I am a physiotherapist with over 20 years experience working with people with neurological injuries and diseases. I have always been interested in techniques to promote recovery from brain injury. In 2000, I began to research how exercise influenced brain plasticity in stroke and received my PhD in Neuroscience from Memorial University of Newfoundland in 2007. Check out ‘pubmed’ for some of my work-enter Ploughman, M in the search bar. More recently I am working on how health and lifestyle factors (like diet and exercise) may influence brain health in people with MS.
I started this blog because it was clear to me that health professionals, people with brain injury and their families needed better and clearer information on neuroplasticity grounded in scientific research. I am challenging myself to write in such a way that everyone understands the material. Don’t hesitate to comment on the posts especially if they spark a question you may have or if my explanation is confusing.
Heal your Brain 
Hi Michelle,
Thanks so much for this blog – you recommended it at the last CPA conference and I’ve been following it since. Your writing is wonderful and very clear. I’ve recommended it to many of my colleagues.
I was wondering if you could post on the depression-neurogenesis hypothesis (apparently it’s 10 yrs old but I hadn’t heard of it until yesterday). I know it’s not technically PT materal but I find it fascinating and the research on it is a little challenging to muddle though.
Thanks so much!
Melissa Lang, PT
Absolutely, I have been reading some new articles on BDNF-depression-exercise and trying to think how to patch it all together. Stay tuned
Thank you for your wonderful blog. Your articles are really interesting. I wish you could update it more. I’m learning as a health professional who wanna help older people and also young that are already loosing their memory. I know people in their 30’s that thanks to depression they can not recall many of their memories or the things they’ve done the previous. Wish I could read more about that, and about how to promote neurogenesis at any age and how to deal and combat alzheimer. Thank so much. God bless you! Wish I could read more articles soon, or maybe you already have another blog !
So sorry to my readers for the paucity of updates. Have been busy setting up my new research laboratory! promise to get back at the blogging too… and plan to tackle the ideas you have suggested. All the best!
Hi,thanks i enjoy reading your blogposts. do you have any intervention suggestion based on neuroplasticity for patients who show minimal awareness?
Intervention for patients with low levels of consciousness: This is an interesting group of patients because we know how important motivation and repetition is to recovery of function. The key is to help make them more alert and attending to their surroundings. I have a few strategies that I employ. First of all, bring a group of therapists and family together to provide enough manpower to get the patient sitting upright at the bedside. Lying supine will not likely improve arousal so choose upright positions when you can. This will activate arousal centres in the midbrain and brainstem. Gradually increase sitting time and bring in items from home that have special meaning so the patient can reach for the item and try to manipulate it. Even those attempts will activate trunk muscles. Once you get that far, there are a few devices on the market that can hoist the person into a standing position (easystand, arjo) http://www.arjohuntleigh.com/products/patient-transfer-solutions/standing-raising-aids/walker/
It takes a bit of time to set up but standing serves to help improve level of alertness.