What is Neuroplasticity?
To understand neuroplasticity, we must understand how neurons work. Neurons are fundamental cells within the nervous system and brain that are responsible for:
- receiving signals from the external world
- transmitting or relaying signals to other neurons or
- sending commands to the muscles.
These signals are transmitted through structures called synapses and travel through neural pathways.
Neuroplasticity is the ability of neurons and neural pathways to change their behaviour and connections in response to damage, development, dysfunction, new information or sensory stimulation. Most importantly, neuroplasticity is a delicate process that requires patience and time.
Neural Damage Following a Concussion
Concussions can cause cognitive impairments, resulting from neural damage. Specifically, when the brain suffers a concussion, the neurons are damaged. Therefore, these damaged neurons cannot properly transmit or relay signals.
How Does Neuroplasticity Heal the Brain After a Concussion?
Neuroplasticity heals the brain through two methods:
Sprouting
When the brain suffers neural damage resulting from a concussion, the neurons will gradually degenerate. To make up for these damaged neurons, the brain may sprout new synapses on surrounding healthy neurons. This creates new neural pathways, thus ensuring that signals can be adequately relayed or transmitted.
Rerouting
Following a concussion, the brain may slowly develop new connections between healthy neurons. This creates alternate neural pathways, thereby rerouting signals to these pathways. As a result, these signals can be properly transmitted or relayed, and the damaged neural pathways are terminated.
Promoting Neuroplasticity
Genes are one of the factors that determine how our brains create new neural pathways. However, environmental conditions can also influence neuroplasticity, such as regular exercise, social interactions, and challenging activities. Accordingly, it is pivotal to promote neuroplasticity through regular brain exercises, after a concussion.
Brain exercises strengthen new neural pathways created via neuroplasticity, thereby enhancing concussion recovery. Additionally, regular brain exercises help create these neural pathways more quickly and stimulates sprouting/rerouting that would otherwise not be possible without brain exercises.
3 Components of Brain Exercises to Promote Neuroplasticity
Brain exercises must encompass the following 4 components to successfully promote neuroplasticity:
Specific
Following a concussion, the damaged brain needs specific activities to build and strengthen new neural pathways. Specific activities help with this process as these activities ensure that the concussion survivor focuses on specific goals and tasks. In conjunction with this, research has shown that focusing on specific tasks and goals can enhance brain recovery. Thus, the primary goal of brain exercises is to promote new neural connections through specific brain exercises. It is also critical that these specific activities must have an intentional goal. For instance, a specific brain exercise could be used to improve short-term memory.
Repetition
When new neural pathways are initially formed, they are weak and must be strengthened. Therefore, repetitive exercises are vital to strengthen new neural connections. Furthermore, repetitive exercises help stimulate new neural pathways. This is especially critical among older adults as neuroplasticity is more difficult with older age.
Challenge
Brain exercises must also be difficult and promote challenge. Challenging exercises stimulate brain activity and new neural pathways, which are both essential for concussion recovery.
Written by Dorothy Dinh
References
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