The biological switch that could turn neuroplasticity on and off in the brain

The Conversation Weekly podcast is taking a short break in August. In the meantime, we're bringing you extended versions of some of our favourite interviews from the past few months.
This week, how researchers discovered a biological switch that could turn on and off neuroplasticity in the brain - the ability of neurons to change their structure. We speak to Sarah Ackerman, a postdoctoral fellow at the Institute of Neuroscience and Howard Hughes Medical Institute at the University of Oregon, about what she and her team have found and why it matters.
This episode of The Conversation Weekly features an extended version of an interview first published on April 29. The Conversation Weekly is produced by Mend Mariwany and Gemma Ware, with sound design by Eloise Stevens. Our theme music is by Neeta Sarl. You can sign up to The Conversation’s free daily email here. Full credits for this episode available here.
Further reading:Astrocyte cells in the fruit fly brain are an on-off switch that controls when neurons can change and grow, by Sarah DeGenova Ackerman, University of OregonSwimming gives your brain a boost - but scientists don’t know yet why it’s better than other aerobic activities, by Seena Mathew, University of Mary Hardin-BaylorWhat is brain plasticity and why is it so important?, by Duncan Banks, The Open University

[@malgosianowak]

We should be learning new skills EVERY day. Regardless of age.

[@svccscvv6214]

err not really, that will not be optimal.

[@bobleclair5665]

Going back to KZbin college

[@AlexHop1]

Thank you! Great intereview!

[@houndsraddforb4284]

You could say.... She learned on the fly

[@jeremywvarietyofviewpoints3104]

This is very important research. It could be relevant to the treatment of mental illnesses, I suspect. It might be useful in enhancing learning and creativity perhaps.

[@squamish4244]

Absolutely. Mental illness is so hard to treat partly because it is a bunch of disorders of stuck wiring - wiring that has been looping around and around for so long that it is very hard to get out of that groove. Anything that makes it easier to modify the brain, will make treatments that much more effective.

[@jeremywvarietyofviewpoints3104]

I agree @@squamish4244

[@MaxWaldron]

Yes. It is extremely relevant, and is increasingly relied on for the treatment of mental disorders. As opposed to other forms of treatment, eg. pharmacology.

[@szarvasszilard5061]

Thank you for this.

[@jamesbryson9542]

Ketamine produces neuroplasticity by adding BDNP and erases habitual behaviors and addiction. Proper exercise, sleep, nutrition and lowering inflammatoion is necessary. Probiotics and gut health are huge too.

[@johnathanabrams8434]

Ketamine doesn't work

[@larrywashburn9435]

Why do you say that?Please provide a reference if possible.@@johnathanabrams8434

[@martinpollard8846]

Excellent.

[@a_bar8579]

This is everyone need to listen her

[@dibude3]

Great work Thanks❤ 15:15

[@Pa_Pa_451]

How you make videos and do research for videos ? Please share with us

[@polishfarmer132]

lady.. its called psilocybin

[@geocaceres2356]

exactly polishfarmer 132!!!

[@nziom]

no

[@TheCALMInstitute]

Hallucinogens absolutely do this - incredible.

[@josedelarocha2455]

Your comment really makes emphasis on the theory about neuroplasticity switch! Seems like yours turned off a long time ago

[@polishfarmer132]

what is that supposed to mean goy? making little egotistical self serving claims was cool in 2020.. that era is now over.. either back up your argument or blow it out your @ss@@josedelarocha2455

[@mssavedin92]

I am extremely interested in learning so many different things and at 63, being female, I'm finding that I can't remember what I've learned in the past year. I am wondering if its got to do with what you said.Too much neuron stimulation seems to be (maybe?) at the root?

[@livrepensador]

Amazing!

[@koreanature]

I will always cheer for you in Korea I'm looking forward to a great video. Have a nice day.

[@gbernardwandel4174]

I wish this was a conversation without background music Very distracting for me I have to turn it off Is there anywhere where this information is disseminated without the music? Thank you

[@jamesbryson9542]

If you go right below the video and click open the panel, scroll down to "transcipt." Also, the intro music ends pretty promptly.

[@gbernardwandel4174]

@@jamesbryson9542 except I’ve noticed more sounds starting during the chapters but thank you ❤️

[@regandouglas]

Yes, I was coming here to sat the same thing. It too distracting for me.

