104-688: People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals , or more commonly known as PETA is an American animal rights organization. Peta or PETA may refer to: People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals ( PETA ; / ˈ p iː t ə / ) is an American animal rights nonprofit organization based in Norfolk, Virginia , and led by Ingrid Newkirk , its international president. Founded in March 1980 by Newkirk and animal rights activist Alex Pacheco ,
208-556: A selfie it had taken while handling Slater's camera, and naming themselves to be the administrator of any copyright revenue. The monkey selfie copyright dispute was originally dismissed by Judge Orrick who wrote there is no indication that the Copyright Act extends to animals and a monkey could not own a copyright. PETA appealed, but the Court of Appeals found in favor of Slater saying that "PETA's real motivation in this case
312-640: A "war council," with two dozen of her top strategists gathered at a square table in the PETA conference room, with no suggestion considered too "kooky or unkind". PETA also gives an annual prize, called the Proggy Award (for "progress"), to individuals or organizations dedicated to animal welfare or who distinguish themselves through their efforts within the area of animal welfare. Many of the campaigns have focused on large corporations. Fast food companies such as KFC, Wendy's, and Burger King have been targeted. In
416-593: A call to action that all members of the National Institute of Health resign effective immediately and that there is a "need to find a new NIH director to replace the outgoing Francis Collins who will shut down research that violates the dignity of nonhuman animals." In 2019, the WCWP discovered a USDA funded lab in Beltsville, Maryland which conducted toxoplasmosis experiments on kittens resulting in
520-995: A clinical trial, a group of severely injured patients had a 60% reduction in mortality after three days of progesterone injections. However, a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine in 2014 detailing the results of a multi-center NIH-funded phase III clinical trial of 882 patients found that treatment of acute traumatic brain injury with the hormone progesterone provides no significant benefit to patients when compared with placebo. For decades, researchers assumed that humans had to acquire binocular vision , in particular stereopsis , in early childhood or they would never gain it. In recent years, however, successful improvements in persons with amblyopia , convergence insufficiency or other stereo vision anomalies have become prime examples of neuroplasticity; binocular vision improvements and stereopsis recovery are now active areas of scientific and clinical research. In
624-573: A dress made of meat in 2010, PETA issued a statement objecting to the dress. After a fisherman in Florida was bitten by a shark in 2011, PETA proposed an advertisement showing a shark devouring a human, with the caption "Payback Is Hell, Go Vegan". The proposed ad drew criticism from relatives of the injured fisherman. After Minnesota dentist Walter Palmer admitted that he had killed Cecil the lion in Zimbabwe in 2015, PETA's president, Newkirk, issued
728-508: A group of activists that hold that taxpayers should not have to pay $ 20 billion every year for experiments on animals, said that the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases provided $ 400,000 in taxpayer money to fund experiments in which 28 beagles were infected by disease-causing parasites. The White Coat Project found reports that said dogs taking part in the experiments were "vocalizing in pain" after being injected with foreign substances. Following public outcry, PETA made
832-455: A group of residents moved out, leaving their dogs behind, which is why the workers were on the property. The state later determined that PETA had violated state law by failing to ensure that the Chihuahua , who was not wearing a collar or tag, was properly identified and for failing to keep the dog alive for five days before euthanizing the animal. Citing a "severity of this lapse in judgment,"
936-537: A higher degree of plasticity than the adult brain. Activity-dependent plasticity can have significant implications for healthy development, learning, memory , and recovery from brain damage . The term plasticity was first applied to behavior in 1890 by William James in The Principles of Psychology where the term was used to describe "a structure weak enough to yield to an influence, but strong enough not to yield all at once". The first person to use
1040-425: A letter of complaint to Nintendo about their video game 1-2-Switch , during which players get to milk a cow. In her letter, Newkirk called the game "unrealistic" and wrote "you've taken all the cruelty out of milking". She also suggested that "instead of sugarcoating the subject, Nintendo switch to simulating activities in which no animals suffer." In March 2020, PETA issued a "Vegan Guide to Animal Crossing" for
1144-432: A match." PETA is a strong proponent of euthanasia. They oppose the no-kill movement , and rather than adoption programs, PETA prefers to aim for zero births through spaying and neutering . They recommend not breeding pit bulls , and support euthanasia in certain situations for animals in shelters, such as those being housed for long periods in cramped cages. PETA considers the word pet to be "derogatory and patronises
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#17327810681511248-461: A neural network system of spontaneous activity in which the related brain regions become functionally and topologically modularized in both domain-general and domain-specific manners". In simple terms, brains repeatedly exposed to artistic training over long periods develop adaptations to make such activity both easier and more likely to spontaneously occur. Some researchers and academics have suggested that artistic engagement has substantially altered
1352-428: A new ability, information acquisition , environmental influences, pregnancy, caloric intake, practice/training, and psychological stress . Neuroplasticity was once thought by neuroscientists to manifest only during childhood, but research in the latter half of the 20th century showed that many aspects of the brain can be altered (or are "plastic") even through adulthood. However, the developing brain exhibits
