As an infant, Maya had to have part of her brain removed due to a life-threatening medical problem. Eighteen years later she graduated from high school as the valedictorian of her class, was awarded a college scholarship, and showed no deficits as a result of the brain surgery. The fact that her brain was able to adapt and rewire itself following the operation is called ________.
A) synaptic potentiation
B) trans-cerebral restructuring
C) post-traumatic cerebral malleation
D) neuroplasticity
Answer is D) neuroplasticity (The brain's ability to reorganize itself by forming new neural connections throughout life. Neuroplasticity allows the nerve cells in the brain to compensate for injury and disease and to adjust their activities in response to new situations or to changes in their environment.
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