Neuroplasticity: The Continuum of Change

Introduction

Neuroplasticity has moved from a technical neuroscience term into widespread public usage, but that popular usage often simplifies or misstates the concept. Wallace and colleagues note that although neuroplasticity broadly denotes the nervous system's capacity to change in response to stimuli, it encompasses a complex continuum of molecular, cellular and circuit-level processes whose effects ultimately shape behaviour. The authors argue that this breadth has led to ambiguity in both scientific and public discourse. To clarify this multifaceted concept for readers of ACS Chemical Neuroscience, the paper brings together concise perspectives from experts across scientific disciplines. The study solicited short, off-the-cuff definitions and reactions to the prompt "When you hear the term 'neuroplasticity', what are the first thoughts that come to mind?" and uses these quotations to illustrate how neuroplasticity links ions and molecules to cells, circuits and behaviour. The stated aim is to present a coherent, holistic framing of neuroplasticity as a continuum of change that is relevant to health and disease.