![]() ![]() This doesn’t mean that neuroplasticity only occurs when we are stressed. The first one is adrenaline, which is a hormone that brings us in a state of alertness. ![]() More specifically, the adult brain needs two neurochemicals that open up the gate to neuroplasticity: ![]() Yet as an adult, we have to deliberately expose ourselves to a learning experience and bring our full attention to whatever it is that we want to change. Therefore, it’s incredibly hard to change the adult nervous system.Īs a child, the mere exposure to a sensory event can create plasticity. You can think of concrete being poured between rocks. But as we get older, this extracellular space is filled up with so-called glia cells and extracellular matrices. There’s a lot of space between the neurons in a young brain, which makes it a “plasticity machine”: The neurons can easily move around and form new connections. Under the age of 25, our nervous system is still connected very broadly. ![]() However, not every experience changes our brain, especially not as an adult. Even after a stroke, as in Michelle Mack’s extreme example, neurons can adapt and thereby facilitate the development of certain abilities. And the stronger the connection, the faster and more automated we recall the same actions, thoughts and feelings in the future. In other words, the more often we do, think or feel certain things, the stronger the corresponding synaptic connections become. It works according to the principle: “Neurons that fire together, wire together”. Neuroplasticity describes the brain’s ability to adapt depending on its usage. “Neurons that fire together, wire together”. Despite some limitations, the most important functions of the missing areas seemed to have been taken over by the right side of the brain! The neurons adapted so that she could live a fairly independent life – with only one brain hemisphere. However, this was only discovered at the age of 27. The extreme case of Michelle Mack shows how adaptable our neurons are: She suffered a stroke while still in the womb, which is why she didn’t develop a left brain hemisphere. It’s also the environment and our experiences that influence that. It’s not inborn and static which synapses form and which neurons “fire”, i.e. Neuroplasticity: The brain changes with experience Hence, huge neuronal networks are active in everything we do, think and feel. This travels down the axon to the synapse, which transmits the information to neighbouring neurons through chemical messengers (also called neurotransmitters). You can think of it like this: Every thought, every action and every feeling activates thousands of neurons that convert information into an electrical impulse. The synapse is the interface of a neuron to a neighbouring nerve cell through which communication and information transfer takes place. Each neuron consists of a cell nucleus, a thin fiber (the axon) and a synapse. The brain consists of countless nerve cells, the so-called neurons. Here’s what you need to know about the adaptability of the brain and how neuroplasticity can help us find more Flow. Anyone who believes that these networks are static and will stop developing once formed has probably never heard of the principle of neuroplasticity: It describes that the brain changes with experience. 1300 grams of complex neural networks that work together to enable any kind of experience. The adult brain weighs around 1300 grams. In her articles, she combines findings from psychological research with practical tips from her experience as mental fitness coach and workshop trainer. She studied at the University of Groningen (NL) and is specialized in the area of performance and motivational psychology. This article was written by Flow Lab’s Head of Content and MSc. ![]()
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