Plasticity

Please Take Over This Page and Apply to be Editor-In-Chief for this topic: There can be one or more than one Editor-In-Chief. You may also apply to be an Associate Editor-In-Chief of one of the subtopics below. Please mail us [1] to indicate your interest in serving either as an Editor-In-Chief of the entire topic or as an Associate Editor-In-Chief for a subtopic. Please be sure to attach your CV and or biographical sketch. Plasticity generally means ability to permanently change or deform. (It differs from "elasticity", which refers to ability to change temporarily and revert back to original form.)

More specific meanings include:

in the sciences:

• Phenotypic plasticity: Describes the degree to which an organism's phenotype is determined by its genotype.

• Neuroplasticity: Entire brain structures can change to better cope with the environment. Specifically, when an area of the brain is damaged and non-functional, another area may take over some of the function. This is known as neuroplasticity.
  • Synaptic plasticity: In neuroscience, plasticity is a property of a neuron or synapse to change its internal parameters in response to its history.

• Plasticity (tissues): In body tissues, plasticity refers to the ability of differentiated cells to undergo transdifferentiation.