As I sat in my afternoon neurochemistry class, comfortably drowsy after a satisfying lunch, my professor mentioned something that instantly snapped me back to attention: neuroplasticity. The incredible ability of humans to adapt and learn from the environment stems from the brain's neuroplasticity. Jerzy Konoski first used the term "neural plasticity"; he was a Polish neurophysiologist who added to the work of Ivan Pavlov and successfully discovered secondary reflexes and operant conditioning. Imagine him as a detective of the brain, building on Ivan Pavlov's famous dog experiments.
But wait-neuroplasticity's story goes way back! In 1793, Italian anatomist Michele Vincenzo Malacarne was playing the ultimate animal trainer. He takes pairs of animals, trains one intensely for years, and then dissects them (yes, it gets a bit grim) to compare their brains. The result? The trained animals had bigger cerebellums like a muscle growing after a workout!
Fast forward to today and scientists have discovered something even better: your brain isn't done changing after childhood. Those clever neurons keep adapting well into your 20s and 30s. Think of your pre-frontal cortex, the CEO of decision-making, emotions, and personality as a late bloomer, finally maturing around your mid-20s, around the time you get your wisdom teeth.
Use this amazing ability of your brain to your favour, learn a new skill, or break a bad habit, give yourself a pat on the back, your brain is literally reshaping itself!
Syeda Aida Mowla
Student
North South University