Volume : 2, Issue : 1, January - 2013

A Decade Old Revolution of the Revealation on the Brain Plasticity

Kulwant Singh

Abstract :

Brain plasticity means to refer the extraordinary ability of the ain to modify its own structure and function following changes within the body or in the external environment. The large outer layer of the ain, known as the cortex is especially able to make such modifications.  Normal ain functions under plasticity such as our ability to learn and modify our behavior. It is strongest during childhood — explaining the fast learning abilities of kids — but remains a fundamental and significant lifelong property of the ain. Adult ain plasticity has been clearly implicated as a means for recovery from sensory–motor deprivation, peripheral injury, and ain injury. It has also been implicated in alleviating chronic pain and the development of the ability to use prosthetic devices such as robotic arms for paraplegics, or artificial hearing and seeing devices for the deaf and blind. Since a decade, ain plasticity has been implicated in the relief of various psychiatric and neurodegenerative disorders both in humans and in animal models. These disorders include obsession, depression, compulsion, psychosocial stress, Alzheimer’s disease, and Parkinson’s disease. Furthermore, recent research suggests that the pathology of some of these devastating disorders is associated with the loss of plasticity. Collectively, there is a growing recognition that ain plasticity plays a fundamental role in either the deterioration to, or the alleviation of, psychiatric and degenerative ain disorders.