1456-545: A number of satirical video games with such names as How Green Is My Diet? and KKK or AKC? Spot the Difference . PETA uses these games to spread attention about animal rights and animal welfare and to advocate vegetarian and vegan diets. PETA's head of online marketing Joel Bartlett said "We've found that parody games are extremely popular. By connecting our message with something people are already interested in, we're able to create more buzz." In 2017, Ingrid Newkirk sent
1560-695: A paid staff of over 100, and an annual budget of over $ 7 million. PETA India was founded in 2000 and is based in Mumbai , India. PETA and the NGO Animal Rahat, authorized by the Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI), participated in a nine-month investigation of 16 circuses in India. After it was said that "animals used in circuses were subjected to chronic confinement, physical abuse, and psychological torment", AWBI, in 2013, banned
1664-460: A political science major at George Washington University . He volunteered at the shelter where she worked, and they fell in love and began living together. Newkirk read Peter Singer 's influential book, Animal Liberation (1975), and in March 1980, she persuaded Pacheco to join her in forming People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, at that point just "five people in a basement," as Newkirk described it. They were mostly students and members of
1768-419: A recent study discusses that these observed changes should not directly relate to neuroplasticity, since they may root in the systematic requirement of the brain network for reorganization. The adult brain is not entirely "hard-wired" with fixed neuronal circuits . There are many instances of cortical and subcortical rewiring of neuronal circuits in response to training as well as in response to injury. There
1872-481: A resident of Accomack County, Virginia , produced video evidence that two workers in a van marked with a PETA logo had entered his property in a trailer park and taken his dog , who was then euthanized . He reported the incident to the police, who identified and charged two PETA workers, but the charges were later dropped by the commonwealth attorney on the grounds that it was not possible to prove criminal intent . The trailer park's manager had contacted PETA after
1976-636: A response from Virginia lawmakers. Ingrid Newkirk was born in England in 1949, and raised in Hertfordshire and later New Delhi, India, where her father—a navigational engineer—was stationed. Newkirk, now an atheist, was educated in a convent, the only British girl there. She moved to the United States as a teenager, first studying to become a stockbroker, but after taking some abandoned kittens to an animal shelter in 1969 and being appalled by
2080-400: A role in the biological processes underlying the changing of neural networks in the brain. Some of these factors include synapse regulation via phosphorylation , the role of inflammation and inflammatory cytokines, proteins such as Bcl-2 proteins and neutrophorins, and energy production via mitochondria . JT Wall and J Xu have traced the mechanisms underlying neuroplasticity. Re-organization
2184-600: A shopping center in Ahoskie, North Carolina , over the course of a month in 2005; the two employees were seen leaving behind 18 dead animals, and 13 more were found inside their van. The animals had been euthanized after being removed from shelters in Northampton and Bertie counties. A Bertie County Deputy Sheriff stated that the two employees assured the Bertie Animal Shelter that "they were picking up
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#17327810681512288-433: A statement on behalf of PETA in which she said: Hunting is a coward's pastime. If, as has been reported, this dentist and his guides lured Cecil out of the park with food so as to shoot him on private property, because shooting him in the park would have been illegal, he needs to be extradited, charged, and, preferably, hanged. PETA sends its staff undercover into industries and other facilities that use animals to document
2392-430: A strong supporter of direct action that removes animals from laboratories and other facilities: "When I hear of anyone walking into a lab and walking out with animals, my heart sings." Newkirk was quoted in 1999, "When you see the resistance to basic humane treatment and to the acknowledgment of animals' social needs, I find it small wonder that the laboratories aren't all burning to the ground. If I had more guts, I'd light
2496-521: A traffic accident that you have to look at." PETA has also objected to the practice of mulesing (removing strips of wool-bearing skin from around the buttocks of a sheep). In October 2004, PETA launched a boycott against the Australian wool industry, leading some clothing retailers to ban products using Australian wool from their stores. In response, the Australian wool industry sued PETA, arguing among other things that mulesing prevents flystrike ,
2600-503: A very painful disease that can affect sheep. A settlement was reached, and PETA agreed to stop the boycott, while the wool industry agreed to seek alternatives to mulesing. In 2011, PETA named five orcas as plaintiffs and sued SeaWorld over the animals' captivity, seeking their protection under the Thirteenth Amendment . A federal judge heard the case and dismissed it in early 2012. In August 2014, SeaWorld announced it
2704-403: Is ample evidence for the active, experience-dependent re-organization of the synaptic networks of the brain involving multiple inter-related structures including the cerebral cortex. The specific details of how this process occurs at the molecular and ultrastructural levels are topics of active neuroscience research. The way experience can influence the synaptic organization of the brain is also
