Brain Plasticity vs. Computer “Plasticity”

The brain "emerges from a process." Brain plasticity is a reflection of the intrinsic flexibility "of that process."

Brain plasticity, also known as neuroplasticity or cortical remapping, is a term that refers to the brain's ability to change and adapt as a result of experience. (about.com). We can "build" new neural pathways, increase the overall density of the "neural map" and synapses, etc.

Brain plasticity vs. computer plasticity: Brain plasticity means that: (1) some new physical structure can be added. (2) function of damaged structures transferred to undamaged ones. So brain plasticity is a classic repairing. Good news is that such repairing is possible because many years neuroscientists believe that it is impossible. Similar "plasticity" is already implemented in contemporary computers as well. Brain plasticity affects not all "units," it work only in cortex area. Computers provides self maintenance only in hard drives, so some analogy on the fore. But special computers with high tolerance are able to replace any unit, so computer self-repairing abilities are wider than brain plasticity.

Analogically, cortex is actually data storage: Cortex location used for storing new information is defined by simple rule "first suitable"; it lead to clustering by functionality, but when some area is damaged, new data will be stored in another, undamaged place. Full similarity with storing data into hard drive of flash memory with employing detection of damaged sectors. But computer can also have processing unit reservation, which is missed in case of brain. Particular computers detect damaged hard disk tracks (as well as solid state "disks" memory cells) and use another instead; computers systems that requires high reliability (flight control, nuclear reactor control etc) have multiple units that are run, some reserved one and subsystem that turn off damaged unit and turn on another.

Plasticity, in the context of the brain, takes on two forms.The first is the developmental stage of children in to 5 year old. and less range. In one developmental theory, a child's brain from birth to around 5 is highly degree of plasticity. The second sense of plasticity deals with neural plasticity. Furthermore, the neurons can develop new dendrites to rewire itself if it needs to. The brain is an amazing organ. The brain "emerges from a process." And that, actually, all physiology emerges from that process. Brain plasticity is a reflection of the intrinsic flexibility 'of that process.'

“Neu­ro­plas­tic­ity refers to the life­long capac­ity of the brain to change and rewire itself in response to the stim­u­la­tion of learn­ing and expe­ri­ence. Neu­ro­ge­n­e­sis is the abil­ity to cre­ate new neu­rons and con­nec­tions between neu­rons through­out a life­time.” (shared quote)

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