This is our next presentation in the Partnership for Student Success series of events.
The brain is an astonishing organ. Until a few decades ago, science believed that after the first year of life, the brain became a physiologically static organ. The brain was considered to be hard wired, unable to change. If a person had a stroke, the function controlled by the cells damaged was thought to be gone forever. If a child did not develop a skill because it did not have the sensory experiences necessary to build those connections, it was thought the opportunity was lost forever. Nothing could be further from the truth...
Neuroplasticity refers to the brain's lifelong ability to change its structure as a result of internal factors (genetic), as well as external (experiential) factors that lead to new learning. Over three decades of research has proven that the brain can be trained to develop new pathways. This new information is remarkable and has profound impact on how we treat neurologically impaired persons as well as how we see and promote development and learning.
- What are the mechanisms involved?
- How can we evoke change and when is it easiest to make these changes?
- What are the limitations of plasticity?
- What does this mean for you as parents?
The answers to these questions will change the way you look at the human brain forever.