol, iatrag, demachon, kachsha.
4. Continue the pattern: 1 4 9 16 25 ...
5. Remove three matches so that you get 4 even squares.

Ecology of knowledge: 30 years ago human brain was considered an organ that ends its development in adulthood. However, our nervous tissue evolves throughout life, responding to the movements of the intellect and changes in the external environment. Brain plasticity allows a person to learn, explore, or even live with one hemisphere if the other has been damaged.

© Adam Voorhes

Even 30 years ago, the human brain was considered an organ that ends its development in adulthood. However, our nervous tissue evolves throughout life, responding to the movements of the intellect and changes in the external environment. Brain plasticity allows a person to learn, explore, or even live with one hemisphere if the other has been damaged.

Brain development does not stop when its formation is completed. Today we know that neural connections arise, go out and are restored constantly, so the process of evolution and optimization in our head never stops. This phenomenon is called "neuronal plasticity" or "neuroplasticity". It is she who allows our mind, consciousness and cognitive skills to adapt to changes. environment, and it is she who is the key to the intellectual evolution of the species. Between the cells of our brain, trillions of connections constantly arise and are maintained, riddled with electrical impulses and flashing like small lightning bolts. Every cell is in its place. Each intercellular bridge is carefully checked from the point of view of the necessity of its existence. Nothing random. And nothing predictable: after all, the plasticity of the brain is its ability to adapt, improve itself and develop according to circumstances.

Plasticity allows the brain to experience amazing changes. For example, one hemisphere can additionally take over the functions of the other, if that does not work. This happened in the case of Jody Miller, a girl who, at the age of three, due to untreated epilepsy, had her right cerebral cortex almost completely removed, filling the vacated space. cerebrospinal fluid. Left hemisphere almost instantly began to adapt to the created conditions and took control of the left side of Jody's body. Just ten days after the operation, the girl left the hospital: she could already walk and use her left hand. Even though Jodie only had half of her cortex left, her intellectual, emotional, and physical development goes without a hitch. The only reminder of the operation is a slight paralysis of the left side of the body, which, however, did not prevent Miller from attending choreography classes. At 19, she graduated from high school with excellent grades.

All this became possible thanks to the ability of neurons to create new connections between themselves and erase old ones if they are not needed. This property of the brain is based on complex and poorly understood molecular events that rely on gene expression. An unexpected thought leads to a new sina dog - zones of contact between the processes of nerve cells. Mastering a new fact - to birth new cell brain in hypothalamus . Sleep makes it possible to grow necessary and remove unnecessary axons long processes of neurons nerve impulses go from the cell body to its neighbors.

If the tissue is damaged, the brain will know about it. Part of the cells that used to analyze light can begin, for example, to process sound. When it comes to information, research shows that our neurons have a brutal appetite, so they are ready to analyze everything that is offered to them. Any cell is capable of handling any type of information. Mental events provoke an avalanche of molecular events that occur in cell bodies. Thousands of impulses regulate the production of molecules necessary for the instantaneous response of a neuron. The genetic landscape against which this action unfolds is physical changes nerve cell - looks incredibly multifaceted and complex.

“The process of brain development allows you to create millions of neurons in right places, and then “instructs” each cell, helping it form unique connections with other cells,” says Susan McConnell, a neuroscientist at Stanford University. "You can compare it to theatrical production: it unfolds according to a script written by the genetic code, but it does not have a director or producer, and the actors have never spoken to each other before going on stage. And despite all this, the performance goes on. For me, it's a real miracle."

Brain plasticity is manifested not only in extreme cases - after an injury or illness. In itself, the development of cognitive abilities and memory is also its consequence. Research has proven that learning any new skill, whether it be learning foreign language or getting used to a new diet, strengthens the synapses. At the same time, declarative memory (for example, remembering facts) and procedural memory (for example, maintaining motor skills in cycling) are associated with two types of neuroplasticity known to us.

Structural neuroplasticity: constant development

Structural neuroplasticity is associated with declarative memory. Every time we access familiar information, the synapses between our nerve cells change: stabilize, strengthen, or fade.

