Running head: THE POWER OF RESILIENCE, NEUROPLASTICITY, AND FORTITUDE

The Power of Resilience, Neuroplasticity, and Fortitude

Human Minds Expounded
Jeridiah Watson
Salt Lake Community College

THE POWER OF RESILIENCE AND FORTITUDE

Intro:
Victims of childhood sexual abuse were proven to experience higher rates of anxiety and
depression throughout their lifetime as well as a history of other disorders. But there is hope!
The resilience in the human spirit, and the renewing capability of the human mind
(Neuroplasticity), as well as ones genetics disposition can help a victim bounce back. One
could conclude that the above three enablers of abuse recovery can be an instrumental nexus to
complete healing. This is very apparent in some cases such as the case of the sisters LaTanya
and Tichelle in the Emily Bazelon writing. A personal conclusion about the relevance of abuse
and the healing that can take its place, inspires a desire to protect the innocence of children.

1)

Neuroplasticity: 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. Brain reorganization takes place by mechanisms such as "axonal
sprouting" in which undamaged axons grow new nerve endings to reconnect neurons whose links
were injured or severed. Undamaged axons can also sprout nerve endings and connect with other
undamaged nerve cells, forming new neural pathways to accomplish a needed function.
(Medicine, N. 2012)
For example, if one hemisphere of the brain is damaged, the intact hemisphere may take
over some of its functions. The brain compensates for damage in effect by reorganizing and

THE POWER OF RESILIENCE AND FORTITUDE

forming new connections between intact neurons. In order to reconnect, the neurons need to be
stimulated through activity. (Medicine, N. 2012)
Neuroplasticity sometimes may also contribute to impairment. For example, people who
are deaf may suffer from a continual ringing in their ears (tinnitus), the result of the rewiring of
brain cells starved for sound. For neurons to form beneficial connections, they must be correctly
stimulated. (Medicine, N. 2012)

Definition of Resiliency: Resilience is the process of

adapting well in the face of adversity, trauma, tragedy, threats, or even significant sources of
stress such as family and relationship problems, serious health problems, or workplace and
financial stressors. It means bouncing back from difficult experiences (Association, A. 2007).
In contrast during the critical period during childhood, the brain experiences anything goes
plasticity, adapting itself to sort and interpret a large variety of incoming data from the world
(Nelson, L. 2006).
As people grow older, their brains become noisier because they are filled with more
information, the management of which causes them to slow down. In one experiment however,
computer games were shown to rejuvenate the learning machinery of elderly subjects. His
findings are striking: through auditory training, people between the ages of 70 and 95, were able
to recover the cortical plasticity of people 10 to 15 years younger than they. Visual training
resulted in an increased plasticity equivalent to that of brains 25 years younger. Countering
conventional wisdom, which says that brains simply slow down with age, Merzenich said that it
is very easy to change cortical dynamics by training (Nelson, L. 2006).

THE POWER OF RESILIENCE AND FORTITUDE

On the topic of neuroplasticity, I personally believe that the human mind can be in a
continuous state of renewing and honing through stimulating activities such as reading, sports,
and maintaining a healthy and active lifestyle.
Whether it is elderly people quoting scriptures from memory for fifteen minutes word for
word without even opening the holy book they hold in reverence as they do so, or a selfmotivated renewing of our own minds. Literature expounds the girth of the human mind to
knowledge, and it has been said that knowledge is power. If this is truethen that is what is
hoped to be gained from college, along with confidence, skill, and empathy for others? Words
can be very powerful when instilled with a certain emotion and can certainly be used to tell so
much more than just a story under the right conditions.
One can also assume that a physical activity such as playing sports, Jazz dance class, Tae
Kwon Do, learning American Sign Language, and working out in the gym may even play a large
role in promoting neuroplasticity through kinesthetic learning. These activities are prime
examples since they initiate the forming of those new neural pathways, thereby encouraging the
process in a kinesthetic way.
Sometimes a person goes through a very dark period in their lives. It is these dark periods
of tragedy and despair that are said to the promote resilience gene in individuals. This is
presented to us by the writer Bazelon during the time that the two teen girls, LaTanya and
Tichelle were going through an abusive situation in the home. The girls are said to have
overcome the trauma with a type of tenacity which can only be chalked up to the resilience and
fortitude possessed by the human spirit in a time of trouble.

