Plasticity in the brain

 Plasticity is the brain’s ability to change in response to experience. Although it was once believed that little plasticity occurred in the brain, neuroscience research has determined that significant plasticity is possible in the brain throughout the lifespan, to include neurogenesis (the acquisition of new neurons). Phantom limb is the perception of touch in an amputated limb (Ramachandran, 2011). This effect occurs when a region of the body represented adjacent to the amputated limb in the somatosensory cortex is stimulated (e.g., touching the left side of the face generates the perception of touching the missing left hand). There are many examples of plasticity in the brain. Find an example in the neuroscience literature that demonstrates the brain’s ability to change. Be sure to use a peer-reviewed journal article as your source. The article should report the findings of primary research and not be a review article that summarizes findings from several studies. Provide a detailed summary of the changing event or manipulation and what the brain was like before and after the event. What behavior or event led to the occurrence of plasticity in your example? Describe what the physical brain was like before and after the event. Be sure to include a link to the source(s) of your information, along with the full reference entry at the end of your post. Citations directly linking the content of your post to these sources should be provided immediately after the relevant content in your post and not simply included as a list of references at the end of your post.