[@gbernardwandel4174]

@@regandouglas yup It just might be you and me against the world ! 😋 I truly wonder what, if anything it adds to the production I wonder if there’s retention data analysis on lectures that are well recorded and clear vs ones that are well recorded with music 🤷🏽‍♂️

[@barbarasmith3755]

I frequently have to turn the video way down or off, go to "transcript" and just read. There is little or no punctuation, so it can be confusing. I wonder if noise cancelling headphones might help. I seem to be very sensitive to "background noise."

[@Chemicalevolution198]

What about S. P. Infusion of norepinephrine and it's carbon rings ! What is the combination behind it and carbon rings of serotonin ? Every chemical compound has it's endemic rethum or wave generated according to varying ionization energy when excited , and so it's a matter of short circuit . Mind is , How we react to signals from environment and it's the medium We recoganiz them. So if environment is infused with the unsuitable , then our surroundings would also be confused ? Reply

[@Robert-3691]

I'm spellbound by this. I read a book with similar content, and I was absolutely spellbound. "Unlocking the Brain's Full Potential" by Alexander Sterling

[@grinch4567]

Neuroplasticity’s ever so important to me because I have Remitting MS. I was interested to hear the explanation of MS in this video: have you got any particular suggestions for implementing neuroplasticity in people who have MS? I’m familiar with the phrase, “What you practise grows stronger” and that what you do is paramount, 9:01 and that it’s important to think in terms of repetitions done rather than results observed 🙂

[@hoosierbaddy3052]

Isn’t MS an autoimmune disease? One where the body attacks the myelin sheaths covering the nerves. Like stripping the rubber ramps or plastic off of an electrical cord. It isn’t going to conduct energy effectively. It’s going to be vulnerable to miscommunications between cells and damage from being exposed. So, I don’t see how neuroplasticity is going to help the disease of MS. Hopefully it does work for you Grinch. Not tryna be a naysayer. Simply wondering how brain exercises will help MS. Brain exercises are good for everyone tho.

[@grinch4567]

@@hoosierbaddy3052 Your myelin sheath explanation is the one I’m more familiar with. I’m endeavouring to utilise Neuroplasticity to harness the parts of my brain that have remained healthy in order to take over from the damaged parts (lesions)🙂 Any thoughts?

[@Chemicalevolution198]

What about S. P. Infusion of norepinephrine and it's carbon rings ! What is the combination behind it and carbon rings of serotonin ? Every chemical compound has it's endemic rethum or wave generated according to varying ionization energy when excited , and so it's a matter of short circuit . Mind is , How we react to signals from environment and it's the medium We recoganiz them. So if environment is infused with the unsuitable , then our surroundings would also be confused ? Reply

[@grinch4567]

@@Chemicalevolution198 That’s all new to me, thank you. Is there something here I can use to help me overcome MS a bit more?

[@grinch4567]

@@tuvoca825 It is, the immune system attacks the myelin sheath ☹️ My aim is to utilise Neuroplasticity to overcome some of the effects of the demyelination, eg balance problems.

[@stirlingblackwood]

I never quite understood the claim that children learn languages more quickly or easily than adults. After all, they are immersed in their first language (L1) since before birth, and it STILL takes 4-6 years for most children to become fully fluent in their L1. Adults, on the other hand, can generally become fully fluent in any second language (L2) in a matter of 1-3 years with proper immersion. It isn't easy for children to acquire language, as evidenced by the fact that they constantly struggle to express themselves and commit grammatical, syntactic, and phonetic errors despite significant effort. I think the grain of truth in the idea that children are "better" at language acquisition lies in the fact that children under a certain age absorb the native accent of whatever language(s) they acquire, whereas it is difficult if not impossible for adult learners to master the phonetics of a second language to the point of actually sounding like a native speaker. Languages learned in childhood seem to be "baked into" our brains in a more fundamental way than languages we acquire as adults. Anyhow, language tangent aside, very interesting and informative episode.

[@agatastaniak7459]

It's complex issue but definitely does not work like people usually think it works like. Children and adults learn differently and have different "time budgets", different number of neurons, different types of memory and congnition. Both come with very specific challanges, so I would never say than one side or the other learns easier. It's just different. And no, kids cannot learn like adults by certain age and no, using various methods adult brain cannot learn like kids brain since after "neural prunning" phase adults do not have excessive neurons. And memory and abstract thinking works differently.

[@Taifune81]

I also never got it. Like, of course they learn languages so easily. They have all the time and energy in the world and no obligations. And when they're really little they even have people to feed and change them 😂

[@jojolafrite90]

So, it means it becomes possible to make people learn things a lot more efficiently than others... Yes, these are advances, but I still think it's important to discuss how and by who these technologies could be used. I mean, wouldn't it be a good thing for people that need people to believe certain things (or learn about them) rather than others, couldn't things like that be used to enforce certain forms of propaganda, in the future or even marketing?

