Research on Neuroplasticity

Julia's friend Nikita Matsunaga, Ph.D. (chemistry professor at LIU) was asking her about how exactly the brain changes when people master new knowledge or skills. Do the neural pathways get thicker/stronger? Well, kind of. There are physical and chemical changes that take place. For example, you'll get complex dendritic branching (so there are more physical synapses linking neurons) and you'll get more receptor sites (so neurotransmitters can be more likely to trigger an action potential). Anyway, if you are curious about this topic, here is some research on neuroplasticity originally compiled for the Neuroscience of Learning course that I help teach at Harvard (Extension School). Have fun exploring!