Neuroplasticity

Question 1

SAQ paragraph 1

Answer 1

Neuroplasticity is the brain’s ability to change and adapt the connections between neurons (brain cells). The human brain has approximately 86 billion neurons and because each neuron connects with other neurons, about 1 trillion connections. Each neuron has a dendrite and an axon. When neuron connections occur, dendrites pick up a signal, send it to the axon, which then sends it to the dendrite of another neuron. Dendritic branching occurs when the dendrites of a neuron grow in number or become bushier, allowing for more connections between axons and dendrites to occur. Dendritic pruning occurs when the dendrites of a neuron are pruned or eliminated to increase the efficiency of other neural connections. Neural networks form when neurons connect to other neurons and produce a series of webbed interconnections that produce or stop producing a behaviour. Neuroplasticity can be caused by normal development, learning/experience/practice or damage/disease to the brain.