Plasticity
noun
Ability to change and adapt according to need or environment.
The plasticity of the young brain allows it to learn languages easily.
Often appears as...
- neuronal plasticity
- molecular plasticity
noun
The quality of being easily shaped or molded.
The artist praised the plasticity of the clay he used to make sculptures.
Often appears as...
- material plasticity
- clay plasticity
Usage tips
Artistic
noun
In science, it's the ability of organisms or cells to change or adapt structurally or functionally.
Stem cells are noted for their plasticity in developing into a wide range of other cell types.
Often appears as...
- cellular plasticity
- organism plasticity
Usage tips
Scientific
noun
Ability to change and adapt according to need or environment.
The plasticity of the young brain allows it to learn languages easily.
Often appears as...
- neuronal plasticity
- molecular plasticity
noun
The quality of being easily shaped or molded.
The artist praised the plasticity of the clay he used to make sculptures.
Often appears as...
- material plasticity
- clay plasticity
Usage tips
Artistic
noun
In science, it's the ability of organisms or cells to change or adapt structurally or functionally.
Stem cells are noted for their plasticity in developing into a wide range of other cell types.
Often appears as...
- cellular plasticity
- organism plasticity
Usage tips
Scientific
Definition 1 of 3
Pro Tip 1/3Learning Context
Plasticity often refers to a skill or ability developing with practice, especially in learning.
Her piano playing shows great plasticity; she improves daily.
Pro Tip 2/3Growth Potential
The word plasticity is used to express potential for change or growth in a person or object.
Teachers need to recognize the plasticity in each student's abilities.
Pro Tip 3/3Not Always Positive
Plasticity can be neutral or negative, depending on the context, like adapting bad habits.
His plasticity led him to adapt quickly to the bad influences around him.
Compare with
adaptabilityelasticityflexibilitymalleabilityresiliencesuppleversatile
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Video examples
Alison Gopnik: What do...
that are really good at inducing learning and plasticity, and the inhibitory parts haven't come on yet. So when we say that babies and young children are bad at paying attention, what we really mean is that they're bad at not paying attention. So they're bad at getting rid of all the interesting things that could tell them something and just looking at the thing that's important.
Video examples
What You Can Do to...
But you might not be. There's one more thing you can do to protect yourself from experiencing the symptoms of Alzheimer's, even if you have the full-blown disease pathology ablaze in your brain. It has to do with neural plasticity and cognitive reserve. Remember, the experience of having Alzheimer's
Video examples
Aphasia: The disorder...
Scientists have been conducting experiments using new forms of technology, which they believe may encourage brain plasticity in people with aphasia. Meanwhile, many people with aphasia remain isolated, afraid that others won't understand them or give them extra time to speak.
Video examples
Michael Levin: The...
but inside a computer. So the individual cells have an evolutionary history, but this organism has never existed before. It was evolved in this virtual world, and then we went ahead and made it in the lab, and you can see this amazing plasticity.
Video examples
Grégoire Courtine: The...
to allow locomotion without the robot, maybe even without pharmacology or stimulation. My hope here is to be able to create the personalized condition to boost the plasticity of the brain and the spinal cord. And this is a radically new concept
Video examples
Michael Merzenich:...
or whether the individual is rewarded in the behavior. This is actually very powerful. This lifelong capacity for plasticity, for brain change, is powerfully expressed. It is the basis of our real differentiation, one individual from another.
Video examples
Your brain on video...
leading to greater life expectancy so it's the same way like those action video games have a number of ingredients that are actually really powerful for brain plasticity learning attention vision etc and so we need and we're
Video examples
Paralyzed Rats Walk...
far such a result has eluded scientists the therapy the impact of this type of intervention in humans is difficult to predict but this very surprising plasticity and recovery that we have observed in the rat open promise'
Video examples
Optical illusions show...
So, how can we take this incredible capacity of plasticity of the brain and get people to experience their world differently? Well, one of the ways we do it in my lab and studio is we translate the light into sound,
Video examples
Your brain on video...
in red wine as leading to greater life expectancy. So it's the same way, like those action video games have a number of ingredients that are actually really powerful for brain plasticity, learning, attention,
Video examples
Alison Gopnik: What do...
that are really good at inducing learning and plasticity, and the inhibitory parts haven't come on yet. So when we say that babies and young children are bad at paying attention, what we really mean is that they're bad at not paying attention. So they're bad at getting rid of all the interesting things that could tell them something and just looking at the thing that's important.
Video examples
What You Can Do to...
But you might not be. There's one more thing you can do to protect yourself from experiencing the symptoms of Alzheimer's, even if you have the full-blown disease pathology ablaze in your brain. It has to do with neural plasticity and cognitive reserve. Remember, the experience of having Alzheimer's
Video examples
Aphasia: The disorder...
