Rise to The Occasion: The Perks of Neuroplasticity

Neuroplasticity is the brain’s capacity to rewire itself in response to experience. In this essay, I discuss the evolutionary advantage of neuroplasticity: not exactly adaptation to a specific circumstance, but adaptability to multiple scenarios.

4. July 2025 by Maria Eduarda Barbosa

Introduction

Homer’s Odyssey, reflects the ideal of man in Greek society at the time.^[1] In this epic poem, the hero’s description as “polytropon,” (which roughly translates as versatile) emphasizes his capacity to face diverse challenges.^[2] This is the literary praise of the highly developed and plastic human brain.

All animals must respond to environmental change. Sea sponges rely on slow cell-to-cell signals –a speed comparable to taking a few minutes to sneeze, by neuron standards–^[3] while cnidarians (jellyfish, anemones, and corals), the first animals with nerve cells, actively hunt prey, a far more energy-efficient strategy.^[4] Mollusks display a spectrum of nervous-system complexity: sessile species like seashells possess rudimentary sensory organs, whereas predators such as squids and octopuses boast the most sophisticated invertebrate nervous systems, capable of fine visual discrimination and intricate movements.^[5] These examples show that greater neural complexity yields proportionally precise, efficient responses to stimuli.

In On the Origin of Species, Charles Darwin argued that traits enhancing an organism’s struggle for life persist through evolution. ^[6] Viewed this way, a nervous system enables complex, effective interactions with the physical, biological, and social environment. Neuroplasticity (the brain’s capacity to rewire itself in response to experience)^[7] adds a layer not just of adaptation, but of ongoing adaptability.

A challenging environment: the survival of a week primate

Humans lack the raw strength of many primates but excel at endurance running ,even under harsh conditions, a skill that likely gave meat-eating hominids a chance against competing carnivores.^[8] Intriguingly, aerobic exercise promotes neuroplasticity in humans,^[9]suggesting parallel evolutionary pressures favored both long-distance stamina and brain adaptability. By combining locomotor endurance with the ability to reshape neural circuits, early humans met survival challenges both by pursuit and by mental flexibility.

Nobel laureate Eric Kandel revealed the cellular mechanisms of memory using the sea slug Aplysia californica. He showed that even this simple nervous system undergoes habituation and sensitization through synaptic strengthening and weakening, which means there is a physical change in the number of proteins in the interface through which neurons communicate.^[10]In a more famous example reflecting the same principle, Ivan Pavlov conditioned dogs to salivate at the sound of a bell, anticipating food.^[11] Salivation involves coordinated neural activation and enzyme secretion—without saliva, dogs would struggle to swallow—so this conditioned response enables immediate food intake.

Hence, neuroplasticity enables the organism to respond to its environment, tailoring its physiology to its circumstances. In that regard, when dealing with human circumstances it is necessary to consider social necessities –and without neuroplasticity, human society would certainly not have reached all of its accomplishments.

Make something of yourself: enabling human societies

Humans, inherently social creatures, depend heavily on integration into their communities to survive. In many insects, such as ants, caste roles appear in body morphology: worker ants hatch with physical traits tailored to their duties.^[12]Humans aren’t born into fixed societal roles, but as they grow into their social responsibilities, their brains adapt. By the late 20th century, London taxi drivers had enlarged hippocampi (a brain region essential for memory and spatial navigation) after mastering the city’s complex routes.^[13]

Musicians show similar neural plasticity: pianists develop expanded cortical maps for both hands, while violinists exhibit greater representation of their left hand.^[14] Social and individual demands thus drive brain remodeling. Musicians often report that their instruments become extensions of their bodies, reflecting these neural changes.^[15]Similarly, mammals remodel their sensorimotor maps when fitting prosthetic limbs or learning entirely new movement patterns.

Work with what you have: allowing animals to deal with additional and with lacking resources

Neuroplasticity allows animals, including humans, to adopt extra appendages, even artificial ones, when available. For example, within weeks, people can recruit the sensorimotor cortex to control a robotic finger.^[16] Clinicians have applied the same principle to restore lost senses: Cheryl Schiltz suffered a constant sensation of falling due to a faulty vestibular apparatus (which provides balance). She regained equilibrium by wearing a construction hat equipped with a motion-detecting device that transmitted movement signals to electrodes on her tongue. Remarkably, after training, Schiltz no longer needed the device—her brain learned to use new cues to maintain balance despite the damaged vestibular system.^[17]

Stroke patients often recover lost functions because undamaged brain regions adapt to assume the roles of damaged areas.^[18] In both cases—whether adding artificial inputs or compensating for lost ones—neuroplasticity enables individuals to capitalize on new resources and overcome deficits.

Moreover, patients who suffered strokes, losing part of their central nervous system, often regain some of the capacities lost in consequence of the stroke demonstrating that, when some brain areas are lost, other areas may adapt and come to fulfill the same function.

Hence, neuroplasticity allows individuals to make full use of additional resources as well as to compensate for previously lost resources, both when sensory or motor structures are added or removed and when brain areas are lost.

Conclusion

Even a rigid nervous system outpaces sponges in communication speed and yields more complex, efficient behaviors. Neuroplasticity, however, customizes this remarkable capacity to specific demands. Dogs learn to anticipate food and salivate; musicians expand mental maps for their hands; taxi drivers grow their brains to optimize route recall; prosthetic users integrate extra limbs into existing motor systems; sensory-loss patients adopt artificial sensors; and stroke survivors recruit remaining brain regions to recover functions.

Ultimately, like Odysseus navigating unknown seas, living organisms—especially humans—secure survival and fulfill their potential by adapting to their environments. Neuroplasticity enhances an animal’s chances not by hardwiring every scenario, but by providing a flexible neural architecture ready to reconfigure as challenges arise.