sheeplysheepus

In the early days of your research, the accepted idea was that the brain was static and that the only change in structure and function that occurred during mid-late life was degeneration. What was some of the early evidence and findings that led to the acceptance of the idea of neuroplasticity? What made you go against the largely accepted school of thought?

Thank you Dr. Merzenich! Your work and words are amazing and inspirational! Coincidentally, I just saw a person with a cochlear implant at a music festival this weekend. I wasn't able to ask him about his experience, but from what you say, if it was a well established implant, his experience would be as natural as if the stimulation had come from his own functional cochlea. One follow up question, if hearing loss occurs by damage to hair cells in the cochlea, and the cochlear implant bypasses the signals from the hair cells in the cochlea, would there be any risks involved by listening to excessively loud music with a cochlear implant?