Innate Intelligence: Your Amazing Superpower Part 3 – Neuroplasticity
What is Innate Intelligence?
Your body is incredibly smart—it knows how to heal a cut, fight off infections, and adapt to new experiences without you even thinking about it. This built-in wisdom is called Innate Intelligence, the natural ability of your body to regulate and heal itself. Innate Intelligence works through different systems and functions to keep you balanced and healthy.
In this blog series, we’re exploring ten key ways Innate Intelligence expresses itself: homeostasis, the autonomic nervous system (ANS), neuroplasticity, epigenetics, cellular function, regeneration and repair, the immune system, embryological development, circadian rhythm, proprioception (body awareness and balance), and the digestive system/hormone regulation.
Today, in Part 3, we’ll look at neuroplasticity, the brain’s incredible ability to adapt, learn, and heal.
Part 3 Neuroplasticity: The Brain’s Ability to Adapt
What is Neuroplasticity?
Neuroplasticity is the brain’s ability to change and reorganize itself throughout life. Whether you’re learning a new skill, recovering from an injury, or adjusting to new experiences, your brain is constantly rewiring itself.
Think of neuroplasticity like a trail in the woods—if you walk the same path repeatedly, it becomes stronger and easier to follow. Similarly, when you practice a new skill or thought pattern, your brain strengthens those neural pathways, making the process easier over time.
Neuroplasticity happens in two main ways:
• Synaptic Plasticity – This refers to the strengthening or weakening of connections between neurons (nerve cells) based on how often they are used. When you repeatedly practice a skill or thought pattern, the connections between the involved neurons become stronger, making it easier to recall or perform the action. On the other hand, if a connection isn’t used often, it weakens or fades away. This is why habits form through repetition and why skills can be lost if they aren’t practiced.
• • Structural Plasticity – This occurs when the brain physically changes by forming new neurons, growing new connections, or reorganizing existing pathways in response to learning, injury, or new experiences. For example, when you learn a new language or recover from a brain injury, your brain may create entirely new neural networks to support these functions. This type of plasticity is especially important in childhood development and recovery from trauma or neurological damage.
How Innate Intelligence Works Through Neuroplasticity
Innate Intelligence drives neuroplasticity by helping your brain adapt to everything you experience. Every thought, movement, and reaction is processed through the nervous system, and Innate Intelligence ensures that your brain rewires itself in the most efficient way possible.
For example:
• Injury Recovery: If part of your nervous system is damaged, Innate Intelligence helps reroute signals around the injury, allowing new pathways to take over.
• Learning & Skill Development: When you practice a new skill, like playing an instrument or riding a bike, Innate Intelligence strengthens the neural circuits that make it easier over time.
• Emotional Adaptation: If you experience emotional trauma, your brain adapts to protect you. However, it can also develop unhelpful patterns, such as heightened anxiety or chronic stress responses.
Neuroplasticity is why people can recover from strokes, regain lost abilities, and even reverse stress-related changes in the brain. But when there is interference in the nervous system, the brain’s ability to adapt and heal can be limited.
Why Does Neuroplasticity Matter?
A healthy, adaptable brain leads to:
✔ Faster Healing – When the brain can efficiently rewire itself, it helps the body recover more quickly from injuries, surgeries, or neurological conditions. For example, if one part of the brain is damaged, neuroplasticity allows other areas to take over its functions. This is why stroke survivors can often regain lost abilities through rehabilitation, as the brain adapts and forms new pathways to restore movement and sensation.
✔ Better Learning and Memory – Neuroplasticity allows the brain to create and strengthen neural pathways involved in learning and memory. When you learn something new, your brain forms new connections that help store and recall information more easily. Repeating tasks or reviewing information strengthens these pathways, making it easier to retain knowledge and improve skills over time. This is why consistent practice leads to improved performance and better memory retention.
✔ Stronger Resilience to Stress – Neuroplasticity helps the brain adapt to stress by strengthening the neural circuits involved in emotional regulation and stress management. When you face challenges or stressful situations, your brain learns to cope more effectively by forming new pathways that allow for better control over emotional responses. Over time, this helps reduce the impact of stress, making it easier to stay calm, focused, and balanced during difficult times.
