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BRAIN PLASTICITY AND THE IMPACT OF BEHAVIOUR

 

For some time, scientists have recognised the neuroplasticity of the brain. That is, the ability of the brain to at least partially recover from damage or disease, and for some functions to be relocated. This neuroplasticity is more widespread in the developing brains of children and adolescents, but even an octogenarian can recover some brain functioning following damage by stroke or illness.

Neuroplasticity refers to the fact that our nervous system is not a static network of interconnected elements. In fact, the nervous system is plastic. This means that it is a living organ that changes and grows continually in response to our environment and genetics.

Our immediate environment can influence the development of the nervous system. If we do not activate our neurons and synapses through experience, they do not normally survive. This is why it is so important that babies are stimulated from birth to ensure that their synapses and neurons adapt and form strong neural pathways.

Neuroplasticity is the brain’s ability to reorganise itself by forming new neural connections throughout the lifetime of the individual. It allows neurons in the brain to compensate for disease or injury and adjust their activities in response to changes in the environment or new situations.

Brain reorganisation takes place by mechanisms such as axonal sprouting, where undamaged axons grow new nerve endings to reconnect neurons whose links are severed or injured.Undamaged axons will also sprout nerve endings and connect to undamaged cells to form new neural pathways. As we grow, new cells each contain a copy of our DNA. The more they copy, the more this process can become imperfect and gene mutations can occur, which can lead to disease or disability.

 

Are you interested in finding out more about how the brain works? Read our Brain and Behaviour ebook.

 
5 Essential Writing Tips

1/ Focus on the message.

It is essential to have a clear focus on the information that you want to convey. When writing is verbose (too wordy), the reader will find it more difficult to focus on the key facts.

 

 

Have you ever wondered how you can propagate plants? Growing your own plants is so satisfying. There are so many options when you have the knowledge and skills- save money from buying plants or even start your own business.

Here's a little overview of plant propagation. If you need more information on propagation, we have some great ebooks or courses that can give you a great start.

Broadly, there are two ways of propagating plants - asexually and sexually. Asexual propagation involves growing a new plant from some part (e.g. leaf, stem and root) of an existing plant. This is also known as vegetative propagation because it uses the ‘vegetative growth’ of the parent plant to produce the ‘daughter’ plant.
 

WHAT HAPPENS DURING EXERCISE?

As exercise starts:
- Heart rate and respiration rate increase.
- VO2 increases.
- Lactate initially increases.
- RQ drops at first, then increases.