2808-633: Is an animal rights organization that opposes speciesism , and the abuse of animals in any way, such as for food, clothing, entertainment, or research. In 2020, PETA's website claimed they had 6.5 million supporters, and received donations of $ 49 million for 2019. The organization is known for aggressive media stunts, combined with a solid base of celebrity support—in addition to its honorary directors, Paul McCartney , Alicia Silverstone , Eva Mendes , Charlize Theron , Ellen DeGeneres , and many other notable celebrities have appeared in PETA ads. Every week, Newkirk holds what The New Yorker calls
2912-535: Is an emerging technique, which is also hypothesized to work by way of neuroplasticity, though there is currently insufficient evidence to determine the exact mechanisms of change when using this method. One group has developed a treatment that includes increased levels of progesterone injections in brain-injured patients. "Administration of progesterone after traumatic brain injury (TBI) and stroke reduces edema , inflammation, and neuronal cell death, and enhances spatial reference memory and sensory-motor recovery." In
3016-403: Is based upon synapses and how connections between them change based on neuron functioning. It is widely agreed upon that neuroplasticity takes on many forms, as it is a result of a variety of pathways. These pathways, mainly signaling cascades, allow for gene expression alterations that lead to neuronal changes, and thus neuroplasticity. There are a number of other factors that are thought to play
3120-463: Is not cortically emergent , but occurs at every level in the processing hierarchy; this produces the map changes observed in the cerebral cortex. Christopher Shaw and Jill McEachern (eds) in "Toward a theory of Neuroplasticity", state that there is no all-inclusive theory that overarches different frameworks and systems in the study of neuroplasticity. However, researchers often describe neuroplasticity as "the ability to make adaptive changes related to
3224-422: Is not found in deaf adults. Neuroplasticity is involved in the development of sensory function. The brain is born immature and then adapts to sensory inputs after birth. In the auditory system, congenital hearing loss, a rather frequent inborn condition affecting 1 of 1000 newborns, has been shown to affect auditory development, and implantation of a sensory prostheses activating the auditory system has prevented
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3328-502: Is not the case. While many neuroscientists use the word neuroplasticity as an umbrella term it means different things to different researchers in different subfields ... In brief, a mutually agreed-upon framework does not appear to exist. In 1923, Karl Lashley conducted experiments on rhesus monkeys that demonstrated changes in neuronal pathways, which he concluded were evidence of plasticity. Despite this, and other research that suggested plasticity, neuroscientists did not widely accept
3432-710: Is often found to be associated with the repurposing of other brain areas including primary auditory cortex , posterior parietal association cortex (PPAC), and anterior cingulate cortex (ACC). A review by Bavelier et al. (2006) summarizes many aspects on the topic of visual ability comparison between deaf and hearing individuals. Brain areas that serve a function in auditory processing repurpose to process somatosensory information in congenitally deaf people. They have higher sensitivity in detecting frequency change in vibration above threshold and higher and more widespread activation in auditory cortex under somatosensory stimulation. However, speeded response for somatosensory stimuli
3536-431: Is related to neuroplasticity due to a maladaptive reorganization of the nervous system, both peripherally and centrally. During the period of tissue damage, noxious stimuli and inflammation cause an elevation of nociceptive input from the periphery to the central nervous system. Prolonged nociception from the periphery then elicits a neuroplastic response at the cortical level to change its somatotopic organization for
3640-423: Is that the brain activity associated with a given function can be transferred to a different location; this can result from normal experience and also occurs in the process of recovery from brain injury. Neuroplasticity is the fundamental issue that supports the scientific basis for treatment of acquired brain injury with goal-directed experiential therapeutic programs in the context of rehabilitation approaches to
3744-583: The Vogue magazine in 1989 that even if animal testing resulted in a cure for AIDS, PETA would oppose it. The group also believes that it is wasteful, unreliable, and irrelevant to human health, because artificially induced diseases in animals are not identical to human diseases. They say that animal experiments are frequently redundant and lack accountability, oversight, and regulation. They promote alternatives, including embryonic stem cell research and in vitro cell research. The White Coat Waste Project (WCWP),
3848-626: The Center for Consumer Freedom (CCF) said in a news release that "[a]n official report filed by PETA itself shows that the animal rights group put to death nearly every dog, cat, and other pet it took in for adoption in 2006," with a kill rate of 97.4 percent. In 2012, the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services said that it had in the past considered changing PETA's status from "shelter" to "euthanasia clinic", citing PETA's willingness to take in "anything that comes through
3952-532: The Draize test . These and the Silver Spring monkey case jointly put animal rights on the agenda in the United States. The 10-year battle for custody of the monkeys—described by The Washington Post as a vicious mud fight, during which both sides accused the other of lies and distortion— transformed PETA into a national, then international, movement. By February 1991, it claimed over 350,000 supporters,
4056-454: The Stratton experiment, and specially, several first-hand brain injuries cases in which he observed dynamic and adaptive properties in their disorders, in particular in the inverted perception disorder [e.g., see pp 260–62 Vol. I (1945), p 696 Vol. II (1950)]. He stated that a sensory signal in a projection area would be only an inverted and constricted outline that would be magnified due to
