The 'Plastic' Brain: Changes borne of experience

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The 'Plastic' Brain: Changes borne of experience


Matthew Barron, The StarPhoenix

Published: Saturday, December 01, 2007
The costs of neurological conditions such as epilepsy and stroke can range from a near-normal life controlled with medication or devastating disability - all depending on the reaction of neurons, the cells in our brains and central nervous systems.
According to the World Health Organization, more than 10 per cent of Canadians suffer from such neurological conditions. The Neural Systems and Plasticity Research Group at the University of Saskatchewan is pursuing knowledge that could lead to new and more effective treatments for neurological diseases and injury.
The group investigates how the nervous system functions, focusing on how the system changes with what group leader Michael Corcoran calls "experience." That experience could be the onset of multiple sclerosis or Alzheimer's, or a catastrophic event such as spinal cord injury or stroke. Or it could just be exposure to a normal simulating environment, promoting learning and development.

http://www.canada.com/saskatoonstarp...3-74df422dbe38