What is neuroplasticity? Just as we need to exercise the muscles in our body, we also need to exercise our brain. Our brains are made of billions of neurons, which interact with each other to complete specific tasks. Signals are sent from one neuron to another along neural pathways, and these determine our thoughts, emotions, insights, and so much more. Each task relies on a different neural pathway, so the pathway for reading a book is different than the pathway for putting on our shirt. The more we use a pathway, the stronger the connection becomes.
These neurons have the ability to physically change themselves when faced with new and difficult experiences. This ability is called neuroplasticity.
Learn more about Neuroplasticity, its use in Occupational Therapy, and how we can use this knowledge to help reduce cognitive decline as we age in this previous post, Cognition and Aging, Use it or Lose it.
October is Occupational Therapy Month and to celebrate we will be sharing a new series called the A to Z of OT. In our attempts to further educate the public about what Occupational Therapists do we will be highlighting twenty-six of the awesome ways OTs provide Solutions for Living.
We encourage you to follow along and to add to the discussion by highlighting other awesome things OTs help with for each corresponding letter!