Mechanics of Learning – lessons from neurorehabilitation “Use it
or lose it” – is a particularly apt description of brain
function. Continuously (until death) new connections are formed
between the 100 billion nerve cells which we have been born, and
the 100 to 10 000 connections per neuron with others forming
extensive networks makes the brain an enormously complex organ.
Probably some neuro-neogenesis (perhaps 6000 cells a day) occurs
even in adulthood. Only those synapses, however, which are
actively used, remain functional. This is the basis of learning
– the interaction and exchange between organism (us) and
environment in problem solving tasks of daily living.
Investigations on neuroplasticity in recent years have become a
central topic in neuroscience, and have changed the attitude
towards patients with lesions of the central nervous system.
They have also led to a better understanding of the adaptations
of structures and functions of the brain according to
requirements from the environment (environmen