Domesticated rabbits have smaller brains than wild rabbits, he attributes that to their living in a restricted environment, while the wild live in open areas.
(Charles Darwin, The Descent of Man), 1874
A long time ago, we believed we, and other primates, have a fixed count of neurons (basic units of the Nervous System along with the Glial Cells) that and, any cell of the brain cannot be compensated by new cells after the death of the cell. This idea is still held by many laypeople.
The terms "Neuroplasticity", "Brain plasticity" and "Neural plasticity", indicate the capacity of neurons and neural networks in the brain to change their connections and behaviour response to new information, sensory stimulation, development, damage, or dysfunction.
But, the contemporary discovery provided this idea, neuroplasticity, and led to a revolutionary change in scientific thought regarding this exciting site of the largest "puzzle" in the known universe, the brain. Those findings prove with no any doubts that the brain is "plastic", which means it is a very flexible organ. It is similar to the muscles, the muscle you use get larger and stronger and the muscles you do not, become weaker.
Neuroplasticity can work on a functional or structural level (psychological or physiological).
Neuroplasticity is answering many repetitive questions and can be very beneficial to understanding and improving human mental health, for example, we can understand why, for example, CBT exercises and Cognitive Restructuring techniques work in the view of those discoveries. That's applicable to all other types of psychotherapy, counselling and pharmacotherapy as well.
We can understand the impact of traumatic life events on our brains' functions, addiction and recovery of it, behavioural changes accompanied by it, etc.
An essential notice that can be used as proof of neuroplasticity is, that a person with 15 years of heroin addiction, if his/her dose is given to a person without a history of substance abuse or problematic drug use, he/she will die rapidly.
sources:
Neuroplasticity: Cosandi, Moheb (2016)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neuroplasticity?wprov=sfla1
https://www.britannica.com/science/neuroplasticity
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