What Are the Practical Applications of Neuroplasticity?

Coursework-Term 1

What are the practical applications of neuroplasticity?

-Neuroplasticity is the brain's ability to reorganize itself by forming new neural connections throughout life. Neuroplasticity allows the neurons (nerve cells) in the brain to compensate for injury and disease and to adjust their activities in response to new situations or to changes in their environment.^[1]Neuroplasticity has opened new doors to psychologists and neurologists alike. Before discovering the plasticity of the human brain, there were many myths that have proved themselves limiting and obstructive to change. It was formerly believed that the injured brain couldn’t heal itself. But now we know that the brain has amazing powers of healing, unsuspected in the past. More falsified facts like, the brain’s hardwiring cannot be changed; aging in the brain being inevitable; that the brain loses millions of cells a day, and lost brain cells cannot be replaced. My point for the those statements is that the most practical effect of neuroplasticity was to make the world realize that the human brain is ever changing, and will keep changing and updating as long as it is being stimulated. This brought the world to realise that brain damage needn’t be permanent-this led to neuroscientists all around the world exploring this once long-ignored idea. Now moving to the question, some practical effects of neuroplasticity could be in the service sector. Plasticity involves your brain restructuring itself when a particular task is repeatedly done. Like in the case of the experiment conducted on the London taxi drivers where due to prolonged concentrated learning of a particular aspect, they brain restructured accordingly. With the brain restructuring itself it led the taxi drivers to become a, let’s say expertised with the map of London. This could be used in the service sector effectively during the training sessions or later perhaps. People could be trained for a particular task or say aspect which would lead the brain to restructure itself due to the repeated exposure to a particular set of knowledge. One really important practical application of neuroplasticity is in the cure for Alzheimer’s. Due to neuroplasticity, the brain can remodel and remap its connections following injury. This remapping is the functional definition of neuroplasticity which is a hot-button issue.^[2]The discovery of neuroplasticity gave many people hope around the world in finding a cure to Alzheimer’s. But as it is, finding a definite cure to Alzheimer’s is still a long shot. Blame it on the little understanding we have of the human brain we have. The human brain is a small, complex and an intricate organ, which makes us for who we are. It wouldn’t be easy finding a cure to Alzheimer’s but hope is always round the corner. Who’s to say what the future beholds.

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