Brain plasticity-based therapeutics

Abstract

The primary objective of this review article is to summarize how the neuroscience of brain plasticity, exploiting new findings in fundamental, integrative and cognitive neuroscience, is changing the therapeutic landscape for professional communities addressing brain-based disorders and disease. After considering the neurological bases of training-driven neuroplasticity, we shall describe how this neuroscience-guided perspective distinguishes this new approach from (a) the more-behavioral, traditional clinical strategies of professional therapy practitioners, and (b) an even more widely applied pharmaceutical treatment model for neurological and psychiatric treatment domains. With that background, we shall argue that neuroplasticity-based treatments will be an important part of future best-treatment practices in neurological and psychiatric medicine.

Inflammation, Glutamate, and Glia: A Trio of Trouble in Mood Disorders

“…Activity-dependent axonal plasticity involves communication between myelinating oligodendrocytes and nodal astrocytes using glia-glia signaling probably through gap junctions (Ishibashi et al, 2006). These activity-dependent increases in myelination and plasticity seen among older individuals and points to the utility of neural entraining and stimulation techniques to reverse age-associated declines (Merzenich et al, 2014).…”

Neuroplasticity-targeted Intervention for Idiopathic Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss: A New Therapeutic Direction

“…skill learning) or functional compensation (e.g. post-stroke recovery), whereas other forms of plasticity can induce maladaptive neuroplastic changes and negatively affect disease pathogenesis [25,27,41,[55][56][57]. Notable examples of maladaptive cortical reorganization include focal hand dystonia [58], phantom limb pain [59], and tinnitus [60,61], which can have disastrous effects on one's quality of life [41].…”

Reta a Tu Mente, Desafía a Tu Cerebro: Complejidad Ambiental Y Salud Cerebral

“…La neuroplasticidad puede tener consecuencias tanto positivas como negativas a cualquier edad a lo largo del ciclo vital. Actualmente existe amplia evidencia de que las redes neurales son maleables o plásticas incluso en la edad avanzada (Merzenich, Van Vleet & Nahum, 2014). Se ha hipotetizado que los efectos a nivel cerebral derivados de la adquisición de nuevos aprendizajes podrían ser especialmente beneficiosos para los sujetos de edad más avanzada que muestran claro declive en áreas cerebrales relacionadas con la memoria y otros procesos cognitivos (McDonough et al, 2015), incluyendo regiones frontoparietales (implicadas en procesamiento atencional y función ejecutiva), córtex temporal inferior (procesamiento y reconocimiento de objetos), córtex temporal medio (procesamiento semántico).…”