PLASTICITY in NEURAL NETWORKS
All of our memories (of events, words, images, emotions) correspond to activities of specific circuits of neurons. Learning depends on the plasticity of these circuits.
Plasticity refers to the neurons’ stunning powers to make lasting changes in the efficiency of their synaptic wiring patterns, even in adult brains. What we experience as ‘information’ is the unique arrangement of these patterns. Information is retrieved through activating these networks.
Neurons involved in the creation of a network are often already connected via their synapses so that these bonds only need strengthening or weakening, which depends on whether the associative feelings or thoughts are considered pleasant or painful.
New networks are often created out of pre-existing ‘wiring’ when other regions fail to perform them. Some of these networks play a key role in the formation of memories.
The actions we take, the experiences we have, the new skills we learned, the opinions and beliefs we changed, determine the brain regions that expand or contract. Which ones will grow is a reflection of the lives we live.
