Neuroplasticity and Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)
Evidence suggests the brain is more dynamic and ever-changing than once thought. Psychologists once believed that the brain’s ability to change - plasticity - was limited to children and young adults. In a recent legal update, Dr. Sam Goldstein first defines neuroplasticity, and then relates it to TBI recovery. “Neuroplasticity is defined as the capacity of brain cells to fight the chemical and structural changes that occur following trauma that can eventually kill them if not controlled. Neuroplasticity also refers to the ability of brain cells to modify their activity in response to change in the environment, to store information from the environment and to permit the organism to move about and survive. Thus, all functioning brains to some extent operate under the principle of neuroplasticity throughout life.” Dr. Goldstein notes that “the once held belief that recovery from brain injury is limited to the first one to two years following injury has now been met with considerable cha
