A Dose of Embryonic Cells Could Induce Infant-Like ‘Plasticity’ in Brain, Allowing it to Rewire Itself Like New

March 30, 2010

The brain is the body’s most complicated biological machine, and as such it can be very difficult to service when something goes wrong; after our neural wiring is put in place, at a very young age, altering or rebuilding it becomes extremely challenging. But researchers at UC San Francisco have figured out a way to induce a new period of “plasticity” — a state in which neural circuitry is receptive to change — in the visual cortices of mice, a breakthrough that could lead to treatments for brain circuits damaged by developmental problems or traumas. (Popular Science)