From Animal Models to Human Individuality: Integrative Approaches to the Study of Brain Plasticity

Hille, M., Kühn, S., Kempermann, G., Bonhoeffer, T., & Lindenberger, U. (2024). From animal models to human individuality: Integrative approaches to the study of brain plasticity. Neuron. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuron.2024.10.006

Plasticity allows organisms to form lasting adaptive changes in neural structures in response to interactions with the environment. It serves both species-general functions and individualized skill acquisition. To better understand human plasticity, the authors see the need to strengthen the dialogue between human research and animal models.

Therefore, they propose to

(1) Enhance the interpretability of macroscopic methods used in human research by complementing molecular and fine-structural measures used in animals with such macroscopic methods, preferably applied to the same animals, to create macroscopic metrics common to both examined species;

(2) Launch dedicated cross-species research programs, using either well-controlled experimental paradigms, such as motor skill acquisition, or more naturalistic environments, where individuals of either species are observed in their habitats; and

(3) Develop conceptual and computational models linking molecular and fine-structural events to phenomena accessible by macroscopic methods.

In concert, these three component strategies can foster new insights into the nature of plastic change. To better understand plasticity in humans, research must be better coordinated and integrated across different species and levels.The authors present several ways to improve this coordination and collaboration.

The article was written in close collaboration between the Center for Lifespan Psychology and the Center for Environmental Neuroscience at MPIB. Other institutions involved are the Max Planck UCL Centre for Computational Psychiatry and Ageing Research, the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, the German Centre for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE), the TU Dresden, and the Max Planck Institute for Biological Intelligence.