The environment and neuroplasticity

One would often think of neuroplasticity as being a natural capability of the brain that kicks in whenever the brain gets damaged from trauma or any other form of injury. This belief is only partially true. The brain can only become neoplastic with constant training and repetitive exercises to build up new neural connections and strengthen them with each practice done. However, it should be taken noted that repetitive exercises either physical or mental are not the only things that promote neuroplastic factors of the brain to initiate its ability to repair itself. Other factors such as the environment where we spend most of our time at also affect how much our brains can become neuroplastic. This is especially true when it comes o lighting as the light that we see around us also plays a role in stimulating our neurons both directly or indirectly.

Light affects our brains directly by way of direct radiation. This means that sunlight that we are exposed to everyday travels to us directly by means of radiation through a vacuum ( empty space) before hitting us on earth which allows us to see our environment. the light that is visible is captured by our eyes and transmit signals to the optic nerve that transfers it further to our brains to interpret the image of the environment that we see. This biological mechanism is how we are able to see and how our brains give us the gift of sight. However, not many people are aware that this same process has an impact on our neurons causing them to become excited and fire of signals. In other words, light excites the brain to become more active and to allow neurons to fire off more signals. When this happens damaged neurons will have an easier time of picking up some of the signals made by the healthy neurons and establish a new connection with it. therefore it should be recommended that all rain injury patients should at least spend a few minutes of their time getting exposed to sunlight. This is also crucial in changing the mood of patients as we all know that patients who spend most of their time inside hospital rooms would always end up with mild depression so going outside for some sunshine is not only good for the brain but also for the mind.

Another way that light is good for brain injury is that it helps start neurogenesis, the brains capability of generating new cells. the brain is one of the most photoactive organs of the human body. It needs light to be stimulated and grow new cells. A good example of this would be the victims of the Hiroshima bomb in 1945. They are exposed to dangerous radiation that grew cancer cells in their internal organs including their brain. Though this may not be the most pleasant or comforting examples of how light stimulates growth in the human body. it does tell you that if an excess exposure to light causes uncontrolled growth in the human body to the point of causing cancer, would moderate exposure help stimulate the safe growth of brain cells? the answer to that question is an astounding "yes" Research has shown that brain cell tends to grow better an faster in areas with high illumination. Hence it is for this reason that researchers have taken the next step further in using light repair brain tissue after a brain injury. Such examples would be laser therapy where low-intensity lasers are used to repair damaged organs by illuminating the damaged areas with the laser with a certain intensity so that the cells natural repair mechanism would be activated and the organ old be able to repair itself. If man-made light such as lasers could do this then so can natural sunlight. So I urge all brain injury patients to expose themselves to more sunlight while they can especially when they are still in the hospital.

Light isn't the only external factor affecting our neuroplasticity. Sound also has an effect on the brain. we keep forgetting that our brains are like computer processors that are always taking in information from our environment even as we sleep. So it's no surprise that the sounds we hear around us are also being recorded by our brain and contribute to the firing of signals by our neurons. To brain injury patients who would like to speed up their neoplastic recovery, it is recommended that they avoid a noisy environment to get a better sense of awareness of their body and brain especially when trying to remember certain limb movements or a certain mental task. This can even be applied in real life with the use of mindfulness meditation where the person would block all external information both sight and sound and focus on their breathing. Only when both auditory and visual stimulus is removed can patients really get intuned with their own body. The smallest of all changes and sensations will be easily identified and corrected, this would include muscular tremors and pulses, which are both are a sign that nervous stimulus towards the certain area or body is still active and that the brain is still sending signals towards that area.

Another external factor affecting our neuroplastic capability is the food that we consume. it should be remembered that our brain consists mostly of water. Therefore bein constantly hydrated is a good thing to allow our brains to replenish themselves and become well hydrated to allow neurons to talk to one another. If possible, Patients with any form of brain injuries should avoid consumption of excess sugar or caffeine as this two have a tendency to overexcite neurons which can cause too much neural noise in the brain that could slow down neuroplastic repair. it's best to consume a more protein based diet since it's mostly protein that our body uses for muscular and cerebral repair. When consuming such a diet, it would be best to do it with fewer carbohydrates as consuming too much of it will be converted by the body to glucose (sugar) that could overstimulate the neurons.