New Period of Brain 'Plasticity' Created With Transplanted Embryonic Cells

ScienceDaily (Mar. 25, 2010) — UCSF scientists report that they were able to prompt a new period of "plasticity," or capacity for change, in the neural circuitry of the visual cortex of juvenile mice. The approach, they say, might some day be used to create new periods of plasticity in the human brain that would allow for the repair of neural circuits following injury or disease.

"It will be important to determine whether transplantation is equally effective in older animals."