✔ Improved Movement and Coordination – Neuroplasticity enhances the brain’s ability to refine motor skills and coordination by strengthening the neural connections that control movement. When you practice physical activities, such as sports or even simple tasks like typing, your brain creates and strengthens pathways that improve muscle memory and motor control. This leads to smoother, more efficient movements and better coordination, reducing the risk of injury and improving overall physical performance.
✔ Emotional Regulation – Neuroplasticity allows the brain to adjust its responses to emotions, helping to balance reactions and maintain emotional stability. By strengthening pathways involved in self-awareness and emotional processing, the brain becomes better at recognizing and managing emotions like anger, sadness, or frustration. This leads to healthier emotional responses, improved impulse control, and a greater ability to handle emotional challenges without becoming overwhelmed.
On the other hand, poor neuroplasticity can contribute to:
✖ Slower Healing and Chronic Pain – When neuroplasticity is impaired, the brain may struggle to create new pathways for healing after an injury, leading to slower recovery times. Additionally, if the nervous system is not functioning optimally, it can result in the brain misinterpreting pain signals or maintaining chronic pain patterns even after the initial injury has healed. This can make pain more persistent and harder to manage, as the brain continues to reinforce these pathways instead of adapting to the body’s recovery.
✖ Memory Problems and Cognitive Decline – Impaired neuroplasticity can make it difficult for the brain to form or strengthen the neural connections needed for memory and cognitive function. As a result, you may experience difficulties with recall, learning new information, or processing complex tasks. Over time, this can contribute to cognitive decline, affecting functions like concentration, decision-making, and problem-solving, and increasing the risk of conditions like dementia or Alzheimer’s disease.
✖ Increased Risk of Anxiety, Depression, and PTSD – When neuroplasticity is disrupted, the brain may struggle to adapt to emotional experiences, leading to the reinforcement of negative thought patterns and emotional responses. This can make it harder to manage stress, leading to a heightened risk of mental health issues like anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The brain may become “stuck” in a cycle of overreacting to stressors, making it more difficult to process emotions in a healthy way and recover from traumatic events.
✖ Difficulty Adapting to Change or Learning New Things – When neuroplasticity is limited, the brain struggles to form new connections or reorganize itself in response to new experiences. This makes it harder to adapt to changes or learn new skills, as the brain resists forming new pathways or adjusting to unfamiliar situations. Over time, this can lead to frustration, a lack of progress, and difficulty embracing new ideas, making it challenging to grow or thrive in changing environments.
Since neuroplasticity depends on clear nerve communication, anything that disrupts nerve signals can limit the brain’s ability to adapt and heal.
How Chiropractic Care Supports Neuroplasticity
Your brain and nervous system rely on clear communication to adapt and function properly. When there are Vertebral Subluxations in the spine (misalignments in the spine causing interference in the nervous system)nerve signals can become disrupted, limiting neuroplasticity.
Chiropractic adjustments remove these interferences, allowing your nervous system to function at its best. When your nerves are working optimally, Innate Intelligence can fully express itself through neuroplasticity, helping your brain and body learn, heal, and grow.
By keeping your spine and nervous system healthy, chiropractic care supports neuroplasticity, allowing your brain to adapt to life’s challenges with ease and efficiency.
Neuroplasticity is a powerful expression of Innate Intelligence, allowing your brain to adapt, heal, and grow throughout life. Whether you’re recovering from an injury, learning a new skill, or managing stress, your brain is constantly rewiring itself to help you function at your best. However, when nerve communication is disrupted, this process can be limited, affecting your ability to heal and adapt. Chiropractic care helps remove these interferences, ensuring that Innate Intelligence can fully support neuroplasticity. By keeping your nervous system healthy, you give your brain the best chance to learn, recover, and thrive.
Stay tuned for Part 4, where we’ll dive into epigenetics and how your lifestyle influences genetic expression.