It happens in the cerebellum, tonsils, hippocampus and cerebral cortex of every person every second. The "receptors" of information on the surface of neurons - the so-called dendritic spines - grow to absorb more information. Moreover, if the growth process starts in one spine, the neighboring ones immediately willingly follow its example. The postsynaptic dens, a dense zone found in some synapses, produces more than 1,000 proteins that help regulate the exchange of information at the chemical level. Many different molecules run through the synapses, the action of which allows them not to fall apart. All these processes are going on all the time, so from the point of view of chemistry, our head looks like a metropolis riddled with transport networks, which is always in motion.

Neuroplasticity of learning: flashes in the cerebellum

The neuroplasticity of learning, in contrast to the structural one, occurs in bursts. It is associated with procedural memory, which is responsible for the sense of balance and motor skills. When we get on the bike after long break or learning to swim crawl, in our cerebellum the so-called climbing and mossy fibers are restored or appear for the first time: the first - between large Purkinje cells in one layer of tissue, the second - between granule cells in another. A lot of cells change together, “in chorus”, at the same moment, so that without remembering anything on purpose, we are able to move the scooter or stay afloat.

Norman Doidge, "The Brain That Changes Itself: Stories of Personal Triumph from the Frontiers of Brain Science"

Motor neuroplasticity is closely related to the phenomenon of long-term potentiation - an increase in synaptic transmission between neurons, which makes it possible to preserve the pathway for a long time. Scientists now believe that long-term potentiation underlies the cellular mechanisms of learning and memory. This is it throughout the process of evolution various kinds provided them with the ability to adapt to changes in the environment: not to fall from a branch in a dream, to dig frozen soil, to notice the shadows of birds of prey on a sunny day.

It is obvious, however, that two types of neuroplasticity make it possible to describe far from all the changes that occur in nerve cells and between them throughout life. The picture of the brain seems to be as complex as the picture genetic code: the more we learn about him, the better we understand how little we really know. Plasticity allows the brain to adapt and develop, change its structure, improve its functions at any age, and cope with the effects of disease and injury. This is the result of the simultaneous joint work of various mechanisms, the laws of which we have yet to study. published

Even 30 years ago, the human brain was considered an organ that ends its development in adulthood. However, our nervous tissue evolves throughout life, responding to the movements of the intellect and changes in the external environment. Brain plasticity allows a person to learn, explore, or even live with one hemisphere if the other has been damaged. T&P explains what neuroplasticity is and how it works on a physiological and molecular level.

Brain development does not stop when its formation is completed. Today we know that neural connections are constantly being created, extinguished and restored, so the process of evolution and optimization in our head never stops. This phenomenon is called "neuronal plasticity" or "neuroplasticity". It is she who allows our mind, consciousness and cognitive skills to adapt to changes in the environment, and it is she who is the key to the intellectual evolution of the species. Between the cells of our brain, trillions of connections constantly arise and are maintained, riddled with electrical impulses and flashing like small lightning bolts. Every cell is in its place. Each intercellular bridge is carefully checked from the point of view of the necessity of its existence. Nothing random. And nothing predictable: after all, the plasticity of the brain is its ability to adapt, improve itself and develop according to circumstances.

Plasticity allows the brain to experience amazing changes. For example, one hemisphere can additionally take over the functions of the other, if that does not work. This happened in the case of Jody Miller, a girl who, at the age of three, due to untreated epilepsy, had the cortex of the right hemisphere almost completely removed, filling the vacated space with cerebrospinal fluid. The left hemisphere almost instantly began to adapt to the created conditions and took control of the left side of Jody's body. Just ten days after the operation, the girl left the hospital: she could already walk and use her left hand. Despite the fact that Jodi has only half of the cortex left, her intellectual, emotional and physical development is going without deviations. The only reminder of the operation is a slight paralysis of the left side of the body, which, however, did not prevent Miller from attending choreography classes. At 19, she graduated from high school with excellent grades.

