Executive Summary

Neuroplasticity is the Future

Neuroplasticity is the process by which a Brain remembers new tasks, functions and ideas – it is not a fixed entity but something can that be trained managed or encouraged to greater capacity and efficiency

“Neuroscience can inform your approach to performance, bias, learning and leadership. ”

Neuroplasticity, also known as brain plasticity, is an umbrella term that encompasses both synaptic plasticity and non-synaptic plasticity—it refers to changes in neural pathways and synapses which are due to changes in behaviour, environment and neural processes, as well as changes resulting from bodily injury.

Neuroplasticity has replaced the formerly-held position that the brain is a physiologically static organ, and explores how – and in which ways – the brain changes throughout life.

The role of neuroplasticity is widely recognized in healthy development, learning, memory, and recovery from brain damage. During most of the 20th century, the consensus among neuroscientists was that brain structure is relatively immutable after a critical period during early childhood. This belief has been challenged by findings revealing that many aspects of the brain remain plastic even into adulthood.

Decades of research have now shown that substantial changes occur in the lowest neocortical processing areas, and that these changes can profoundly alter the pattern of neuronal activation in response to experience. Neuroscientific research indicates that experience can actually change both the brain’s physical structure (anatomy) and functional organization (physiology). Neuroscientists are currently engaged in a reconciliation of critical period studies demonstrating the immutability of the brain after development with the more recent research showing how the brain can, and does, change.

In a Business Week article John R Ryan President Center for Creative Leadership, assets that

“The burgeoning field of neuroscience—the study of the nervous system and the brain—has gone mainstream. The race is on to translate its insights into practical applications at work.“

The American Society for Training and Development say

“it is important to recognize and consider the role of human neuroscience in how we think and act.”

Cipd – the professional body of HR and people development say

“The neuroscience of leadership is rapidly breaking new ground in leadership training, deepening our understanding of how the brain works and how to maximise our potential to improve effectiveness at work and build better relationships. Ultimately, better knowledge about our own and others’ brains helps to inform a wide range of interpersonal skills, as well as project planning and management practices, that have a positive impact on organisational performance and aid the creation of an agile learning organisation.“