Silent Synapses and Brain Plasticity
In Chapter 10 we talk about the remarkable plasticity of the human brain, having twice as many neurons (86 billion!) as a chimpanzee. This plasticity allows us to commandeer brain cells to relearn vital human functions when calamities such as stroke befall us. New research provides evidence of "silent synapses", immature connections in the brain that allow us to form new memories and absorb new information. https://news.mit.edu/2022/silent-synapses-brain-1130. Here's the published research: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-022-05483-6.
Recent Posts
See AllIn chapter 10, we talk about the New Stone Age, and the first human settlements 10,000 years ago. Now new research has uncovered wooden structures carved out by humans almost 500,000 years ago--before
Here's an interesting article that describes the many ways in which music therapy is used to treat patients with dementia: https://www.mindbodygreen.com/articles/how-music-therapy-helps-people-with-de
In chapter ten, we marveled at the number of neuronic connections in the brain-86 million! Researchers have always placed a great emphasis on this great number of connections to explain how we "think,