Hostname: page-component-5db58dd55d-ggg9q Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2026-06-03T05:00:37.203Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Neuroplasticity in changing ecologies

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 June 2026

Daniele Ortu Open the ORCID record for Daniele Ortu [Opens in a new window]
Daniele Ortu*
Affiliation:
University of North Texas, Denton, TX, USA daniele.ortu@unt.edu
*
*Corresponding author.
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

This commentary provides a developmental neuroscience perspective on brain plasticity concerning the sequence of social environments we experience throughout our lives. After adolescence, play and variable behavior tend to be discouraged, and individuals often develop rigid behavioral patterns. This tendency becomes even more evident with further aging, and, with fewer new learning opportunities, environment-driven brain plasticity progressively decreases.

Information

Type
Open Peer Commentary
Information
Behavioral and Brain Sciences , Volume 49 , 2026 , e74
Check for updates
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2026. Published by Cambridge University Press

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Article purchase

Temporarily unavailable

References

Baldwin, C. L., & Greenwood, P. M. (2020). Cognitive and brain aging: Interventions to promote well-being in old age. Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience, 11, 353.10.3389/fnagi.2019.00353CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Becker, A. M., Kuhn, R. M., & Pinkelman, S. E. (2024). Advancing and integrating the cusp concept to understand behavioral repertoire dynamics. Perspectives on Behavior Science, 47(1), 29–54.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bosch, S., & Fuqua, R. W. (2001). Behavioral cusps: A model for selecting target behaviors. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 34(1), 123.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Buonomano, D. V., & Merzenich, M. M. (1998). Cortical plasticity: from synapses to maps. Annual review of neuroscience, 21(1), 149–186.10.1146/annurev.neuro.21.1.149CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
de Villers-Sidani, E., Mishra, J., Zhou, X., & Voss, P. (2016). Neuroplastic mechanisms underlying perceptual and cognitive enhancement. Neural Plasticity, 2016, 6238571.10.1155/2016/6238571CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Deterding, S. (2018). Alibis for adult play: A Goffmanian account of escaping embarrassment in adult play. Games and culture, 13(3), 260–279.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Donahoe, J. W. (2017). Behavior analysis and neuroscience: Complementary disciplines. Journal of the experimental analysis of behavior, 107(3), 301–320.10.1002/jeab.251CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Glass, T. A., De Leon, C. M., Marottoli, R. A., & Berkman, L. F. (1999). Population based study of social and productive activities as predictors of survival among elderly Americans. Bmj, 319(7208), 478–483.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hixson, M. D. (2004). Behavioral cusps, basic behavioral repertoires, and cumulative-hierarchical learning. The Psychological Record, 54(3), 387–403.10.1007/BF03395481CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kilgard, M. P., Epperson, J. D., Adehunoluwa, E. A., Swank, C., Porter, A. L., Pruitt, D. T., … & Rennaker, R. L. (2025). Closed-loop vagus nerve stimulation aids recovery from spinal cord injury. Nature, 643, 1–7.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kilgard, M. P., & Merzenich, M. M. (1998a). Cortical map reorganization enabled by nucleus basalis activity. Science, 279(5357), 1714–1718.10.1126/science.279.5357.1714CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kilgard, M. P., & Merzenich, M. M. (1998b). Plasticity of temporal information processing in the primary auditory cortex. Nature neuroscience, 1(8), 727–731.10.1038/3729CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lee, H. K., Basak, C., Grant, S. J., Ray, N. R., Skolasinska, P. A., Oehler, C., … & Voss, M. W. (2024). The effects of computerized cognitive training in older adults’ cognitive performance and biomarkers of structural brain aging. The Journals of Gerontology, Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, 79(7), gbae075.10.1093/geronb/gbae075CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Marzola, P., Melzer, T., Pavesi, E., Gil-Mohapel, J., & Brocardo, P. S. (2023). Exploring