Neuroplasticity is the brain’s capacity to change its own wiring. Neurons form new synaptic connections, strengthen existing ones, and, through synaptic pruning, remove the ones that don’t get used. This process is most active during childhood and adolescence, but it continues throughout adulthood and old age.
In neurodivergent brains, plasticity works differently, but that doesn’t mean it works less well.
- Autistic brains can show hyperplasticity, which is a heightened capacity for synaptic change in certain domains, which may contribute to intense skill acquisition and deep knowledge development in areas of strong interest.1
- In ADHD, stimulant medication appears to influence brain structure over time, suggesting it may support the underlying conditions the brain needs to adapt, beyond managing symptoms in the moment.
For late-identified adults, one of the most common questions is whether it’s too late for any of this to change anything. Luckily, according to neuroscience, it is not.
You can still produce physical changes in your brain structure over time. Everything you do, including the strategies you build, the environments you choose, the sleep you protect, and the understanding you develop about how your own brain works, all add up.
And you can practice habits that support the process:
- aerobic exercise increases production of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), a protein involved in neuronal survival and new synaptic connections;
- good quality sleep is when the brain consolidates learning and clears metabolic waste;
- and adequate nutrition provides the raw materials for neurotransmitter production that plasticity needs to operate.
For a fuller picture of how neuroplasticity works in neurodivergent brains, including the research on exercise, sleep, and what medication does to brain structure over time, see our comprehensive entry on the neurodivergent brain.
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