Understanding neuroplasticity
Your brain is as unique as your fingerprint, but designed to
change throughout your life. It is your command centre that mediates your daily
experiences at every level, controlling who you are, what you do, how you feel,
and even how your brain changes. Every sustained physical, sensory, and mental
activity—including thinking, learning, and imagining, as well as feeling,
attitude, and perception—changes your brain. The brain’s inherent ability to
change itself is called neuroplasticity.
Understanding neuroplasticity is a journey of discovery that takes us in two directions: outward into the world of knowledge and research in neuroscience, and inward for insights into the workings of our minds and the potential for balancing and realigning our everyday lives.
This journey requires learning new concepts like critical period, brain mapping, and rewiring the brain, as well as considering everyday concepts like memory, forgetting, learning, decision-making, and culture from new perspectives. It means becoming familiar with some plasticity-based therapies that are helping individuals cope with brain disorders like post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). It provides insights into the complexity of the brain and understanding why so many questions and problems related to our brain remain unresolved.
However, relating what we know about neuroplasticity to metacognition, and understanding what is required to build and maintain brain fitness enables us to apply that knowledge to our everyday lives and personal goals. The rewards are life-changing.
Here are two interesting and informative resources:
Norman Doidges's The Brain That Changes Itself
Understanding Neuroplasticity on Ask Pamba