the role of neuroplasticity in development, aging, and neurodegeneration. Brain Sciences, 13(12), 1610.10.3390/brainsci13121610CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Merzenich, M. M., Kaas, J. H., Wall, J., Nelson, R. J., Sur, M., & Felleman, D. (1983). Topographic reorganization of somatosensory cortical areas 3b and 1 in adult monkeys following restricted deafferentation. Neuroscience, 8(1), 33–55.10.1016/0306-4522(83)90024-6CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Mishra, J., de Villers-Sidani, E., Merzenich, M., & Gazzaley, A. (2014). Adaptive training diminishes distractibility in aging across species. Neuron, 84(5), 1091–1103.10.1016/j.neuron.2014.10.034CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
North, M. S., & Fiske, S. T. (2013). Act your (old) age: Prescriptive, ageist biases over succession, consumption, and identity. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 39(6), 720–734.10.1177/0146167213480043CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ortu, D., & Vaidya, M. (2017). The challenges of integrating behavioral and neural data: bridging and breaking boundaries across levels of analysis. The Behavior Analyst, 40(1), 209–224.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Palmer, D. C., & Donahoe, J. W. (1992). Essentialism and selectionism in cognitive science and behavior analysis. American psychologist, 47(11), 1344.10.1037/0003-066X.47.11.1344CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Pascual-Leone, J. (1970). A mathematical model for the transition rule in Piaget’s developmental stages. Acta psychologica, 32, 301–345.10.1016/0001-6918(70)90108-3CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pellegrini, A. D. (2009). The role of play in human development. Oxford University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Powers, M. B., Hays, S. A., Rosenfield, D., Porter, A. L., Gallaway, H., Chauvette, G., … & Rennaker, R. L. (2025). Vagus nerve stimulation therapy for treatment-resistant PTSD. Brain Stimulation, 18(3), 665–675.10.1016/j.brs.2025.03.007CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rosales-Ruiz, J., & Baer, D. M. (1997). Behavioral cusps: A developmental and pragmatic concept for behavior analysis. Journal of applied behavior analysis, 30(3), 533–544.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ruiz-Gonzalez, D., Hernandez-Martinez, A., Valenzuela, P. L., Morales, J. S., & Soriano-Maldonado, A. (2021). Effects of physical exercise on plasma brain-derived neurotrophic factor in neurodegenerative disorders: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, 128, 394–405.10.1016/j.neubiorev.2021.05.025CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Sara, S. J. (2009). The locus coeruleus and noradrenergic modulation of cognition. Nature reviews neuroscience, 10(3), 211–223.10.1038/nrn2573CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Schultz, W. (2007). Behavioral dopamine signals. Trends in neurosciences, 30(5), 203–210.10.1016/j.tins.2007.03.007CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Van Praag, H., Kempermann, G., & Gage, F. H. (1999). Running increases cell proliferation and neurogenesis in the adult mouse dentate gyrus. Nature neuroscience, 2(3), 266–270.10.1038/6368CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Voss, P., Thomas, M. E., Cisneros-Franco, J. M., & de Villers-Sidani, É. (2017). Dynamic brains and the changing rules of neuroplasticity: implications for learning and recovery. Frontiers in psychology, 8, 274878.10.3389/fpsyg.2017.01657CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Warlaumont, A. S., Richards, J. A., Gilkerson, J., & Oller, D. K. (2014). A social feedback loop for speech development and its reduction in autism. Psychological science, 25(7), 1314–1324.10.1177/0956797614531023CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Zhang, Y., Fu, S., Ding, D., Lutz, M. W., Zeng, Y., & Yao, Y. (2021). Leisure activities, APOE ε4, and cognitive decline: a longitudinal cohort study. Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience, 13, 736201.10.3389/fnagi.2021.736201CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Zhou, X., Panizzutti, R., de Villers-Sidani, É., Madeira, C., & Merzenich, M. M. (2011). Natural restoration of critical period plasticity in the juvenile and adult primary auditory cortex. Journal of Neuroscience, 31(15), 5625–5634.10.1523/JNEUROSCI.6470-10.2011CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed