Neuroplasticity

3 types of neurons and what they do

Sensory neurons (detect stimuli)

Motor neurons (control muscles and glands)

Relay neurons (Transfer info between motor and sensory neurons)

How do neurons transmit info?

By chemical messengers from one neuron to another

WHat are neurons seperated by?

Synapses

Dendrites

Tree-like extensions of neurons. The more dendrites a neuron has, the more potential synaptic connections to other neurons it has.

Neural network

A web of connected neurons in the brain. They develop through repetition.

Long-term potentiation

Long lasting improvement in signal transmission between neurons. It’s the result of repeated interactions between them.

Dendritic branching

Biological end-result of long-term potentiation. Neurons develop more dendrites, which increases the amount of synapses, improving performance.

Synaptic pruning

The less we practice a skill, the worse we become at it. Our brains systemically prune (cut) neural connections we don’t use regularly in order to make our more frequent networks function better.

Why can synaptic pruning be beneficial?

Makes our more frequent networks work better, since it’s like the brain cleaning itself to increase efficiency.

What is neuroplasticity, and how does it occur?

It’s the brain’s ability to adapt and change its neural connections in response to experiences and learning. It occurs via dendritic branching and synaptic pruning.

Applications of neuroplasticity

Explains why we get more intelligent upon aging

Helps us understand the brain more

Explains changes in the brain after learning stuff

We can study how the environment affects us on a biological level