THE POWER OF RESILIENCE AND FORTITUDE

A mind once stretched by a new idea never regains its original dimensions
(Holmes, Oliver Wendell. 1809-1894)
For years scientists believed that the human brain was both ridged and unchanging.
However, recent extensive research of the human brain has proven otherwise. It has been
discovered that the human brain is actually very adaptable and is capable of forming new
channels of information. The human brain actually goes through a sort of pruning process in
which it acclimates and transforms itself through new ideas and information received.
2)

The everyday meaning of the word resilience extends to anything that bounces

back. Its the word for springing back from serious adversity, like abuse, war or natural disasters.
You exhibit resilience (as opposed to plain competence) if you cope with terrible misfortune and
live relatively successful life as defined by mental health, success in school or at work or solid
relationships (Bazelon, 2006).
In studies of the long-term effects of physical and sexual child abuse, 20 to 40 percent of
victims show few signs of behavioral or mental-health problems. They seem well-balanced with
success in school or at work, while having solid relationships. And many of them dont appear
damaged later in life. As Ann Masten, a resilience researcher, has written, resilient children have
the benefit of ordinary magic. When it comes to abuse victims, though, this finding is rarely
trumpeted; for fear that saying abuse isnt always inevitably harmful is tantamount to saying its
not always bad (Bazelon, 2006).
The statistic above actually contains some viable argumentshowever this still leaves 60 to
80 percent of the population that have experienced abuse and long term negative effects of said
abuse.

THE POWER OF RESILIENCE AND FORTITUDE

Adaptive: Maybe it is the abused individuals that can adapt that are able to use the
neuroplasticity/genomeand made the best of a bad situation while those that cannot adapt are
not able to access it.

In contrast during the critical period during childhood, the brain

experiences anything goes, plasticity, adapting itself to sort and interpret a large variety of
incoming data from the world.
The possibility exists that genes plays a part in how well someone can bounce back from an
abusive experience. The Bazelon article says that a person that has two long allels is able to
bounce back from such situations in comparison to those that have one long allel or those that
have two short allels. The gene makes that person more able to adapt and heal from the
experience.
There is a relationship between the gene, 5-HTT and childhood maltreatment in causing
depression. Scientists have determined that 5-HTT is critical for the regulation of serotonin to the
brain. Proper regulation of serotonin helps promote well-being and protects against depression in
response to trauma or stress. In humans, each 5-HTT gene has two alleles, and each allele occurs
in either a short or a long version. Scientists are still figuring out how the short allele affects
serotonin deliver, but it seems that people with at least one short 5-HTT allele are more prone to
depression. And since depression is associated with unemployment, struggling relationships,
poor health and substance abuse, the short allele could contribute to a life going awry
(Nelson, 2006).
Reflection on assignment: After reading though these articles, I have come to a clearer
realization of the detrimental effects of child abuse. The abuse can cause long term psychological
damage to individuals including anxiety, depression, PTSD, and other negative psychological

THE POWER OF RESILIENCE AND FORTITUDE

disorders. In essence, being a father to a small child, I would like to think myself to be more
aware of situations to where possible abusive situations could be present. In the possessing of
such awareness, one would like to think that the signs of abuse would be more readily
recognized and of a certainty take the proper actions to remedy the situation. I certainly would
hope to continue being a competent guardian for my own child, as well as any other children that
I happen to come into contact with that I may suspect are in an abusive situation.
Conclusion:
The younger sister Tichelle as well as several others in similar studies, are said to have
overcome traumatic and difficult experiences with a type of resilience, neuroplasticity and
fortitude previously unknown to them. These hidden strengths can sometimes only be realized
when invoked during a time of adversity. The struggle is real and sometimes the most unlikely
people who have gone through some storms of life with seemingly overwhelming obstacles,
somehow become even more empowered by such experiences. They oftentimes even serve to to
inspire others who are going through storms with a hope in the proverbial Light at the end of the
tunnel In essence, there are seemingly hidden strengths contained within the human spirit which
can be sometimes be awakened within the souls of certain individuals and tend to become
prevalent during dark times. These said strengths can only be attributed to the powers of
resilience, neuroplasticity, and fortitude.

THE POWER OF RESILIENCE AND FORTITUDE

Reference
Association, A. (2007). What is Resilience? Psych Central. Retrieved on April 16, 2014, from
http://psychcentral.com/lib/what-is-resilience/0001145
Bazelon, E. (2006, April 30). AQuestion of Reslience. The4 New York Times, Retrieved from
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/30/magazine/30abuse.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0
Medicine, N. (2012, June 14 ). Definition of Neuroplasticity. Retrieved from
http>//www.medterms.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=40362
Nelson, L. (2006). A learning machine: Plasticity and change throughout life. Retrieved from
Https://ww.psychological science.org/index.php/publications/observer/2006/august-06/alearning-machine-plasticity-and-change-throughout-life.html