4160-679: The Super Bowl , only to have it banned by the network. PETA's work has drawn the ire of some feminists who argue that the organization sacrifices women's rights to press its agenda. Lindsay Beyerstein criticized PETA saying "They're the ones drawing disturbing analogies between pornography, misogyny and animal cruelty." PETA has approached cities to pressure them to change their names, including Fishkill, New York in 1996, Hamburg, New York in 2003, and Commerce City, Colorado in 2007. PETA sometimes issues isolated statements or press releases, commenting on current events. After Lady Gaga wore
4264-447: The Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services issued PETA a first-ever violation and imposed a $ 500 fine. The contract worker who had taken the dog was dismissed by PETA. In 2015, PETA sued British nature photographer David Slater in US court as a next friend for a wild macaque monkey, whom they named Naruto. PETA argued that the monkey was entitled to the copyright of
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4368-447: The dogs to take them back to Norfolk where they would find them good homes." During the trial, Daphna Nachminovitch, the supervisor of PETA's Community Animal Project, said PETA began euthanizing animals in some rural North Carolina shelters after it found the shelters killing animals in ways PETA considers inhumane, including by shooting them. She also stated that the dumping of animals did not follow PETA's policy. In November 2014,
4472-433: The prefrontal cortex and right thalamus . However, following treatment, these abnormalities in cortical reorganization and grey matter volume are resolved, as well as their symptoms. Similar results have been reported for phantom limb pain, chronic low back pain and carpal tunnel syndrome . A number of studies have linked meditation practice to differences in cortical thickness or density of gray matter . One of
4576-399: The 1960s, Paul Bach-y-Rita invented a device that was tested on a small number of people, and involved a person sitting in a chair, embedded in which were nubs that were made to vibrate in ways that translated images received in a camera, allowing a form of vision via sensory substitution . Studies in people recovering from stroke also provided support for neuroplasticity, as regions of
4680-755: The British Advertising Standards Authority asked that the ads be discontinued after complaints from interest groups such as The National Farmers' Unions. In August 2011, it was announced that PETA will be launching a soft pornography website in the .xxx domain. PETA spokesperson Lindsay Rajt told the Huffington Post , "We try to use absolutely every outlet to stick up for animals," adding that "We are careful about what we do and wouldn't use nudity or some of our flashier tactics if we didn't know they worked." PETA also used nudity in its "Veggie Love" ad which it prepared for
4784-625: The Institute of Behavioral Research in Silver Spring, Maryland. The case led to the first police raid in the United States on an animal laboratory, triggered an amendment in 1985 to the United States Animal Welfare Act, and became the first animal-testing case to be appealed to the United States Supreme Court, which upheld a Louisiana State Court ruling that denied PETA's request for custody of
4888-725: The Pentagon stopped shooting pigs and goats in wounds tests, and a slaughterhouse in Texas was closed down. As part of its anti-fur action, PETA supporters have infiltrated hundreds of fashion shows in the U.S. and Europe and one in China, throwing red paint on the catwalks and unfurling banners. Celebrities and supermodels have posed naked for the group's "I'd Rather Go Naked Than Wear Fur" campaign—some men, but mostly women—triggering criticism from some feminist animal rights advocates. The New Yorker writes that PETA activists have crawled through
4992-401: The ability of the body to heal itself. There is substantial evidence that artistic engagement in a therapeutic environment can create changes in neural network connections as well as increase cognitive flexibility. In one 2013 study, researchers found evidence that long-term, habitual artistic training (e.g. musical instrument practice, purposeful painting, etc.) can "macroscopically imprint
5096-411: The activity of the projection areas , the "central" cortical mass (more or less equidistant from the visual, tactile and auditive projection areas), would be a "maneuvering mass", rather unspecific or multisensory, with capacity to increase neural excitability and re-organize the activity by means of plasticity properties. He gives as a first example of adaptation, to see upright with reversing glasses in
5200-492: The adult, rodent brain—and such changes can persist well into old age. The evidence for neurogenesis is mainly restricted to the hippocampus and olfactory bulb , but research has revealed that other parts of the brain, including the cerebellum, may be involved as well. However, the degree of rewiring induced by the integration of new neurons in the established circuits is not known, and such rewiring may well be functionally redundant. A surprising consequence of neuroplasticity
5304-579: The alleged abuse of animals. Investigators may spend many months as employees of a facility, making copies of documents and wearing hidden cameras. Various U.S. states have passed ag-gag laws to prevent animal rights and animal welfare groups from conducting undercover investigations of operations that use animals. In response, PETA has been involved with other groups bringing lawsuits, citing First Amendment protections for free speech. Two PETA employees were acquitted in 2007 of cruelty to animals after at least 80 euthanized animals were left in dumpsters in
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#17327810681515408-565: The animal", and prefers the term "companion" or "companion animal". "Animals are not pets," Newkirk has said. PETA supports hearing dog programs when animals are sourced from shelters and placed in homes, but opposes seeing-eye-dog programs "because the dogs are bred as if there are no equally intelligent dogs literally dying for homes in shelters, they are kept in harnesses almost 24/7". PETA opposes animal testing —whether toxicity testing, basic or applied research, or for education and training—on both moral and practical grounds. Newkirk told
