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Loading ...The past 15 years have revealed to us how incredibly plastic the brain is.
Now new research published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences clearly shows that even over the course of just a few hours, brain circuit connections are formed and re-formed many times.
Researcher Henry Markram notes:
The circuitry of the brain is like a social network where neurons are like people, directly linked to only a few other people. The brain is constantly switching alliances and linking with new circles of "friends" to better process information.
A more detailed summary of the research can be found here.
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I read somewhere that a neuron can have up to 10,000 “friends.” Is my source right or is this one right?
Good point. Neurons can have greater than 10,000 “friends”.
I agree with you, the article’s language could probably be improved. Actually, if we count all the people we make contact with and subtly influence during our day to day existence, it’s undoubtedly greater than just “a few”; probably hundreds if not greater than 1000.