Neuroplasticity is the intrinsic capability of the central nervous system to change in structure or function in response to environmental pressures. This property is fundamental during development to fine-tune our nervous system to the characteristics of the external environment, and throughout life to enable cognition, learning and memory. Plasticity is maximal early during development, and decreases with age at different rates in different brain areas: sensory cortices are thought to lose their plastic potential, whereas higher level brain areas (responsible for learning, memory and cognitive functions) maintain higher plastic potential throughout the lifespan. The classical view is that the sensory brain becomes hard-wired after the temporal window of maximal plasticity called critical period (6-7 years in humans). As a consequence, the ability of our sensory brain to react to injury, sensory loss and to recover from conditions established during development becomes limited in adulthood. Understanding the neural mechanisms underlying visual cortical plasticity is fundamental to develop novel therapeutic strategies in the field of neuro-rehabilitation past the critical period.
Recent findings showed that particular form of neuroplasticity called homeostatic plasticity is relatively preserved beyond the critical period, opening new horizons on adult sensory plasticity. Building on these observations, the objectives of project HOPLA are to unravel the multifaceted nature of sensory neuroplasticity in adult humans, to elucidate the underlying mechanisms and to explore new forms of plasticity. To address these issue, classic behavioural measurements of visual and auditory perception are combined with state-of-the-art neuroimaging techniques and virtual reality environments both in healthy and clinical populations (amblyopic and deaf adults).
