What is neuroplasticity?
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Audience
Primary school, Secondary school -
Learning stage
Stage 3, Stage 4, Stage 5 -
Learning area
Science -
Type
Learning resources
On this page...
Our bodies are built up out of trillions of different cells, all working together to keep us alive. They are involved in making us breath, walk, talk and eat.
Our brains are made up of a special type of cell called a neuron. Neurons are used to let different areas in our brain communicate with one another and send messages to the rest of our body. You could think of our brain as our computer processor, controlling everything we do through a network made of neurons.
But what happens to those neurons when we learn? Or what if we damage our brain in an accident? Can we change the neurons in our brain to become faster and more energy efficient, and maybe even recover after an accident?
About the video
Brain scanning technology shows that the human brain can adapt throughout our lives. In his film Neuroplasticity - You Can Change Your Brain, Iestyn uses colourful graphics to explain how neurons connect via synapses. Through everyday examples, he shows that when connections become crowded with data, learning prompts an editing process that makes space for new information.
