title: Harnessing plasticity to understand learning and treat disease.
abstract: A large body of evidence suggests that neural plasticity contributes to learning and disease. Recent studies suggest that cortical map plasticity is typically a transient phase that improves learning by increasing the pool of task-relevant responses. Here, I discuss a new perspective on neural plasticity and suggest how plasticity might be targeted to reset dysfunctional circuits. Specifically, a new model is proposed in which map expansion provides a form of replication with variation that supports a Darwinian mechanism to select the most behaviorally useful circuits. Precisely targeted neural plasticity provides a new avenue for the treatment of neurological and psychiatric disorders and is a powerful tool to test the neural mechanisms of learning and memory.
authors.affiliation: The University of Texas at Dallas, School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences, Richardson, TX 75080, USA. kilgard@utdallas.edu
authors.forename: Michael P
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Kilgard
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001921:Brain / Q000502:physiology*; D002493:Central Nervous System Diseases / Q000503:physiopathology*; D006801:Humans; D007858:Learning / Q000502:physiology*; D009473:Neuronal Plasticity / Q000502:physiology*