Neuroplasticity is a Pretty Useless Idea for Practice

Thanks to current understandings of neuroplasticity, we now know that our brains can change throughout our lives. This means that even the most deeply rooted and harmful habits can be deconditioned.

This and other research has revealed that the somatotopic organization of the brain is plastic. In neuroscience, plasticity refers to the ability of the brain to develop new experience dependent pathways in the case of impairment or damage.

Reflect the world. Brains match themselves to their input. Wrap around the inputs. Brains leverage whatever information streams in. Drive any machinery. Brains learn to control whatever body plan they discover themselves inside of. Retain what matters. Brains distribute their resources based on relevance. Lock down stable information. Some parts of

Our brains are biologically programmed to be able to deal with constant change. Our neurons and their synapses are in a constant state of flux – the connections are dynamic, changing their size and strength and location; being formed and unformed. This process, known as neuroplasticity, is when our neurons and neural networks change their connectio

This understanding is important because it provides a neurological foundation for why deliberate practice works. By focusing intensely on a specific skill, you’re forcing the specific relevant circuit to fire, again and again, in isolation. This repetitive use of a specific circuit triggers cells called oligodendrocytes to begin wrapping layers of