Scientists have been conducting experiments using new forms of technology, which they believe may encourage brain plasticity in people with aphasia. Meanwhile, many people with aphasia remain isolated, afraid that others won't understand them or give them extra time to speak.
Video examples
Michael Levin: The...
but inside a computer. So the individual cells have an evolutionary history, but this organism has never existed before. It was evolved in this virtual world, and then we went ahead and made it in the lab, and you can see this amazing plasticity.
Video examples
Grégoire Courtine: The...
to allow locomotion without the robot, maybe even without pharmacology or stimulation. My hope here is to be able to create the personalized condition to boost the plasticity of the brain and the spinal cord. And this is a radically new concept
Video examples
Michael Merzenich:...
or whether the individual is rewarded in the behavior. This is actually very powerful. This lifelong capacity for plasticity, for brain change, is powerfully expressed. It is the basis of our real differentiation, one individual from another.
Video examples
Your brain on video...
leading to greater life expectancy so it's the same way like those action video games have a number of ingredients that are actually really powerful for brain plasticity learning attention vision etc and so we need and we're
Video examples
Paralyzed Rats Walk...
far such a result has eluded scientists the therapy the impact of this type of intervention in humans is difficult to predict but this very surprising plasticity and recovery that we have observed in the rat open promise'
Video examples
Optical illusions show...
So, how can we take this incredible capacity of plasticity of the brain and get people to experience their world differently? Well, one of the ways we do it in my lab and studio is we translate the light into sound,
Video examples
Your brain on video...
in red wine as leading to greater life expectancy. So it's the same way, like those action video games have a number of ingredients that are actually really powerful for brain plasticity, learning, attention,
Example 1 of 10
Quote examples
Maryanne Wolf
American Educator
The same plasticity that allows us to form a reading circuit to begin with, and short-circuit the development of deep reading if we allow it, also allows us to learn how to duplicate deep reading in a new environment. We cannot go backwards. As children move more toward an immersion in digital media, we have to figure out ways to read deeply there.
Quote examples
Sue Miller
American Writer
I think the plasticity of the novel is its greatest challenge. There are no rules; there is no necessary form. You can know what you want it to be, or do, and still not know how to write it. There are endless possibilities, infinite choices. What voice should it be in? What events to start with? What characters will be part of it?
Quote examples
August Krogh
Danish Scientist
The most direct evidence of the wonderful plasticity and elasticity of red corpuscles is obtained when they are watched in a current, where they can be caught against a projecting edge and bent by the pressure of the current flowing past them.
Quote examples
Jacob Bronowski
English Scientist
Man is unique not because he does science, and his is unique not because he does art, but because science and art equally are expressions of his marvelous plasticity of mind.
Quote examples
Paul Bloom
Canadian Psychologist
We'd be really screwed if we had to start our life over again as children with our brains right now, because I think we lose the plasticity and flexibility.
Quote examples
Frank Zappa
American Singer
I searched for years I found no love. I'm sure that love will never be a product of plasticity.
Quote examples
Roz Chast
American Cartoonist
I just really love the cartoon form. I love the plasticity of it.
Quote examples
Maryanne Wolf
American Educator
The same plasticity that allows us to form a reading circuit to begin with, and short-circuit the development of deep reading if we allow it, also allows us to learn how to duplicate deep reading in a new environment. We cannot go backwards. As children move more toward an immersion in digital media, we have to figure out ways to read deeply there.
Quote examples
Sue Miller
American Writer
I think the plasticity of the novel is its greatest challenge. There are no rules; there is no necessary form. You can know what you want it to be, or do, and still not know how to write it. There are endless possibilities, infinite choices. What voice should it be in? What events to start with? What characters will be part of it?
Quote examples
August Krogh
Danish Scientist
The most direct evidence of the wonderful plasticity and elasticity of red corpuscles is obtained when they are watched in a current, where they can be caught against a projecting edge and bent by the pressure of the current flowing past them.
Quote examples
Jacob Bronowski
English Scientist
Man is unique not because he does science, and his is unique not because he does art, but because science and art equally are expressions of his marvelous plasticity of mind.
Quote examples
Paul Bloom
Canadian Psychologist
We'd be really screwed if we had to start our life over again as children with our brains right now, because I think we lose the plasticity and flexibility.
Quote examples
Frank Zappa
American Singer
I searched for years I found no love. I'm sure that love will never be a product of plasticity.
Quote examples
Roz Chast
American Cartoonist
I just really love the cartoon form. I love the plasticity of it.
Example 1 of 7
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