The brain they thought was fixed

What we believed about the brain in 1983, and what four decades of neuroplasticity research have taught us since.

On 25 July 1983, my mum sustained a severe traumatic brain injury. There were predictions about what she would and wouldn't be capable of doing again. There were limits.

Mum had other ideas.

At the same time, something fascinating was happening in neuroscience. Ideas about the adult brain that had been accepted for decades were being seriously challenged.

The science was changing. Mum was already living the question.

This is part of her story, and part of the story of how our understanding of the human brain has continued to change.