My pup's movement and Episode 2 of Vichaar

My Pup's movement and Episode 2 of Vichaar 

• I hope you enjoyed Episode 2 of Vichaar where I talk about: 
  • The types of movements and movement patterns in Bharatanatyam 
  • The complexity of movement 
  • How the brain perceives movement, and it is this perception of movement that shapes our reality 

​So what does my Pup have to do with all this? 

Pup is a "tripawd" and he's missing his right hind leg. As you can see from the video above though, he has adjusted to having three legs, and walks just fine. However, there is a shift in the way he walks, as his center of gravity has now changed. Isn't it amazing that his body and brain have compensated for the loss of his leg? This plasticity is what makes our brains remarkable!
​Neural plasticity is the capacity that all of our brains have for (structural and functional) change in response to experience and injury [1]. In Episode 2 of Vichaar, we looked at how the motor cortex is responsible for movement. Studies in people with amputations have shown a remarkable capacity for reorganization of the motor cortex and of other cortical areas such as the somatosensory cortex [2]. It is this reorganization of the nervous system that helps Pup in walking even with three legs.
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How does plasticity impact movement in your life? What role does plasticity play when you are trying to learn a new step or a new way of doing things? ​ 

Citations:

1. von Bernhardi R, Bernhardi LE, Eugenín J. What Is Neural Plasticity? Adv Exp Med Biol. 2017;1015:1-15. doi: 10.1007/978-3-319-62817-2_1. PMID: 29080018. Link 
2. Jain N, Qi HX, Collins CE, Kaas JH. Large-scale reorganization in the somatosensory cortex and thalamus after sensory loss in macaque monkeys. J Neurosci. 2008 Oct 22;28(43):11042-60. doi: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.2334-08.2008. PMID: 18945912; PMCID: PMC2613515. Link