5512-568: The animal-testing industry, PETA's consumer boycotts have focused on Avon, Benetton, Bristol-Myers-Squibb, Chesebrough-Pond's, Dow Chemical, General Motors, and others. The group's modus operandi includes buying shares in target companies such as McDonald's and Kraft Foods to exert influence. The campaigns have delivered results for PETA. McDonald's and Wendy's introduced vegetarian options after PETA targeted them; and Polo Ralph Lauren said it would no longer use fur. Avon, Estée Lauder, Benetton, and Tonka Toy Co. all stopped testing products on animals,
5616-447: The basis for a number of theories of brain function including the general theory of mind and neural Darwinism . The concept of neuroplasticity is also central to theories of memory and learning that are associated with experience-driven alteration of synaptic structure and function in studies of classical conditioning in invertebrate animal models such as Aplysia . There is evidence that neurogenesis (birth of brain cells) occurs in
5720-549: The billboards, saying that it was hurtful to their religious sentiments. In July 2020, PETA put up billboards saying "This Rakshabandhan , protect me: Go leather-free". PETA was based in Rockville, Maryland , until 1996, when it moved to Norfolk, Virginia. It opened a Los Angeles division in 2006 and also has offices in Washington, D.C., and Oakland, California . In addition, PETA has international affiliates. PETA
5824-555: The brain that remained healthy could sometimes take over, at least in part, functions that had been destroyed; Shepherd Ivory Franz did work in this area. Eleanor Maguire documented changes in hippocampal structure associated with acquiring the knowledge of London's layout in local taxi drivers. A redistribution of grey matter was indicated in London Taxi Drivers compared to controls. This work on hippocampal plasticity not only interested scientists, but also engaged
5928-468: The brain was observed in individuals learning spatial routes. Cross-model reassignment involves reception of novel input signals to a brain region which has been stripped off its default input. Functional plasticity through compensatory masquerade occurs using different cognitive processes for an already established cognitive task. Changes in the brain associated with functional neuroplasticity can occur in response to two different types of events: In
6032-440: The brain when one peripheral nerve was cut and subsequently regenerated. The two scientists micromapped the hand maps of monkey brains before and after cutting a peripheral nerve and sewing the ends together. Afterwards, the hand map in the brain that they expected to be jumbled was nearly normal. This was a substantial breakthrough. Merzenich asserted that, "If the brain map could normalize its structure in response to abnormal input,
6136-413: The brain's ability to alter and adapt the functional properties of network of neurons. It can occur in four known ways namely: Homologous area adaptation is the assumption of a particular cognitive process by a homologous region in the opposite hemisphere. For instance, through homologous area adaptation a cognitive task is shifted from a damaged part of the brain to its homologous area in opposite side of
6240-401: The brain's structure and function was essentially fixed throughout adulthood. While the brain was commonly understood as a nonrenewable organ in the early 1900s, the pioneering neuroscientist Santiago Ramón y Cajal used the term neuronal plasticity to describe nonpathological changes in the structure of adult brains. Based on his renowned neuron doctrine , Cajal first described the neuron as
6344-403: The brain. Homologous area adaptation is a type of functional neuroplasticity that occur usually in children rather than adults. In map expansion, cortical maps related to particular cognitive tasks expand due to frequent exposure to stimuli. Map expansion has been proven through experiments performed in relation to the study: experiment on effect of frequent stimulus on functional connectivity of
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#17327810681516448-430: The company may not produce non-vegan products. The company is animal test-free and also vegan, i.e. does not use any animal-derived ingredients. If a company carries the PETA "animal test-free" or "cruelty-free" label, it must also have signed agreements with its suppliers that they do not use animal testing. PETA also awards a "vegan" label to clothing and furniture products (instead of entire companies), which means that
6552-550: The conditions that she found there, she chose a career in animal protection instead. She became an animal-protection officer for Montgomery County, Maryland , and then the District of Columbia 's first woman poundmaster . By 1976 she was head of the animal disease control division of D.C.'s Commission on Public Health and in 1980 was among those named as "Washingtonians of the Year." In 1980, after her divorce, she met Alex Pacheco,
6656-661: The deaths of nearly 3,000 kittens over 36 years. This discovery led to the USDA banning all taxpayer funded kitten experiments. In 2024, the WCWP also reported that taxpayer money was used to fund beagle experiments in China, which drew widespread condemnation, including a call from PETA to end taxpayer-funded animal experiments globally. PETA's euthanasia practices have drawn intense scrutiny from lawmakers and criticism from animal rights activists for years. The consistently high percentage of animals euthanized at PETA's shelter has been controversial. In 2008, meat industry lobby group
