In the early '90s virtual reality pioneer Jaron Lanier experimented with "homuncular flexibility" – the ability of the brain to adapt to very different physical bodies in VR simulations.
The ability of the brain to establish new connections is called plasticity, and brain-fitness exercises are predicated on this mechanism.
Gallagher writes that "the guitarist's recovery epitomizes the ability of the brain to improvise to compensate for damage by wiring new connections".
Cross-modal plasticity, also called cross-modal neuroplasticity, the ability of the brain to reorganize and make functional changes to compensate for a sensory deficit.
Gallagher writes that "the guitarist's recovery epitomizes the ability of the brain to improvise — to compensate for damage by wiring new connections".
By plasticity I mean the ability of the brain to change its structure and function in response to changes in the environment.
Many of the players also share a genetic risk factor for neurodegenerative diseases, so perhaps deposits of tau are the result of brain trauma coupled with the weakened ability of the brain to repair itself.
A pilot safety brochure from the Federal Aviation Administration notes that "alcohol decreases the ability of the brain to make use of oxygen" — an effect that can be magnified by altitude.
Published in the Frontiers in Human Neuroscience journal in February, the study is the latest effort from the U.C.L.A. lab to determine the extent to which meditation may affect neuroplasticity — the ability of the brain to make physiological changes.
The state of our homes may disproportionately affect women, but we all feel the effects of a cluttered home; it limits the ability of the brain to process information, and it takes a drastic toll on our mental and physical health.
People recovering from schizophrenia suffer serious lapses in episodic memory which prevent them from returning to work or studying at university, so anything that can improve the ability of the brain to remember everyday events will help them to lead a normal life, Professor Sahakian said.
