Infinite possibilities: Neuroplasticy

I came across this image a few years ago while walking through the Brains exhibition at the Wellcome Collection: a young Santiago Ramón y Cajal, the Spanish physician and scientist, deeply immersed in his work. I was struck by what the image represented to me. You see, for many years, it was believed that once we reached adulthood, the nervous system — including the brain — could not change. Cajal became a symbol of this long-held but now outdated belief in a hardwired brain. 

He once wrote: “In the adult centers, the nerve paths are something fixed, and immutable: everything may die, nothing may be regenerated.”

Santiago Ramón y Cajal, Spanish physician and scientist.

I remember this idea being firmly instilled in us during high school biology (some 20+ years ago). We were told that nerve pathways, once damaged, were gone forever — end of story. I carried that belief with me for many years. And now? What a shift. Science has shown us otherwise.

Today, there's mounting evidence of the nervous system’s capacity for regeneration and adaptation. Rehabilitation, for instance, wouldn’t be possible without neuroplasticity — the brain’s remarkable ability to reorganise itself in response to experience. This is why someone who loses their sight may develop sharper hearing — the brain reallocates its processing power in response to the change in sensory input. Neuroplasticity is also fundamental to learning new skills, seeing things from new perspectives, and reshaping our beliefs — a cornerstone of therapy.

My point isn’t to dismiss Cajal’s contributions. Far from it — his work was groundbreaking, and he shared the 1906 Nobel Prize with fellow neuroscientist Camillo Golgi. Rather, this is a reflection on the evolving nature of knowledge and belief — both in science and within ourselves. It’s a reminder of what becomes possible when we remain open to new ideas and novel ways of thinking, when we let go of ingrained expectations and allow room for change and question ‘is this really the only way? Or just the way we’ve always thought?’

I came across some really fascinating visual representations of neuroplasticity here and here — well worth watching if you’d like to see the concept brought to life.