6760-820: The door, and other shelters won't do that." PETA acknowledged that it euthanized 95% of the animals at its shelter in 2011. Neuroplasticity Neuroplasticity , also known as neural plasticity or just plasticity , is the ability of neural networks in the brain to change through growth and reorganization. It is when the brain is rewired to function in some way that differs from how it previously functioned. These changes range from individual neuron pathways making new connections, to systematic adjustments like cortical remapping or neural oscillation . Other forms of neuroplasticity include homologous area adaptation, cross modal reassignment, map expansion, and compensatory masquerade. Examples of neuroplasticity include circuit and network changes that result from learning
6864-400: The elderly." Merzenich's work was affected by a crucial discovery made by David Hubel and Torsten Wiesel in their work with kittens. The experiment involved sewing one eye shut and recording the cortical brain maps. Hubel and Wiesel saw that the portion of the kitten's brain associated with the shut eye was not idle, as expected. Instead, it processed visual information from the open eye. It
6968-504: The functional consequences of the injury. Neuroplasticity is gaining popularity as a theory that, at least in part, explains improvements in functional outcomes with physical therapy post-stroke. Rehabilitation techniques that are supported by evidence which suggest cortical reorganization as the mechanism of change include constraint-induced movement therapy , functional electrical stimulation , treadmill training with body-weight support, and virtual reality therapy . Robot assisted therapy
7072-424: The fundamental unit of the nervous system that later served as an essential foundation to develop the concept of neural plasticity. Many neuroscientists used the term plasticity to explain the regenerative capacity of the peripheral nervous system only. Cajal, however, used the term plasticity to reference his findings of degeneration and regeneration in the adult brain (a part of the central nervous system ). This
7176-431: The greatest improvements in gray matter volume in response to aerobic exercise are the prefrontal cortex and hippocampus ; moderate improvements are seen in the anterior cingulate cortex , parietal cortex , cerebellum , caudate nucleus , and nucleus accumbens . Higher physical fitness scores (measured by VO 2 max ) are associated with better executive function, faster processing speed, and greater volume of
7280-420: The hippocampus are associated with measurable improvements in spatial memory . Consistent aerobic exercise over a period of several months induces marked clinically significant improvements in executive function (i.e., the " cognitive control " of behavior) and increased gray matter volume in multiple brain regions, particularly those that give rise to cognitive control. The brain structures that show
7384-693: The hippocampus, caudate nucleus, and nucleus accumbens. Due to hearing loss, the auditory cortex and other association areas of the brain in deaf and/or hard of hearing people undergo compensatory plasticity. The auditory cortex usually reserved for processing auditory information in hearing people now is redirected to serve other functions, especially for vision and somatosensation . Deaf individuals have enhanced peripheral visual attention, better motion change but not color change detection ability in visual tasks, more effective visual search, and faster response time for visual targets compared to hearing individuals. Altered visual processing in deaf people
7488-688: The human brain throughout our evolutionary history. D.W Zaidel, adjunct professor of behavioral neuroscience and contributor at VAGA , has written that "evolutionary theory links the symbolic nature of art to critical pivotal brain changes in Homo sapiens supporting increased development of language and hierarchical social grouping". Aerobic exercise increases the production of neurotrophic factors (compounds that promote growth or survival of neurons), such as brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1), and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). Exercise-induced effects on
7592-497: The idea of neuroplasticity. Inspired by work from Nicolas Rashevsky , in 1943, McCulloch and Pitts proposed the artificial neuron , with a learning rule, whereby new synapses are produced when neurons fire simultaneously. This is then extensively discussed in The organization of behavior ( Hebb , 1949) and is now known as Hebbian learning . In 1945, Justo Gonzalo concluded from his research on brain dynamics, that, contrary to
7696-571: The increase in recruited cerebral mass, and re-inverted due to some effect of brain plasticity, in more central areas, following a spiral growth. Marian Diamond of the University of California, Berkeley, produced the first scientific evidence of anatomical brain plasticity, publishing her research in 1964. Other significant evidence was produced in the 1960s and after, notably from scientists including Paul Bach-y-Rita , Michael Merzenich along with Jon Kaas , as well as several others. In
7800-419: The intrinsic excitability of neurons, which is referred to as intrinsic plasticity . This, as opposed to homeostatic plasticity does not necessarily maintain the overall activity of a neuron within a network but contributes to encoding memories. Also, many studies have indicated functional neuroplasticity in the level of brain networks, where training alters the strength of functional connections. Although
7904-409: The latter case the functions from one part of the brain transfer to another part of the brain based on the demand to produce recovery of behavioral or physiological processes. Regarding physiological forms of activity-dependent plasticity, those involving synapses are referred to as synaptic plasticity . The strengthening or weakening of synapses that results in an increase or decrease of firing rate of
8008-642: The local vegetarian society, but the group included a friend of Pacheco's from the UK, Kim Stallwood , a British activist who went on to become the national organizer of the British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection . The group first came to public attention in 1981 during the Silver Spring monkeys case, a dispute about experiments conducted by researcher Edward Taub on 17 macaque monkeys inside
