ABOUT THE POEM: Learning is not just mental—it physically changes your brain. Neuroplasticity is the brain's ability to reorganize itself by forming new neural connections and strengthening existing ones throughout life. When you practice a skill or learn new information, the neurons involved "fire together and wire together," creating more efficient pathways. This process, which also includes the pruning of unused connections, allows the brain to adapt, recover from injury, and build new cognitive abilities.

By extending an axon to meet another neuron’s dendrites or cell body. At the synapse, the first neuron releases neurotransmitters, which are chemical messengers that travel across a small gap and bind to the second neuron, causing it to either fire its own signal or remain quiet. This entire process is a fundamental mechanism of how neurons communicate, and it can be strengthened or altered through activities like learning and repetition, a phenomenon known as neuroplasticity.