Journal
BRAIN TOPOGRAPHY
Volume 24, Issue 3-4, Pages 302-315Publisher
SPRINGER
DOI: 10.1007/s10548-011-0196-8
Keywords
Cortical brain plasticity; Transcranial magnetic stimulation; Electroencephalography; Functional magnetic resonance imaging; Lifespan
Categories
Funding
- National Center for Research Resources: Harvard-Thorndike General Clinical Research Center at BIDMC [NCRR MO1 RR01032]
- Harvard Clinical and Translational Science Center [UL1 RR025758]
- NIH [K24 RR018875, F32MH080493, 1KL2RR025757-01]
- Center for Integration of Medicine and Innovative Technology (CIMIT)
- Foundation for Science and Technology, Portugal [SFRH/BPD/66846/2009]
- European Social Fund
- Neuronix
- Nexstim
- Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia [SFRH/BPD/66846/2009] Funding Source: FCT
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Brain plasticity can be conceptualized as nature's invention to overcome limitations of the genome and adapt to a rapidly changing environment. As such, plasticity is an intrinsic property of the brain across the lifespan. However, mechanisms of plasticity may vary with age. The combination of transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) with electroencephalography (EEG) or functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) enables clinicians and researchers to directly study local and network cortical plasticity, in humans in vivo, and characterize their changes across the age-span. Parallel, translational studies in animals can provide mechanistic insights. Here, we argue that, for each individual, the efficiency of neuronal plasticity declines throughout the age-span and may do so more or less prominently depending on variable 'starting-points' and different 'slopes of change' defined by genetic, biological, and environmental factors. Furthermore, aberrant, excessive, insufficient, or mistimed plasticity may represent the proximal pathogenic cause of neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative disorders such as autism spectrum disorders or Alzheimer's disease.
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