8112-498: The mayor of New York, Rudy Giuliani , was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2000, PETA ran a photograph of him with a white mustache and the words "Got prostate cancer?" to illustrate their claim that dairy products contribute to cancer, an ad that caused an outcry in the United States. After PETA placed ads in school newspapers linking milk to acne, obesity, heart disease, cancer, and strokes, Mothers Against Drunk Driving and college officials complained it encouraged underage drinking;
8216-426: The monkeys to use the deafferented parts of their bodies. The research led in part to the discovery of neuroplasticity and a new therapy for stroke victims called constraint-induced movement therapy . Pacheco went to the laboratory at night, taking photographs that showed the monkeys living in what the Institute for Laboratory Animal Research's ILAR Journal called "filthy conditions." He passed his photographs to
8320-572: The monkeys. Pacheco had taken a job in May 1981 inside a primate research laboratory at the institute, intending to gain firsthand experience of working inside an animal laboratory. Taub had been cutting sensory ganglia that supplied nerves to the monkeys' fingers, hands, arms, and legs—a process called "deafferentation"—so that the monkeys could not feel them; some of the monkeys had had their entire spinal columns deafferented. He then used restraint, electric shock, and withholding of food and water to force
8424-587: The most well-known studies to demonstrate this was led by Sara Lazar , from Harvard University, in 2000. Richard Davidson , a neuroscientist at the University of Wisconsin , has led experiments in collaboration with the Dalai Lama on effects of meditation on the brain. His results suggest that meditation may lead to change in the physical structure of brain regions associated with attention , anxiety , depression , fear , anger , and compassion as well as
8528-480: The neurons are called long-term potentiation (LTP) and long-term depression (LTD), respectively, and they are considered as examples of synaptic plasticity that are associated with memory. The cerebellum is a typical structure with combinations of LTP/LTD and redundancy within the circuitry, allowing plasticity at several sites. More recently it has become clearer that synaptic plasticity can be complemented by another form of activity-dependent plasticity involving
8632-506: The organization first gained attention in the summer of 1981 during what became known as the Silver Spring monkeys case. The organization opposes factory farming , fur farming , animal testing , and other activities it considers to be exploitation of animals. The organization's controversial campaigns have been credited with drawing media attention to animal rights issues, but have also been widely criticized for their disruptive nature. Its use of euthanasia has resulted in legal action and
8736-422: The painful site, inducing central sensitization . For instance, individuals experiencing complex regional pain syndrome demonstrate a diminished cortical somatotopic representation of the hand contralaterally as well as a decreased spacing between the hand and the mouth. Additionally, chronic pain has been reported to significantly reduce the volume of grey matter in the brain globally, and more specifically at
8840-400: The phantom limb. This experiment suggests that the subjects had modified the neural representation of their phantom limbs and generated the motor commands needed to execute impossible movements in the absence of feedback from the body. Individuals who have chronic pain experience prolonged pain at sites that may have been previously injured, yet are otherwise currently healthy. This phenomenon
8944-439: The phenomenon of phantom limb sensation, a person continues to feel pain or sensation within a part of their body that has been amputated . This is strangely common, occurring in 60–80% of amputees. An explanation for this is based on the concept of neuroplasticity, as the cortical maps of the removed limbs are believed to have become engaged with the area around them in the postcentral gyrus . This results in activity within
9048-654: The police, who raided the lab and arrested Taub. Taub was convicted of six counts of cruelty to animals, the first such conviction in the United States of an animal researcher; the conviction, though, was overturned on appeal. Norm Phelps writes that the case followed the highly publicized campaign of Henry Spira in 1976 against experiments on cats being performed at the American Museum of Natural History in New York and Spira's subsequent campaign in April 1980 against
9152-465: The prevailing view that we are born with a hardwired system had to be wrong. The brain had to be plastic." Merzenich received the 2016 Kavli Prize in Neuroscience "for the discovery of mechanisms that allow experience and neural activity to remodel brain function." There are different ideas and theories on what biological processes allow for neuroplasticity to occur. The core of this phenomenon
9256-400: The products are free from animal-derived ingredients, but the companies can still produce non-vegan products. All of the company's products vegan Newkirk is outspoken in her support of direct action , writing that no movement for social change has ever succeeded without what she calls the militarism component: "Thinkers may prepare revolutions, but bandits must carry them out." Newkirk is
9360-477: The public and media worldwide. Michael Merzenich is a neuroscientist who has been one of the pioneers of neuroplasticity for over three decades. He has made some of "the most ambitious claims for the field – that brain exercises may be as useful as drugs to treat diseases as severe as schizophrenia – that plasticity exists from cradle to the grave, and that radical improvements in cognitive functioning – how we learn, think, perceive, and remember are possible even in
9464-465: The registration of elephants for performance. PETA India put up billboards prior to a 2020 annual religious event Eid al-Adha where animals are ritualistically slaughtered. The billboards depicted goats with the words "I am a living being and not just meat. Change your view towards us and become a vegan." and "I am ME, Not Mutton. See the Individual. Go Vegan." Muslim clerics wanted to take down
