Cortical plasticity can be defined as the process whereby brain cortex changes in response to experience or environment. This can be described at the anatomical, physiological or behavioural level. It is a topic of major importance to humans, being critical to normal development and learning. Clinically, cortical plasticity is part of how patients with CNS disease show behavioural recovery, respond to therapy or learn to compensate.The underlying basis of cortical plasticity has been extensively investigated. Animal studies have provided insights into the cellular and molecular events essential for these processes. For example, acquisition of a new motor skiE is accompanied by changes in gene expression, growth factor levels, neuronal morphology and more. In humans, insights into underlying events have largely been at the systems level, via functional neuroimaging.
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