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  • Print publication year: 2003
  • Online publication date: August 2009

5 - Skill learning

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Summary

Plasticity as an intrinsic property of the brain

In the course of brain development, very complex processes take place to establish an intricate and highly specific network of millions of cells interconnected by billions of dendritic arborizations and synapses. It is reasonable to think that the brain might be resistant to change once development is completed, given the daunting complexity of these processes and of the resulting ‘end-product’. This notion of a rather static and unchanging brain was the pervasive belief for many years. However, in the meantime, it has become clear that this notion is wrong. The brain does not only undergo reorganization, but it is constantly reorganizing (Fuster, 1995; Kaas, 1997) and this entire volume provides ample support for the emerging concept of a dynamically changing brain.

The brain's capacity to change is referred to as plasticity and we might think of it as an intrinsic property of the human nervous system that persists throughout the human lifespan. An obvious example to lend support to this claim is the acquisition of new skills, to which the present chapter is devoted. The brain is designed to be able to change in response to changes in the environment. This is the mechanism for growth and development, but also for learning. In the process of learning, the brain has to change to be able to code for, and appropriately implement, the new knowledge.

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Plasticity in the Human Nervous System
  • Online ISBN: 9780511544903
  • Book DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511544903
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