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Jordan Garritson
Marci Campbell
Psychology 1010
4 October 2015
Brain Plasticity
Introduction

I sat on the bedside of a friend who recently had experienced multiple concussions in a

short period of timeall of which led to her admission to the trauma unit of Intermountain
Medical Center. I quickly learned that she was strugglingtasks that came easily and without
thought just days before were now nearly impossible. Simple activities such as walking, eating,
talking, and rolling over in bed now required help from family and nursing staff. Thankfully,
through hard work and discipline, she has been able to re-learn and re-gain the ability to do
many of these activities. This is an example of how the brain is plastic, meaning tasks that were
assigned to an area of the brain that now is unable to function can be reassigned to other areas
of the brain, allowing the person to continue to perform those same tasks, even though the
process is happening in another part of the brain (Schacter, D., Gilbert, D., Wegner, D., & Nock,
M., 2014). This paper will briefly explain the topic of brain plasticity and the role is plays in each
of our lives.
Literature Review

The brain is an organ that is constantly developing and changing throughout our lives.

Brain plasticity begins early in the life of an embryo. At three weeks, the cells that develop the
nervous system are formed. By fourteen weeks, the cerebrum looks human. By five months,

neurogenesis (formation of the brain) is nearly complete (Kolb, B., & Gibb, R., 2011). The brain
needs about ten billion cells to synthesize. Having so many cells in a miraculously functioning
body makes it clear why brain plasticity is possible.

After the brain is formed and molded from conception, brain plasticity continues to take

place throughout the life of a human. Due to ethical reasons related to research, there is much
about brain plasticity we do not know or understand. However, there are aspects that science
has been able to confirm through observation. Brain plasticity is rarely a widespread change
that occurs throughout the entire brain. Rather, this plasticity will take place in a specific area
of the brain, such as the prefrontal cortex (Kolb, B., & Gibb, R., 2011). In the example of my
friend who suffered many concussions and had to re-learn a fair number of motor and cognitive
skills, this ability and change occurred because of brain plasticity. Portions of her brain were
damaged due to internal pressure and the plasticity of her brain made it possible for her to relearn those simple tasks, using and retraining another area of her brain.

Brain plasticity changes are time-dependent and experience-dependent (Kolb, B., &

Gibb, R., 2011). Time-dependent and experience-dependent plasticity often go hand in hand.
When an individual is placed into a different environment or takes on a new task, different
genes will be expressed acutely and chronically in response to that change. For example, as an
individual begins learning to play the piano, their brain will develop more motor synapses in
their fingers. These motor synapses will give them more fine movement and control in their
fingers, allowing them to more effectively play the piano. These changes are not immediate but
are time-dependent, which is part of the reason we cant learn a complex skill such as the piano

overnight. How this happens in not completely understood, but it is evident that it does
happen.
Application

Nearly sixteen years ago our family received a harrowing call from one of our neighbors.

A man in our neighborhood, Dale, was in his backyard practicing backflips on the trampoline.
These backflips he was practicing were complex flips for a water toy called the sky ski, a ski in
which the rider is strapped to the board and a seat. After many times of practicing the trick,
Dale became overly-tired and during one attempt he was not able to fully flip around to land on
his feet. He unfortunately landed on his head and neck, causing severe injury to his spinal cord.
This left him essentially paralyzed from the neck down. As a distinguished practicing Obstetrics
and Gynecologic physician and a prominent individual in our community, the news was not only
devastating to bear, but everyone knew that his life would be forever changed.

Physical rehabilitation after a spinal cord injury used to be based on the belief that our

nervous system is hard-wired and cannot be repaired. Thankfully, basic science has shown us
that the central nervous system is malleable and can re-learn certain things after a spinal cord
injury (Behrman, A., Bowden, M., & Nair, P., 2006). Dale never felt sorry for himself and got
right to work after his injury. He believed the premise that this injury was not fully permanent
and that he could re-learn everything once again. It was tough to watch him struggle doing
simple daily tasks such as eating and moving, but he never faltered. Each day, Dale worked with
his physical therapista woman who had training and belief in brain plasticityand together,
they started training his brain to act in the way it once did. They designed and implemented a

treatment plan that took much perseverance and effort, but without brain plasticity, he would
have had no hope of ever walking or using his arms again.
Sixteen years later, Dale can now walk on his own with a little aid from a cane. He is able
to do all lifes daily tasks without any help. He is even able to ride the sky ski again, an activity
that many thought would be impossible for him. Dale started his own non-profit company to
help those that have had similar life-altering injuries. He is the definition of brain plasticity.
Conclusion

In writing and researching this paper, I learned that there is so much we dont fully

understand about brain plasticity, but we do know it happens and that it is important to
survival. Brain plasticity happens in everyoneathletes, musicians, paraplegics, and strokevictims, to name a few. In the future, I look forward to learning more about this process and the
amazing advances that doctors and therapists are able to bring to people as they try to recover
and return to their lives. The benefits that are evolving in the medical field as patients are
treated for neurological injuries are beyond our imagination. If we understood more about the
mechanism of brain plasticity, specific rehabilitations could be created to aid in recovery. Brain
plasticity is important to me as I have seen its benefits to those around me. I have also seen its
effects in my life as I have recovered from many accidents and injuries. The understanding and
knowledge about brain plasticity is highly essential within the medical field and is an area that I
feel will continue to be better understood as research continues.

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References

Behrman, A., Bowden, M., & Nair, P. (2006). Neuroplasticity After Spinal Cord Injury and
Training: An Emerging Paradigm Shift in Rehabilitation and Walking Recovery. Physical
Therapy, 1406-1425. doi:10.2522/ ptj.20050212
Kolb, B., & Gibb, R. (2011). Brain Plasticity and Behaviour in the Developing Brain. Journal of the
Canadian Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 20(4), 265276.
Schacter, D., Gilbert, D., Wegner, D., & Nock, M. (2014). Psychology (Third ed.). Worth.