9568-597: The streets of Paris wearing leg-hold traps and thrown around money soaked in fake blood at the International Fur Fair. They sometimes engage in pie-throwing—in January 2010, Canadian MP Gerry Byrne compared them to terrorists for throwing a tofu cream pie at Canada's fishery minister Gail Shea in protest of the seal slaughter, a comment Newkirk called a silly chest-beating exercise. "The thing is, we make them gawk" she told Satya magazine, "maybe like
9672-467: The structural alterations of the human brains. This type of neuroplasticity often studies the effect of various internal or external stimuli on the brain's anatomical reorganization. The changes of grey matter proportion or the synaptic strength in the brain are considered as examples of structural neuroplasticity. Structural neuroplasticity is currently investigated more within the field of neuroscience in current academia. Functional plasticity refers to
9776-577: The structure and function of the nervous system." Correspondingly, two types of neuroplasticity are often discussed: structural neuroplasticity and functional neuroplasticity. Structural plasticity is often understood as the brain's ability to change its neuronal connections. New neurons are constantly produced and integrated into the central nervous system throughout the life span based on this type of neuroplasticity. Researchers nowadays use multiple cross-sectional imaging methods (i.e. magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), computerized tomography (CT)) to study
9880-532: The surrounding area of the cortex being misinterpreted by the area of the cortex formerly responsible for the amputated limb. The relationship between phantom limb sensation and neuroplasticity is a complex one. In the early 1990s V.S. Ramachandran theorized that phantom limbs were the result of cortical remapping . However, in 1995 Herta Flor and her colleagues demonstrated that cortical remapping occurs only in patients who have phantom pain. Her research showed that phantom limb pain (rather than referred sensations)
9984-460: The term neural plasticity appears to have been the Polish neuroscientist Jerzy Konorski . One of the first experiments providing evidence for neuroplasticity was conducted in 1793, by Italian anatomist Michele Vicenzo Malacarne, who described experiments in which he paired animals, trained one of the pair extensively for years, and then dissected both. Malacarne discovered that the cerebellums of
10088-417: The trained animals were substantially larger than the cerebellum of the untrained animals. However, while these findings were significant, they were eventually forgotten. In 1890, the idea that the brain and its function are not fixed throughout adulthood was proposed by William James in The Principles of Psychology , though the idea was largely neglected. Up until the 1970s, neuroscientists believed that
10192-430: The video game Animal Crossing: New Horizons . Each year, PETA selects a "Person of the Year" who has helped advance the cause of animal rights. PETA certifies beauty and cosmetics companies with "Beauty without Bunnies" bunny labels in two tiers. In the first tier ("Animal Test-Free"), the entire company does not use animal testing. The company may still produce non-vegan products. In the second tier ("Cruelty-Free"),
10296-434: Was "…as though the brain didn't want to waste any 'cortical real estate' and had found a way to rewire itself." This implied neuroplasticity during the critical period . However, Merzenich argued that neuroplasticity could occur beyond the critical period. His first encounter with adult plasticity came when he was engaged in a postdoctoral study with Clinton Woosley. The experiment was based on observation of what occurred in
10400-436: Was building new orca tanks that would almost double the size of the existing ones to provide more space for its whales. PETA responded that a "larger prison is still a prison." In 2016, SeaWorld admitted that it had been sending its employees to pose as activists to spy on PETA. Following an investigation by an outside law firm, SeaWorld's Board of Directors directed management to end the practice. In 2011, Patricia de Leon
10504-467: Was controversial, with some like Walther Spielmeyer and Max Bielschowsky arguing that the CNS cannot produce new cells. The term has since been broadly applied: Given the central importance of neuroplasticity, an outsider would be forgiven for assuming that it was well defined and that a basic and universal framework served to direct current and future hypotheses and experimentation. Sadly, however, this
10608-632: Was the Hispanic spokesperson for PETA's anti-bullfighting campaign. Some campaigns have been particularly controversial. Newkirk was criticized in 2003 for sending a letter to PLO leader Yasser Arafat asking him to keep animals out of the conflict, after a donkey was blown up during an attack in Jerusalem. To reduce milk consumption, it created the "Got Beer?" campaign, a parody of the dairy industry's series of Got Milk? ads, which featured celebrities with milk "mustaches" on their upper lips. When
10712-403: Was the perceptual correlate of cortical reorganization. This phenomenon is sometimes referred to as maladaptive plasticity. In 2009, Lorimer Moseley and Peter Brugger carried out an experiment in which they encouraged arm amputee subjects to use visual imagery to contort their phantom limbs into impossible configurations. Four of the seven subjects succeeded in performing impossible movements of
10816-542: Was to advance its own interests, not Naruto's." The decision cited Cetacean v. Bush (2004) that says animals cannot sue unless Congress makes it clear in the statute that animals can sue, and added that "next friend" representation cannot be applied to animals. The court also wrote: "Puzzlingly, while representing to the world that 'animals are not ours to eat, wear, experiment on, use for entertainment, or abuse in any other way,' PETA seems to employ Naruto as an unwitting pawn in its ideological goals." PETA has created
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