plasticity

Examples of plasticity in the following topics:

• Synaptic Plasticity

  • Synaptic plasticity is the strengthening or weakening of synapses over time in response to increases or decreases in their activity.
  • Plastic change also results from the alteration of the number of receptors located on a synapse.
  • Synaptic plasticity is the basis of learning and memory, enabling a flexible, functioning nervous system.
  • Synaptic plasticity can be either short-term (synaptic enhancement or synaptic depression) or long-term.
  • Short-term synaptic plasticity acts on a timescale of tens of milliseconds to a few minutes.

• Gene Expression in Stem Cells

  • Highly plastic adult stem cells are routinely used in medical therapies, for example in bone marrow transplantation.

• Physiological Processes in Sponges

  • However, sponge cells are capable of creeping along substrata via organizational plasticity.

• The Work of Breathing

  • When a balloon is first inflated, it takes a large amount of effort to stretch the plastic and start to inflate the balloon.

• The Nervous System

  • The last layer is the pia mater (Latin for "soft mother"), which directly contacts and covers the brain and spinal cord like plastic wrap.

• Population Size and Density

  • The area may be defined by staking it out with sticks and string, or using a square made of wood, plastic, or metal placed on the ground.