The Role of Neuroplasticity in Neurorehabilitation and Neural Recovery Part 1

The brain has an amazing ability to adapt in response to changes and challenges, including damage to the nervous system. When someone has a stroke or another neurological condition, neuroplasticity can help shape repair and recovery.

This is the first episode of a two-episode interview between hosts Dr. Jyutika Mehta and Dr. Marie McNeely and our guests Dr. John Krakauer and Dr. Randolph (Randy) Nudo. We cover what neuroplasticity is, lessons from animal models about brain reorganization after stroke, differences between studies in humans versus animal models, what we know about the timing of neuroplasticity after stroke, effective "ingredients" for motor recovery, and how activating multimodal pathways during neurorehabilitation may improve outcomes.

Dr. Krakauer is the Director of the Centre for Restorative Neurotechnology at the Champalimaud Foundation in Portugal, where he leads cutting-edge research. He also serves as the John C. Malone Professor and Professor of Neurology, Neuroscience, and Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at Johns Hopkins University, where he directs the Brain, Learning, Animation, and Movement Lab (BLAM Lab), and as an External Professor at the Santa Fe Institute. Dr. Nudo is a University Distinguished Professor Emeritus, the Marion Merrell Dow Distinguished Professor in Aging Emeritus in the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at the University of Kansas Medical Center, and Editor-in-Chief of Neurorehabilitation and Neural Repair.