[@batlin]

It doesn't work like that. Neuroplasticity is important when it comes to "unlearning" habitual responses to certain stimuli, usually in the context of phobias or childhood and adult trauma (i.e. PTSD), but when it comes to enforce propaganda or marketing... no, there are better understood, cheaper, more reliable ways to influence individuals, and groups en masse. You can't just throw special astrocyte-restricting juice into the water supply and expect the population to become automatically brainwashed.

[@jeremywvarietyofviewpoints3104]

Could it be used against brainwashing?

[@batlin]

@@jeremywvarietyofviewpoints3104 the main defence against brainwashing is common sense and getting away from manipulators. I wouldn't look for a silver bullet in neuroplasticity; it's not like a magical amulet.

[@orbismworldbuilding8428]

​@@batlinyou could however make it harder for people to adopt and learn new ideas by turning off their neuroplasticity maybe

[@batlin]

@@orbismworldbuilding8428 you can't just turn it off and on in people like a light switch. There are much, much more reliable ways to both manipulate people and help them withstand manipulation. Messing with their ability to learn is not one of them.

[@mauriciosangaletti4479]

Learn more and more day after day is the key to develop a plasticity brain. I don't know a lot of the glia cells. This topic is very interesting. If someone know a goad book or site send me, please. I can undestend this question.

[@soulflake4325]

yes it does. write with your other hand for example. great, easy exercise.

[@Dave_of_Mordor]

and do it in cursive

[@scottpreston5074]

I've done this! And the writing looks like it did in the fifth grade, not too bad. I also tried drawing imaginative pictures with my left hand; they look quite expressionistic and surreal. Worth a try.

[@lindarichardson4986]

look ar the work of Moshe Feldenkrais in general and specifically with cerebral palsy and stroke. Focused attn and sensing awareness through movement appears to (re)engage brain-body connections and stimulate learning at any age, msking what seems impossible possible.

[@DValdez82823]

Poor choice of background 'music' imo . Hope this isn't the intro 😮

[@lintangkusumandaru7534]

Ackermans are always making big differences

[@Demosophist]

Is she saying "glia"? I've heard there are whole gangs of glia roaming around on motorcycles. If you see one of these glia gangs, don't hassle or dangle them!

[@gjproducer313]

Why the fruit fly? They thrive off of sugar.

[@kenmccarthy9037]

The switch that turns neuroplasticity on and off? It's called oxygen. It's amazing the lengths researchers getting paychecks go to not grasp the obvious.

[@meganlauzonforest]

Would you like to expand on that?

[@palfers1]

Lady of the Flies?

[@Clairelong-kf7tg]

I learned how to play the cello in one week as a six year old. Now I can learn how to do ballet in about the same

[@uchihaitachi01117]

Wow...I am happy for you 👑. But how do you do it?

[@Humanaut.]

This comment is BS.

[@scottpreston5074]

Cello in one week? As a six year old? Your fingers wouldn't even be strong enough in that time, not to mention that most children would find adapting to the fingerings and pressure on the strings quite painful in the short run. Oh, I call BS on this one.

[@Humanaut.]

@@scottpreston5074 same. Maybe the person learned to play a note in one week and says "hey I can play cello".

[@hoosierbaddy3052]

@@Humanaut. Like knowing several phrases in a foreign language and calling themselves fluent in the language

[@lobocean]

Psychedelics bro

[@livingsouloftimestudio2887]

All points to God's Inteligence and engineering of the body

[@SylvesterAshcroft88]

I wish we had more control of our brains, without having to shut everything down, and reboot again when he have a serious infection, or something else that severely impairs our ability to process information.

[@Dave_of_Mordor]

i think we will be able to do that once we insert a chip into our head

[@veronica_._._._]

​@@Dave_of_Mordor Not we, "They" These are not deep fat fryer chips hand cut at home.😂

[@cherryhoneyricola]

🍄🍄🍄

[@DihelsonMendonca]

What is this terrible noise like scrolling paper while the narrator talks at the beginning ? So distracting. 😮

[@frun]

We found the reason for the appearance of grey matter 🧠 in the universe🌌. It appears, because of plasticity🏀 at slow accelerations. This is the so called AQUAL(MOND) theory.

[@christineabercrombie7316]

Horrifying.