Students at this time of year invariably come to a point where they feel that learning has become too difficult to continue. More than simply sleep deprivation, time stresses and the wealth of knowledgeThe question is: does learning change the structure of the brain?
Implications are far ranging if this is the case. For instance, the concept of learning could be changed to accommodate methods more productive towards changing the brain. Furthermore, natural predispositions towards certain methods of learning could be uncovered by exploring the structure of the brain. If the brain is changed by learning, it could be possible to artificially induce those changes or administer drugs to make the brain more malleable to those changes.The ability of brains to physically adapt is called brain plasticity .
This can occur in two ways, either through "a change in the internal structure of the neurons...[or] an increase in the number of synapses between neurons.”
Short term memory's ease of transfer into long term memory is a measure the plasticity of the brain. "One theory of short term memory states that memories may be caused by 'reverberating' neural circuits", that the synaptic impulses branch out and becomes widespread in the system. If the information survives a period of time, information can become more permanent or long term. The conversion into long term memory is associated with anatomical and biochemical changes