BRAIN PLASTICITY and WORKING MEMORY
For a long time, it was believed that as we aged, the connections in the brain became hardwired or fixed. Research however has shown that in fact the brain never stops changing through learning. Plasticity is the capacity of the brain to change with learning. Changes associated with learning occur mostly at the level of the connections between neurons. New connections can form and the internal structure of the existing synapses can change. The brain has the amazing ability to reorganize itself by forming new connections between brain cells (neurons). Genetic factors, the environment in which a person lives, as well as the actions of a person, play a role in plasticity.

Neuroplasticity occurs in the brain:
1. When the immature brain organizes itself at the beginning of life.
2.  To compensate for lost functions or maximize remaining functions in the case of brain injury.
3. When an impaired function of the brain, such as a working memory is intensively exercised through training programs designed to strengthen this function...
4. Whenever something new is learned and memorized through adulthood and into old age.

Plasticity and brain injury
A consequence of neuroplasticity is that the brain activity associated with a given function can move to a different location as a consequence of normal experience, brain damage or recovery. The brain compensates for damage by reorganizing and forming new connections between intact neurons. In order to reconnect, the neurons need to be stimulated through activity. The brain compensates for damage by reorganizing and forming new connections between intact neurons. In order to reconnect, the neurons need to be stimulated through activity.

Plasticity and training changes brain activity
Working memory is a key function that is necessary for many cognitive tasks. Working memory depends on the prefrontal cortex of the brain and memory deficits occur in several disorders that affect the prefrontal cortex such as stroke, traumatic brain injury and ADHD. Ongoing research studies show that systematic training can improve working memory and ameliorate the cognitive symptoms in both ADHD and stroke. Brain imaging studies indicate that training increases brain activity in the prefrontal cortex.

Plasticity, learning and memory
When you become an expert in a specific domain, the areas in your brain that deal with this type of skill will grow. For example the posterior region of the hippocampus in the brain is specialized in acquiring and using complex spatial information in order to navigate efficiently. When Maguire, Woollett, & Spiers, (2006) compared the hippocampus of London taxi drivers to London bus drivers they found that the taxi drivers had a significantly larger hippocampus resulting from the taxi drivers having to navigate around London whereas bus drivers follow a limited set of routes.

Recent research conducted by, Draganski and colleagues (2006) also showed that extensive learning of abstract information can result in plastic changes in the brain. They imaged the brains of German medical students 3 months before their medical exam and right after the exam and compared them to brains of students who were not studying for exam at this time. Medical students’ brains showed learning-induced changes in areas of the parietal cortex as well as in the posterior hippocampus. These regions of the brains are known to be involved in memory retrieval and learning.