Gilles van Luijtelaar
It is my point of view that everything that is learned, experienced or occurs in the environment of a person is represented by more or less permanent functional changes in the brain where this new knowledge or experience is represented. Neuroplasticity is a property of brain tissue, it refers to modifications of neuronal connections due to development, new experiences, and aging. In this short lecture I will illustrate my point of view with outcomes of experiments mainly in animals showing that the environment shapes the brain, including the expression of a genetic neurological disease. Also drugs and hormones modify the way in which neurons communicate. Finally some examples will be given of another form of Neuroplasticity, recovery after brain damage.