PSYC3338 Chapter Notes - Chapter n/a: Synaptic Pruning, Neuroplasticity
Document Summary
Plasticity describes how experiences reorganize neural pathways in the brain. Long lasting functional changes in the brain occur when we learn new things or memorize new information, and these changes in neural connections are what we call neuroplasticity. It contains several processes that take place throughout a lifetime. Neuroplasticity has a clear age-dependent determinant different types of plasticity dominate during certain periods of one"s life and are less prevalent during other periods. The brain is shaped by the characteristics of a person"s environment and by the actions of that same person. Brain grows rapidly for the first year of life, increasing the number of synaptic contacts and laying the specific connections from neuron to neuron. As we age, old connections are deleted through synaptic pruning, which eliminates weaker synaptic contacts while stronger connections are kept and strengthened. Experience determines which connections are pruned/kept connections that have been activated most frequently are kept.