All this became possible thanks to the ability of neurons to create new connections between themselves and erase old ones if they are not needed. This property of the brain is based on complex and poorly understood molecular events that rely on gene expression. An unexpected thought leads to the emergence of a new synapse - a zone of contact between the processes of nerve cells. Mastering a new fact - to the birth of a new brain cell in the hypothalamus. Sleep makes it possible to grow the necessary and remove unnecessary axons - long processes of neurons along which nerve impulses travel from the cell body to its neighbors.

If the tissue is damaged, the brain will know about it. Part of the cells that used to analyze light can begin, for example, to process sound. When it comes to information, research shows that our neurons have a brutal appetite, so they are ready to analyze everything that is offered to them. Any cell is capable of handling any type of information. Mental events provoke an avalanche of molecular events that occur in cell bodies. Thousands of impulses regulate the production of molecules necessary for the instantaneous response of a neuron. The genetic landscape against which this action unfolds - the physical changes in the nerve cell - looks incredibly multifaceted and complex.

“The process of brain development allows you to create millions of neurons in the right places, and then “instructs” each cell, helping it form unique connections with other cells,” says Susan McConnell, a neuroscientist at Stanford University. “You can compare it to a theatrical production: it unfolds according to a script written by the genetic code, but it has no director or producer, and the actors have never spoken to each other before going on stage. And despite all this, the performance goes on. For me, it's a real miracle."

Brain plasticity is manifested not only in extreme cases - after an injury or illness. In itself, the development of cognitive abilities and memory is also its consequence. Research has proven that learning any new skill, whether it's learning a foreign language or getting used to a new diet, strengthens synapses. At the same time, declarative memory (for example, remembering facts) and procedural memory (for example, maintaining motor skills in cycling) are associated with two types of neuroplasticity known to us.

Structural neuroplasticity: a developmental constant

Structural neuroplasticity is associated with declarative memory. Every time we access familiar information, the synapses between our nerve cells change: stabilize, strengthen, or fade. It happens in the cerebellum, tonsils, hippocampus and cerebral cortex of every person every second. The "receptors" of information on the surface of neurons - the so-called dendritic spines - grow to absorb more information. Moreover, if the growth process starts in one spine, the neighboring ones immediately willingly follow its example. The postsynaptic dens, a dense zone found in some synapses, produces more than 1,000 proteins that help regulate the exchange of information at the chemical level. Many different molecules run through the synapses, the action of which allows them not to fall apart. All these processes are going on all the time, so from the point of view of chemistry, our head looks like a metropolis riddled with transport networks, which is always in motion.

Neuroplasticity of learning: flashes in the cerebellum

The neuroplasticity of learning, in contrast to the structural one, occurs in bursts. It is associated with procedural memory, which is responsible for the sense of balance and motor skills. When we sit on a bicycle after a long break or learn to swim crawl, in our cerebellum the so-called climbing and mossy fibers are restored or appear for the first time: the first - between large Purkinje cells in one layer of tissue, the second - between granule cells in another. A lot of cells change together, “in chorus”, at the same moment, so that without remembering anything on purpose, we are able to move the scooter or stay afloat.

Motor neuroplasticity is closely related to the phenomenon of long-term potentiation - an increase in synaptic transmission between neurons, which makes it possible to preserve the pathway for a long time. Scientists now believe that long-term potentiation underlies the cellular mechanisms of learning and memory. It was she who, throughout the entire process of evolution of various species, ensured their ability to adapt to environmental changes: not to fall from a branch in a dream, to dig frozen soil, to notice the shadows of birds of prey on a sunny day.

It is obvious, however, that the two types of neuroplasticity make it possible to describe by no means all the changes that occur in and between nerve cells throughout life. The picture of the brain seems to be as complex as the picture of the genetic code: the more we learn about it, the more we realize how little we really know. Plasticity allows the brain to adapt and develop, change its structure, improve its functions at any age, and cope with the effects of disease and injury. This is the result of the simultaneous joint work of various mechanisms, the laws of which we have yet to study.