Questão 15 - USS (Univassouras) Medicina 2025/2

HOW NEUROPLASTICITY WORKS

By Kendra Cherry, MSEd. Updated on May 17, 2024

 

Neuroplasticity is an umbrella term referring to the brain’s ability to change, reorganize, or grow neural 
networks. This can involve functional changes and adaptation due to brain damage or structural changes 
due to learning or experience.

The first few years of a child’s life are a time of rapid brain growth. At birth, every neuron in the cerebral 
[5] cortex has an estimated 2,500 synapses, or small gaps between neurons where nerve impulses are relayed. 
By the age of three, this number has grown to a whopping 15,000 synapses per neuron. The average adult, 
however, has only about half that number of synapses. This happens because as we gain new experiences, 
some connections are strengthened while others are eliminated. This process is known as “synaptic pruning”.
 While plasticity occurs throughout the lifetime, certain types of changes are more predominant at specific 
[10] ages. The brain tends to change a great deal during the early years of life, for example, as the immature brain 
grows and organizes itself. Generally, young brains tend to be more sensitive and responsive to experiences 
than much older brains. But this does not mean that adult brains are not capable of adaptation. Genetics can 
have an influence as well. The interaction between the environment and genetics also plays a role in shaping 
the brain’s plasticity.
 [15] Modern research has demonstrated that the brain continues to create new neural pathways and alter existing 
ones in order to adapt to new experiences, learn new information, and create new memories. In instances of 
damage to the brain, such as during a stroke, the areas of the brain associated with certain functions may be 
injured. Eventually, healthy parts of the brain may take over those functions and the abilities can be restored.
 Brain changes are often seen as positive, but this is not always the case. In some instances, the brain’s structure 
[20] and function can be negatively influenced or changed. For example, brain plasticity can be problematic 
when it allows detrimental changes caused by substance use, disease, or trauma – including brain injury 
or traumatic experiences that result in post-traumatic stress disorder or PTSD. Even lead poisoning can 
negatively impact brain plasticity.
 The brain has an amazing ability to change throughout the course of our life, allowing us to learn new things 
[25] or recover after sustaining a brain-based injury and this is of great help. Without neuroplasticity, it would be 
difficult to learn or otherwise improve brain function. However, there are still limits to how much the brain 
can adapt. 

Available at: https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-brain-plasticity-2794886. Accessed in: 2nd apr. 2025. (Adapted).

    This happens because as we gain new experiences, some connections are strengthened while others are eliminated. (l. 7-8)

 

    While plasticity occurs throughout the lifetime, certain types of changes are more predominant at specific ages. (l. 9-10)

 

The underlined words in these fragments express, respectively, the following ideas: