Our brain can't 'rewire' itself, say neuroscientists contradicting popular view - Times of India
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NEW DELHI: Contrary to the widely held notion, the brain does not have the ability to rewire itself to compensate for the loss of sight, an amputation or stroke, for example, neuroscientists say. They argue that the notion that the brain, in response to injury or deficit, can reorganise itself and repurpose particular regions for new functions, is fundamentally flawed, despite being commonly cited in scientific textbooks. Instead, what is occurring in such scenarios is merely that one's brain is being trained to utilise already existing but latent abilities, the researchers write in an article in the journal eLife. "The idea that our brain has an amazing ability to rewire and reorganise itself is an appealing one. It gives us hope and fascination, especially when we hear extraordinary stories of blind individuals developing almost superhuman echolocation abilities, for example, or stroke survivors miraculously regaining motor abilities they thought they had l...